Gateway M505 display issues.

G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 (More info?)

Hi folks,
I have had this Gateway M505 laptop for abt a yr now..
Been working fine so far till y'day.
The display is almost totally dark, but I can see the
outlines of the icons and windows from an angle..
Nothing I have tried seems to help.. I have tried fiddling
with the backlight setting, brightness setting.
Using an external display works well...
Has anyone run into this issue before?
Any suggestions would help.
thanks!!
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 (More info?)

The most common cause for this is the inverter for the backlight failing.

<qzmp8642@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1119202741.579957.302570@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Hi folks,
> I have had this Gateway M505 laptop for abt a yr now..
> Been working fine so far till y'day.
> The display is almost totally dark, but I can see the
> outlines of the icons and windows from an angle..
> Nothing I have tried seems to help.. I have tried fiddling
> with the backlight setting, brightness setting.
> Using an external display works well...
> Has anyone run into this issue before?
> Any suggestions would help.
> thanks!!
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 (More info?)

thanks for the reply.
i will try to see if office depot folks will help me with this.. (its
<1yr since i bought it from them)..
would appreciate it if you could answer a couple of questions-
are these inverters generic or does each vendor/model have some special
board?
how easy/tough is it to do it yourself?
thanks a lot!
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 (More info?)

appreciate ur input on this..
unfortunately i am not clear on the bezel part.
if i close the laptop, i see 4 screws on each side of the lcd display,
and 6 rubber grommets at the top of the lcd display.
do i need to take out these 4+4 screws, and 6 grommets to get
to the back of the lcd display to gain access to the inverter or am
i totally off target here.
thanks again for ur help on this...
regards.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 (More info?)

They are not generic, but at the same time they aren't proprietary meaning
that you may find the same inverter in different models from different
manufacturers. I have only replaced a few inverters and the location can
vary. I replaced one on an old Dell and it was located behind the lcd panel.
The other day I worked on an HP and the inverter was just below the lcd
panel behind the bezel that holds the panel in the top cover. I suspect this
may be a common location to ease replacement. Looking at the LCD for your
model, it is probably behind that bezel. If you can't get it fixed at Office
Depot, you can get one here: http://www.mundocorp.com/m505.html If you order
one from there, make sure the part number is the same. To remove the bezel
there are screws under the little rubber/plastic gromments around the LCD.
Once those are removed you should be able to snap off the bezel and see the
inverter board. From there it is just a matter of unplugging the old one and
plugging in the new one.

<qzmp8642@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1119287372.230855.158860@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> thanks for the reply.
> i will try to see if office depot folks will help me with this.. (its
> <1yr since i bought it from them)..
> would appreciate it if you could answer a couple of questions-
> are these inverters generic or does each vendor/model have some special
> board?
> how easy/tough is it to do it yourself?
> thanks a lot!
>
 

Scott

Distinguished
Apr 1, 2004
1,356
0
19,280
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 (More info?)

qzmp8642@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> Hi folks,
> I have had this Gateway M505 laptop for abt a yr now..
> Been working fine so far till y'day.
> The display is almost totally dark, but I can see the
> outlines of the icons and windows from an angle..
> Nothing I have tried seems to help.. I have tried fiddling
> with the backlight setting, brightness setting.
> Using an external display works well...
> Has anyone run into this issue before?
> Any suggestions would help.
> thanks!!

qzmp,

The same thing happened to my Gateway 5150XL a few years ago.
It was the backlight that had failed. I shipped it back to
Gateway (that was when they had their repair center in Texas.
They fixed it in one day and overnighted it back to me. (I
doubt that the service is that good now).

Scott
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 (More info?)

Well, I am not sure because I have not worked on that particular model.
Generally, the plastic part that surrounds the perimeter of the LCD panel
needs to come off. I can't really be more specific on this model since I
have never seen one up close. I looked on Gateway's site, but can't really
tell anything from the pictures. Sorry.


<qzmp8642@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1119306479.552649.17500@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> appreciate ur input on this..
> unfortunately i am not clear on the bezel part.
> if i close the laptop, i see 4 screws on each side of the lcd display,
> and 6 rubber grommets at the top of the lcd display.
> do i need to take out these 4+4 screws, and 6 grommets to get
> to the back of the lcd display to gain access to the inverter or am
> i totally off target here.
> thanks again for ur help on this...
> regards.
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 (More info?)

Actually it is. My dad's 400 laptop quit powering on a couple of weeks ago.
He brought it to my shop and I fired up Gateway's online tech support chat.
I explained that it was my dads laptop, the troubleshooting I did and that
the power supply was good. It took about five minutes and he said it would
need to be sent in. They tried to sell me a box and shipping for $45 but I
just took it to UPS and shipped it there for $23. They recieved it on a
Tuesday, shipped it on Wednsday and he got it back on Thursday. The only
thing lame about the whole situation is that when he bought the laptop,
Gateway paid shipping both ways if it needed to be serviced.

"Scott" <golden@uslink.net> wrote in message
news:42B77D4E.7EFF76C4@uslink.net...
>
>
> qzmp8642@yahoo.com wrote:
>>
>> Hi folks,
>> I have had this Gateway M505 laptop for abt a yr now..
>> Been working fine so far till y'day.
>> The display is almost totally dark, but I can see the
>> outlines of the icons and windows from an angle..
>> Nothing I have tried seems to help.. I have tried fiddling
>> with the backlight setting, brightness setting.
>> Using an external display works well...
>> Has anyone run into this issue before?
>> Any suggestions would help.
>> thanks!!
>
> qzmp,
>
> The same thing happened to my Gateway 5150XL a few years ago.
> It was the backlight that had failed. I shipped it back to
> Gateway (that was when they had their repair center in Texas.
> They fixed it in one day and overnighted it back to me. (I
> doubt that the service is that good now).
>
> Scott
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 (More info?)

This is more likely the bulb than the inverter. It can be replaced, but
it's a fragile part and requires soldering.
Most LCD repair shops can replace it, labor included for $100-150.




Tweek wrote:
> Well, I am not sure because I have not worked on that particular model.
> Generally, the plastic part that surrounds the perimeter of the LCD panel
> needs to come off. I can't really be more specific on this model since I
> have never seen one up close. I looked on Gateway's site, but can't really
> tell anything from the pictures. Sorry.
>
>
> <qzmp8642@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1119306479.552649.17500@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
>>appreciate ur input on this..
>>unfortunately i am not clear on the bezel part.
>>if i close the laptop, i see 4 screws on each side of the lcd display,
>>and 6 rubber grommets at the top of the lcd display.
>>do i need to take out these 4+4 screws, and 6 grommets to get
>>to the back of the lcd display to gain access to the inverter or am
>>i totally off target here.
>>thanks again for ur help on this...
>>regards.
>>
>
>
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 (More info?)

thanks for your reply.
how would i go about determining which it is..

ps: just called gateway and they said that i only have
warranty on parts and not service and that it could
be upto $299 for service :eek:
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 (More info?)

Just curious Ed, but how would one tell the difference between a failed
inverter or a failed bulb? Every time I have seen a backlight out, replacing
the inverter has fixed it. To be honest, I didn't even know the backlight
WAS a bulb. For my own curiosity, where is the bulb usually located and what
does it look like?


"Edward J. Neth" <ejn63@myrealbox.com> wrote in message
news:3wnue.3899$lv.1918@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
> This is more likely the bulb than the inverter. It can be replaced, but
> it's a fragile part and requires soldering.
> Most LCD repair shops can replace it, labor included for $100-150.
>
>
>
>
> Tweek wrote:
>> Well, I am not sure because I have not worked on that particular model.
>> Generally, the plastic part that surrounds the perimeter of the LCD panel
>> needs to come off. I can't really be more specific on this model since I
>> have never seen one up close. I looked on Gateway's site, but can't
>> really tell anything from the pictures. Sorry.
>>
>>
>> <qzmp8642@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:1119306479.552649.17500@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>>appreciate ur input on this..
>>>unfortunately i am not clear on the bezel part.
>>>if i close the laptop, i see 4 screws on each side of the lcd display,
>>>and 6 rubber grommets at the top of the lcd display.
>>>do i need to take out these 4+4 screws, and 6 grommets to get
>>>to the back of the lcd display to gain access to the inverter or am
>>>i totally off target here.
>>>thanks again for ur help on this...
>>>regards.
>>>
>>
>>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 (More info?)

The bulb is a very thin fluorescent tube inside the display - it usually
runs the width of the panel and is a couple of mm in diameter.


Tweek wrote:
> Just curious Ed, but how would one tell the difference between a failed
> inverter or a failed bulb? Every time I have seen a backlight out, replacing
> the inverter has fixed it. To be honest, I didn't even know the backlight
> WAS a bulb. For my own curiosity, where is the bulb usually located and what
> does it look like?
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 (More info?)

got the laptop from gateway support today.. they fixed and
sent it back same day. really impressive!!
they described the failure "no backlight" and
the fix "replace defective assembly"..
parts used "inverter borad 15.4" ambit".
thanks for all the posts..
appreciate it...