The problem originaly was considered an occasional failure of the lighting of the xga display. The light in the lower-left corner wouldn't light. This message was passed to DELL d.d. 2002-03-28.
After several tests, it was discovered the screen functions without problem when the power supply is not connected (so the system is running on battery power).
I discovered that the battery in the left multibay doesn't charge as fast as the partner in the right compartment. Even if batteries were switched, the right one still charged faster. This indicates problem in bay, not battery.
The external power-supply was replaced with an equivalent one, problem remained.
Phoned with Dell (+32/24819288). Stated problem (backlight might be broken). Contact stated problem is known.
Machine would be retrieved (2002-04-02). Everything that's not screwed tight should be removed (power suppy, batteries, pcmcia etc.
Reference: 22020031393
Dell repaired machine under warranty. New topcover was installed. Machine was returned within 2 working days.
Bios was updated, causing windows not to function on full resolution anymore. New Driver had to be installed. Linux no problem.
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This page was composed by Dieter Demerre
Last changes were applied d.d.
