R61 Video Failure [ Edited ]

[LADmachining]

Hello.

I have a Lenovo R61 which has been very reliable since I purchased it in May 2008.

Over the last few days, I have started to experience problems where the screen will start to display random artifacts (blocks of random colours, ghost pointers, parts of other windows etc).  Last night the screen went blank, started to re-draw, then failed completely with a screen full of random lines and colours, mostly vertical.

Upon restarting the computer, the BIOS splash screen shows this random pattern as well.  This happens all the time, so I guess the failure is permanent now. :-(

I have tried an external monitor connected to the SVGA port.  This displays the symptoms as well, and rules out a problem with the LCD or connecting cable.

Laptop model number is 8918-B8G.  I do not have an extended warranty.  I am quite disappointed as I purchased a Lenovo laptop as I believed it would be a quality, reliable product.

Any advice appreciated.

Many thanks,

Anthony

Message Edited by LADmachining on 07-19-2009 11:43 AM

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

This is a defect of nvidia gpu, you probably had one of the defective Nvidia GPU that failed prematurely, it is a known problem for laptops using nvidia GPU from Dell to Apple.

Your options without warranty is limited, you will have change the actual motherboard, or just get a new laptop. 

This is why it is a good idea to get extended warranty...

I think there is a 30 days grace for getting extended warranty after the main warranty ends, but since you got it in may 2008 just is over 50 days....