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Compaq Portable 486c Video

inakito

Experienced Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2011
Messages
297
Location
Spain
My Compaq Portable 486c display is failing.:-(
The gorgeous color LCD display fades away and gets white.
It happens after some minutes being powered on.

Has anyone experienced something like this with his Compaq Portable 486c display?
 
Mine is the opposite, starts off impossible to read and after a few minutes looks gorgeous!

Sorry can't help with repair :(
 
I have found that if I leave a VGA cable plugged to a external monitor the internal LCD does not fade away.:p
Although the machine does not allow to have both displays active at the same time, you can get both alive if you connect the external VGA *after* the LCD internal display is active.
 
I have found that if I leave a VGA cable plugged to a external monitor the internal LCD does not fade away.:p
Although the machine does not allow to have both displays active at the same time, you can get both alive if you connect the external VGA *after* the LCD internal display is active.
Good to know; thanks for the tip, might come in handy one day. Mine sometimes also has display problems, but not the same as yours.
 
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I have one of these in my office as a conversation piece. The screen on mine is almost unreadable except at an angle. One day when I have the time to putz about with it I will see if I can figure out where the issue is coming from.
 
I believe these TFTs are still being sold. Unfortunately the costs is almost the same as purchasing an old Compaq Portable system out from eBay.
I hate the display turning off when I am working. Fortunately I discovered that when that happens you can get control again by plugging an external VGA monitor.
By the way, I have found that if you leave the LDC display time enough it recovers from a dead status to a working one.
 
I believe these TFTs are still being sold. Unfortunately the costs is almost the same as purchasing an old Compaq Portable system out from eBay.
I hate the display turning off when I am working. Fortunately I discovered that when that happens you can get control again by plugging an external VGA monitor.
By the way, I have found that if you leave the LDC display time enough it recovers from a dead status to a working one.

Well, mine has a crack in it and has lots of color shift problems, a few of the trim-pots are bad on the edge of the screen. Any idea what the screens are running for (actual numbers). I did find a untested 486c/66 on e-bay for roughly $60-70 this week, and one place is selling replacement screens but says "call for price" (which to me being a guitar guy means "not good price").
 
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