acer aspire 7540g strange lines on screen

Hi

My friend's acer aspire 7540g laptop is displaying vertical column of stranges lines down the middle of the after about 20mins of watching a DVD or playing a game.

The GFX card is a ATI Mobility HD 4570. I originally thought it was a driver issuse so I updated the drivers from the ATI website but alas it is still having the same problem. The weird thing is that the lines dont display on an external monitor only on the laptop screen.

The laptop base isnt hot either so I dont think its overheating etc

Any one have any ideas what it might be?

Faulty screen?

thnx for the suggestion but I was hoping for something a bit more constructive

If it's just left sitting at the desktop does it still develop the lines? If so, it probably is the screen. If not, it's possibly the graphics chip or graphics memory (usually not a user-fixable part).

there are only so many ways one can say you have a faulty screen. im sure someone else will be along to say it in a more technical way for you.

but if it is faulty then the chances of you bein able to fix it yourself are slim.

All the best

The fact it's time dependant indicates it could be temperature related (an inherent fault should show up instantly). That the problem doesn't present on an external screen indicates that the effect is limited to your laptop screen or the connection to it. It's unusual to have temperature related problems in those areas, but that's what the symptoms are showing. Either way it's likely to be a hardware fault.

In most designs the laptop base should be getting at least warm. If it's not then there may be a bad connection with a heatpipe somewhere.

Eventually it will develop lines but it has to be left on long enough. It develops lines quicker when im playing a game or watching a dvd for example.

I checked the cable that connects the screen to the mobo today for anything unusual and disconnected it/reconnected it. After about 4hrs though the problem is appearing again.

It just baffling because its right in the middle of the screen and no where else. Its not like ive hit the screen either otherwise it would appear from when I turn on the laptop. :/

http://i901.photobucket.com/albums/a...2/DSCF0023.jpg

Yes that's a faulty lcd panel, although it sometimes can just be a faulty cable.
some cables are hardwired into the panel some can be replaced, however it's more likely the panel itself.

try pushing on the bezel just below then band, sometimes that can temporally fix it, but it will reoccur, sometimes just changing the angle of the lid will make it go, but again that's only a temporary fix.
The only long term fix is a replacement panel.

If it's in warranty, then contact acer, if it's out of warranty then it's new panel time.
Best bet for a replacement panel is ebay, getting parts from laptop manufacture official parts stores is stupidly expensive.

eg I've got a toshiba U200 that needs a new panel, official parts store quoted me £190, ebay price around £75-65

I forget the OEM, but they are also fitted in HP laptops and have the same issue. As above, it's most likely to be the screen if you've tested the cable.

As Pob says, the classic check is to bend the panel gently, which will often cause a flicker of more / less of the same thing. If you get this, new panel time.

I would think it would be nervy to replace the screen if not done it before? I would be too scared! lol

It's not that complex to do . . . well on the older non-wide screen laptops and 16:10 wide screen laptops because the hinge sticks up from the body so it's easy to remove the bezel

The newer 16:9 wide screen laptops can be a right pain however, because the hinge sticks up from the lid instead, which means you sometimes have to fully detach the lid to remove the bezel, which can in turn involve taking the whole thing apart.

It all depends on the model.

eg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRlfC8jr63I
I know this one is a 4:3 we've got a bunch of them at work and I've had to replace the screen on a couple of them.
That model of dell was known for issues due to a faulty batch of panels, every one of the 16 we had has had it's screen replaced at least once.

Here's one for an acer 5534 not the same model so it might be a bit different
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o2LLydWQCk

trickiest thing is to apply enough force to release the plastic clips, but not too much or you can damage the bezel.