[amstuart1994]

Hi:

 

New member. I have a Toshiba laptop with recent pink or magenta display at times, and intermittent flicker and on/off display of LCD screen at a rapid flash rate. Is position-independent: this happens at rest without moving the laptop or changing the angle of the opened laptop screen. I connected an external monitor and the monitor display is perfect. If I power down the laptop, I am good to go for a an hour or so until the flicker/on-off screen display begins. This happens on battery and with the power adapter. Since the external monitor displays perfectly, have I eliminated the graphics card and MOBO? Is the next step to check for the LCD connection ribbon? The display lighting is fine, and the computer display does not turn black.

 

Thoughts on troubleshooting based on above? No malware and the default 60 Hz rate cannot be changed. Drivers are up to date.

 

Thank you.

 

Adam

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I would first check your temps as it sounds like it might be temp related and laptops are notorious for overheating.  You can use Speedfan to monitor your temps in real time:

 

http://www.filehippo...nload_speedfan/

 

Download, save and Install it (Win 7+ or Vista right click and Run As Admin.) then run it (Win 7+ or Vista right click and Run As Admin.).

 

It will tell you your temps in real time tho the default is to show the hard drive temp in the systray.  You can change it:  Hit Configure then click on the highest temp and check Show in tray

 

What usually happens is the interface between the fan and the heatsink gets clogged with dust and then things get hot.  Laptops run around 50 C at idle and show stay under 65 under normal loads like watching a video, playing a game o doing an anti-virus scan  Cleaning out the interface usually requires removing the fan.  How hard this is depends on the PC maker.  Usually HPs require major surgery while Dells are easy.  Never worked on a Toshiba but usually if you google the part number you can find a YouTube video showing how to take them apart.  Do not remove or disturb the heatsink or heatpipe unless you want to replace the thermal paste.  

[RKinner]

I would first check your temps as it sounds like it might be temp related and laptops are notorious for overheating.  You can use Speedfan to monitor your temps in real time:

 

http://www.filehippo...nload_speedfan/

 

Download, save and Install it (Win 7+ or Vista right click and Run As Admin.) then run it (Win 7+ or Vista right click and Run As Admin.).

 

It will tell you your temps in real time tho the default is to show the hard drive temp in the systray.  You can change it:  Hit Configure then click on the highest temp and check Show in tray

 

What usually happens is the interface between the fan and the heatsink gets clogged with dust and then things get hot.  Laptops run around 50 C at idle and show stay under 65 under normal loads like watching a video, playing a game o doing an anti-virus scan  Cleaning out the interface usually requires removing the fan.  How hard this is depends on the PC maker.  Usually HPs require major surgery while Dells are easy.  Never worked on a Toshiba but usually if you google the part number you can find a YouTube video showing how to take them apart.  Do not remove or disturb the heatsink or heatpipe unless you want to replace the thermal paste.  

[amstuart1994]

 

I would first check your temps as it sounds like it might be temp related and laptops are notorious for overheating.  You can use Speedfan to monitor your temps in real time:

 

http://www.filehippo...nload_speedfan/

 

Download, save and Install it (Win 7+ or Vista right click and Run As Admin.) then run it (Win 7+ or Vista right click and Run As Admin.).

 

It will tell you your temps in real time tho the default is to show the hard drive temp in the systray.  You can change it:  Hit Configure then click on the highest temp and check Show in tray

 

What usually happens is the interface between the fan and the heatsink gets clogged with dust and then things get hot.  Laptops run around 50 C at idle and show stay under 65 under normal loads like watching a video, playing a game o doing an anti-virus scan  Cleaning out the interface usually requires removing the fan.  How hard this is depends on the PC maker.  Usually HPs require major surgery while Dells are easy.  Never worked on a Toshiba but usually if you google the part number you can find a YouTube video showing how to take them apart.  Do not remove or disturb the heatsink or heatpipe unless you want to replace the thermal paste.  

 

 

<script type="text/javascript"> //</script>Thank you very much. Will start with a temperature check and then a YouTube video showing how to remove fan from laptop. The Toshiba Satellite is more than 6 years-old and has never been cleaned, so I am sure there is lint and dust. I have a small tube of thermal paste for a CCD camera repair so I can replace the paste if necessary.

[amstuart1994]

 

I would first check your temps as it sounds like it might be temp related and laptops are notorious for overheating.  You can use Speedfan to monitor your temps in real time:

 

http://www.filehippo...nload_speedfan/

 

Download, save and Install it (Win 7+ or Vista right click and Run As Admin.) then run it (Win 7+ or Vista right click and Run As Admin.).

 

It will tell you your temps in real time tho the default is to show the hard drive temp in the systray.  You can change it:  Hit Configure then click on the highest temp and check Show in tray

 

What usually happens is the interface between the fan and the heatsink gets clogged with dust and then things get hot.  Laptops run around 50 C at idle and show stay under 65 under normal loads like watching a video, playing a game o doing an anti-virus scan  Cleaning out the interface usually requires removing the fan.  How hard this is depends on the PC maker.  Usually HPs require major surgery while Dells are easy.  Never worked on a Toshiba but usually if you google the part number you can find a YouTube video showing how to take them apart.  Do not remove or disturb the heatsink or heatpipe unless you want to replace the thermal paste.  

 

Update: Downloaded the software and ran the laptop overnight under no load (no programs running). Temperatures for HDD were 50 C and Core, Temp 1 and Temp 2 were all between 52 C and 55 C with the orange flame icon next to each. Those ranges seem fine despite the orange flame icon. After 12 hours of continuous display without any flashing or blinking, the display is now black while powered up and I can see my faint desktop icons with a flashlight. Powered down, let cool for 2 hours. On power-up,display remains totally black with my desktop icons faintly seen. I ordered a new LCD inverter as this seems to be the least expensive attempt at a resolution. I read that a bad LCD inverter can cause my blinking/flashing symptoms, in addition to the new symptom of a black display.

[RKinner]

OK.  Since you can still see the display with a flashlight that means the backlighting has failed and the inverter is usually the cause so you are on the right track.

[amstuart1994]

OK.  Since you can still see the display with a flashlight that means the backlighting has failed and the inverter is usually the cause so you are on the right track.

 

Thank you. Will update after inverter is installed.

[RKinner]

OK.  This might come in handy:

 

[amstuart1994]

OK.  This might come in handy:

 

Hi-- thank you-- yes, I saw this video (among many others). After one hour of power-up with the newly installed inverter, the screen reverted to becoming very dark once again with flicker and blinking returning. I could still see me desktop icons. Temperatures for HDD and core, etc., were fine. My inverter came with a CCFL bulb, so I disconnected the CCFL backlight bulb from the right-side of the new inverter and confirmed that the bulb works and saw that the flickering and blinking stopped immediately. Too chicken to replace the backlight, so for $39.95 Amazon had a special on a brand new LCD screen with CCFL bulb installed (naturally). I matched the exact display model and SKU on my Toshiba. Free shipping. If the replacement LCD screen works with the new inverter, sounds like indeed it was the bulb and the inverter. I read the CCFL bulbs last upwards of 50,000 hours. I have surpassed that lifespan. Will post results.

Edited by amstuart1994, 05 July 2017 - 05:40 AM.

[amstuart1994]

Best Answer

New screen and CCFL bulb arrived and the laptop is fully functional with no further dark screen or flashing/blinking of the display. This issue can be closed. Thank you for your assistance.