jaa
Premium,MVM
join:2000-06-13
 ·Optimum Online
 ·Vonage
| BIOS Virus? Is that possible?
A friend brings me an IBM laptop that the LCD screen is all flakey. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't - even on the POST screen.
So I lend him my IBM R30 laptop. Calls me the next day, same problem. Screen is flakey, even on POST screen.
Now I find out a little more. He moved into a shared office and plugged into their "T1" - he has no idea what a T1 is, but he plugged some cat5 cable into the ethernet port and got internet. Then the screen problem started...
So, I pull out the hard drive and flash an updated BIOS on my computer, go into setup and tell it to use all defaults. Still flakey LCD screen on POST. If I connect a CRT monitor to the laptop, it works fine - POST screen is ok, and Windows XP works fine too. If I switch to the LCD (using the toggle key), the LCD wigs out on me. Back to the CRT, and all is good.
I even tried draining CMOS (no battery or power and held power button for 60 seconds). At this point I am fairly convinced it was something with whatever he plugged into the ethernet adapter - maybe it was a PoE cable and zapped something? But on both computers? (they are both IBMs, but different models).
Any suggestions?
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NOTHING justifies terrorism. We don't negotiate with terrorists. Those that support terrorists are terrorists. |
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nonymous
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ
3 edits | On the computer you lent did it have any firewall or xp firewall?
Next off the wall question was the laptop used near say a big magnet or speaker or something?
edit or left in some oddball place near something odd?
Maybe something on his connection but well? Others should be messed up also if they bring in their laptops. So anyone else at his office have problems?
If it is shared T1 it may not have a router with nat as such. May leave that up to the person sharing it. But same thing with just the screen? Any other problems? If not where was the laptop stored or used? |
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novaflare
The Dragon Was Here
Premium
join:2002-01-24
Barberton, OH
| reply to jaa
My dell laptop has the screen go flaky. On mine it starts jumping all over the place and will some times go pure white. What causes it on mine is the cable that conects the lcd to the rest of the laptop is bad. It is possible that your friend is mistreating the laptops say for example tilting the screen to far back and past the stops. This would stress the cable and or pull it out of its socket on the lcd or on the mainboard of the laptop.
Now there have been a few bios viruses out there in the past CIH for example. But if i recall with CIH it just trashed the bios out right if it was able to infect it. There are other ones that store a copy of them selves in bios and then load back in to windows after you clean it off the hd. Lots of weird stuff out there. Still in your case it sounds more like damaged hardware than a virus.
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Evil does exist and it has a face to often that face is one that should look on their child with love in their eyes.
Instead only hate exists in those eyes. |
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jaa
Premium,MVM
join:2000-06-13
·Optimum Online
·Vonage
| reply to jaa
I think you are right about the cable connecting the screen. Perhaps I should take it apart and look. I have some other old IBM laptops - any chance it is the same cable? Probably not...but I'll look.
I'm pretty well convinced it is hardware, not software (including BIOS).
--
NOTHING justifies terrorism. We don't negotiate with terrorists. Those that support terrorists are terrorists. |
|
novaflare
The Dragon Was Here
Premium
join:2002-01-24
Barberton, OH
| said by jaa  :I think you are right about the cable connecting the screen. Perhaps I should take it apart and look. I have some other old IBM laptops - any chance it is the same cable? Probably not...but I'll look. I'm pretty well convinced it is hardware, not software (including BIOS). Fairly good chance the cables will be the same. Dell for example used the same exact cable for over 3 years of laptops covering about 10 diffrent models. good bet if the screen res (native res) is the same and the screen size is say 14 then a 15 inch or 13 inch will likly use the same cable. Carefull when working on the screen there is a fair bit of voltage in there that will make you loopy and tingle all over heh.
Also it is a printed film ribbon cable very much like what you find in keyboards. Good chance it was pushed past the stops and just pulled the cable out of its socket in that case you only need to pull the little clamp strait up from the board on the moveable side reinsert the cable and push it back down.
It is kind of hard to explain exactly what it looks like but you will see a groove of sorts along the length and 2 sides that is the part you want to pull up.
--
Evil does exist and it has a face to often that face is one that should look on their child with love in their eyes.
Instead only hate exists in those eyes. |
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