Laptop External Graphics Replacement

[Ken Moore]

A friend of mine has a laptop which he uses for presentations but his problem is that the external graphics is showing a messed up and broken display although the laptop screen's display is fine.

Does anyone know of a reasonable solution to this problem?

Repairing it (if indeed possible) is likely to be v. expensive.

I've looked at the VTbook pcmcia (http:www.villagetronic.com) but (1) it is quite expensive and (2) only seems to work with PowerBooks.

[Big Booger]

Driver? What do you mean by a broken display? Have you checked the cables?

[Ken Moore]

Ah, no, sorry. When I say a broken display I mean the image is broken up. Some of it looks OK but there are areas where the image is distorted or missing (from what I remember). Since my friend wants to use it for presentations via an attached projector, it's quite useless.

[Big Booger]

http://www.hut.fi/Misc/Electronics/circuits/vga2tv/commercial.html

Try those products.

Has your friend tried reinstalling the drivers? Using a third party TV out tool like TVtool?

Reason I ask is, is the TV out (*I'm guessing S-video) actually damaged or is this a software issue.

Your friend could call the PC maker and get a price estimate on repair. If they are a big company they should be able to quote an estimated price or even a price range.

I had a whole LCD replaced in my laptop for about $600. He could even buy a new motherboard from an online auction or something like that. Would probably be cheaper than sending it in, but when you send it in to the maker they offer a warranty. ;)

[Ken Moore]

Hmm, interesting questions. The output is the normal VGA connector. I must admit that I never really thought about it being a software issue... I'll see if I can get him to reinstall drivers.

It's certainly a major manufacturer (though I can't remember which, off hand) so it might well be worth while knowing the cost of repair.

Thanks for your ideas.

K.

[Ken Moore]

Having looked at the link you supplied it seems you are thinking we're after TV output but this is not the case. As stated in my last post, it's the normal VGA output that we're trying to use.

[Big Booger]

From the link I posted:

http://www.shining.com/products_citiview.html PCMCIA to VGA. though it converts it to NTFS/PAL, it is VGA nonetheless. It might be a simple fix and could cost less than $100-300 dollars to fix...

A new motherboard would certainly fix it.

[Ken Moore]

I must admit that I'd missed that it had VGA passthrough, however, checking it out again I see that it only supports resolutions up to 800x600 (which could be a problem). Also I can find nowhere in the UK that sells it... I can't even get Shining Technology to admit that they'll sell it!

Trying to find it on their e-commerce pages meets with no success - not that they'd sell it to me this way anyway since I don't have a US address. Their search engine doesn't even recognise their own products!

I must say that their web site doesn't fill me with confidence; spelling and gramatical errors everywhere, broken links (even to the home page!) and search faciilities that don't find products listed elsewhere. Perhaps I'm just being too picky?

Still, it wouild be nice to know what price it is.

[Big Booger]

http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=110562

How about the margi 2 go?

The card will go up to 1280x1024 in 24-bit and 1600x1200 in 16-bit.

[Ken Moore]

I've looked at that and it seems quote promising and cheaper that VTbook. It seems I can get the 4Mb one for around 135UKP (around 90USD) plus tax. Certainly seems like something to recommend to my friend.

K

[Big Booger]

I'd first check on a repair option through the maker. If that proves pricey, go with the card. :D