Solving Minor Problems, Display Problems

Maintenance & Service Guide

Presario 1660 Model

MSG Index Home Page Notice Preface Product Description Troubleshooting Illustrated Parts Catalog Removal & Replacement Procedures Specifications Pin Assignments Battery Pack Operations

Solving Minor Problems (continued)

Audio Battery pack	Battery gauge	CD/DVD drive	Diskette/diskette drive	Display	Hard drive
Hardware installation	Keyboard Memory	PC card	Power Printer Touchpad/pointing device

Display Problems

You can perform a self-test on an external VGA color or monochrome monitor as follows:

1.Turn off the monitor.

2.Turn off the computer.

3.Disconnect the monitor signal cable from the computer.

4.Turn on the monitor and allow it to warm up for one minute.

The display should be white. A narrow black border may also appear on the left and right sides of the display. Either of these displays indicates that the monitor is working properly.

Problem

Screen is dim.

Screen is blank.

Display is blank and the Suspend icon is flashing.

Internal display is blank and the screen on an external monitor displays information.

Internal display flashes or has garbled characters when computer is connected to external monitor.

Probable Cause	Solution(s)
Control for brightness or	Adjust the Brightness of the display by using
contrast (if applicable) is not	Fn + F7 (¯ ) or Fn + F8 (- ).
set properly.	Adjust the Contrast of the display by using Fn
	Adjust the Contrast of the display by using Fn
	+ F5 (¯ ) or Fn + F6 (- ).
	See other entries in this table if these
	adjustments do not work.
Computer screen is in direct	Tilt display or move computer.
light.
Screen save was initiated by	Press any key or touch the Touch Pad.
Power Management due to
lack of user activity.
Display has overheated.	If computer is in direct sunlight, move it and
	allow it to cool off.
System is in Suspend mode. Press any key or touch the Touch Pad.
Display function was	Use Fn + F2 to switch between LCD or CRT.
switched to the external
monitor.
Using 1024 × 768 or higher	Restart the computer.
resolution on external

monitor and have toggled back to internal display, which supports up to 800 × 600.

This display panel has a	Improper display cable
continuous pattern across it	connections.
(e.g., a "jailbars" pattern), has
a single color on it, or has
garbled graphics across the
entire panel. This failure is for
patterns across the entire

panel (not just on one section). Defective display cable.

	Defective inverter board.
	Defective system board.
Ghost bars extending from	Common characteristic of
graphics on the display.	STN displays.

Reseat the display cable to the following until the problem is solved:

1.System board

2.Display assembly

Replace the display assembly.

Replace the system board.

1.Change the background colors.

2.Adjust the Contrast of the display by using Fn + F5 (¯ ) or Fn + F6 (- ).

A single line, small group of	Defective display panel.	Replace the display assembly.
lines, or block appears on the
display panel. This failure
occurs in only a section of the
display panel.

The light tubes on the edge of the display panel do not light up at all and Power-On Self- Test (POST) completes when the unit is powered up.*

The light tubes on the edge of the display panel do not light up at all and Power-On Self- Test (POST) does not complete when the unit is powered up.*

Backlight (brightness) cannot be adjusted with Fn + F7 (¯ ) or Fn + F8 (- ).*

Contrast cannot be adjusted with Fn + F5 (¯ ) or Fn + F6 (- ).

Improper backlight or display cable connections

Defective inverter board.

Defective display cable.

Defective display panel.

Defective system board. Defective system board.

Improper display cable connections.

Defective inverter board.

Defective display cable.

Defective system board.

Improper display cable connections.

Defective inverter board.

Defective display cable. Defective system board.

Replace the display assembly.

Replace the system board.

1.Reseat the display cable to the system board.

2.Replace the display assembly.

Replace the display assembly.

Replace the system board.

1.Reseat the display cable to the system board.

2.Replace the display assembly.

Replace the display assembly.

Replace the system board.

*This problem indicates that the backlight or its power circuitry has failed. Since you cannot observe the POST result on the display panel when the backlight is not functioning, connect the unit to an external monitor before powering the unit up. If an external monitor is not available, verify that POST completes by opening and closing the display, listening for the single or double beep, and watching for the LEDs turn on at the front of the computer.

Hard Drive Problems

CAUTION: To prevent loss of information, always maintain an up-to- date backup of your hard drive at all times, in case of errors or failures.

Problem

Probable Cause

Solution(s)

Reading hard drive takes an unusually long time after restarting the computer.

System entered Hibernation due to low battery condition and is now exiting from it.

Give the system time to restore the previously saved data to its exact state before Hibernation.

Hard drive error occurs. Hard drive does not work.

Hard drive has bad sectors or has failed. Hard drive is not seated properly.

Run Computer Checkup.

Turn off and unplug the computer, remove the battery pack, and remove and then reinstall the hard drive.

Hardware Installation Problems

Problem

Probable Cause

Solutions(s)

A new device is not recognized as part of the computer system.

Cable(s) of new external device are loose or power cables are unplugged.

Power switch of new external device is not turned on.

Device is not seated properly.

Ensure that all cables are properly and securely connected.

Turn off the computer, turn on the external device, then turn on the computer to integrate the device with the computer system.

Turn off the computer and reinsert the device.

Keyboard/Numeric Keypad Problems

Problem

Probable Cause

Solution(s)

Embedded numeric keypad on Num Lock function is not enabled. computer keyboard is

disabled.

Embedded numeric keypad is	External numeric keypad is
disabled and Num Lock	connected to the computer.
function is on.

Press the Shift+NumLk keys to enable the Num Lock function and embedded numeric keypad. The Num Lock icon on the status panel turns on.

Disconnect the external numeric keypad from the computer.

Memory Problems

Problem

Probable Cause

Solution(s)

Memory count during Power- On Self-Test (POST) is incorrect.

"Out of Memory" message is displayed on the screen or insufficient memory

error occurs during operation.

Optional memory expansion card

is installed incorrectly, is incompatible with the computer, or is defective.

System ran out of memory for the application.

Too many TSR (terminate-and stay- resident) applications are running.

Ensure that the optional memory expansion card is installed correctly.

1.Check the application documentation for memory requirements.

2.Install additional memory.

Remove from memory any TSR applications that you do not need.