Edge 14: Display Powers Off Randomly [ Edited ]

[deviate]

Hello - I just received my new Edge 14 one week ago.  This was my first Lenovo experience and I must say its going south fast.  The display continually powers off at random intervals.  Sometimes the slightest tilt of the screen will trigger this, sometimes it just does it for no apparent reason.  I continually have to power it down, reboot etc.  I'd love to keep the unit as I researched laptops HARD for months waiting in anticipation for a customizable Edge 14, but now I think its junk.  Tech support was completely unhelpful.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thx 

Moderator Note: Edited subject to match content.

[ecetim]

Can you consistently reproduce this problem? You mention it will turn off when you adjust the LCD? Does it come back on if you tap a few keys?

If it comes back on when you tap a few keys, it is likely turning off to save power. You can adjust this setting in the ThinkPad Power manager by clicking on the green battery icon in your taskbar.

If it does NOT come back on without a reboot, you may have a hardware issue. It is possible it could be software related, so you could try to restore it with the recovery discs (which must be burned from the laptop, or support can send you some).

If a restore doesn't fix it, you'll need to send it in for repair.

Why wasn't Support helpful? They should be able to isolate this to a hardware or software issue fairly easily and proceed from there.

[deviate]

Thank you for the quick response.

I cannot reproduce the issue with any regularity.  Sometimes it runs for 30-60 minutes, sometimes it won't last 10 seconds.  Merely lifting the unit will occasionally cause it as well.  It does not come back on when I tap a few keys - hence the perpetual reboot.  Yes, I'm sure I could go the restore route, but at this point I'm inclined to rerturn it as I see from further reading its becoming a much more common issue.  I've only installed Microsoft Office, Avast Anti-Virus, Acrobat Pro v9 and IE8.  All updates & downloads completed too.  Diagnostics discovered nothing and support just said it must be a hardware problem (without testing anything and adding a large dose of apathy).

I'm returning it for a refund and regrettably looking at other manufacturers, unless someone can help.

Many thanks...

[ecetim]

Yeah, it sounds like a hardware issue. Unfortunately it happens, and can happen to any complex device from any manufacturer. Something like this is covered under your warranty, should you decide to pursue that route.

[leeh97]

I have the same problem on my Edge 13.

The display goes blank while i am using it. Typically it happens in skype or writing

an email.  I cannot get the display to come back by pressing keys or using the mouse. THe only way is to

close the lid to let it hibernate, then open the lid and it will be back to normal.  The problem is random so hard

to reproduce.

I consider it a very very annoying problem which i can just barely tolerate. I have had computers in the past with worse problems than this so this is not a 'killer' issue for me.  Just really annoying. 

[hirohito888]

I received my Edge 14 AMD yesterday. Fully charged and started using it and received the same random powerdown/sleep/hibernation issue. I would have to close the lid or tap on keys for a while before it got out of sleep/hibernation.
Typically happens when I type (espeically the top right corners like backspace button).
Is this software issue? or hardware/battery issue or what?

[McPanda]

I get the same problem, mostly when on the power brick.

Screen goes dark (turns off) does not come back through keypresses, does come back if i hibernate and wake or if i use f5/change projector settings ie. hit [f5] twice and [enter]  it changes to one of the other settings ie. projector + screen and comes back. I can then change back to screen only and it will work for a random space of time before happening again. 

I have disabled all screen power off functions in powermanager and thinkvantage.

The computer is also still running with the screen off. I can type in a text document while the screen is black and it will appear after i get the screen to come back. 

The screen turns completely off (not just the backlight.)

[ecetim]

Good info sharing here everyone.

So let me see if I understand the common symptoms it seems:

• Entire display powers off (not just backlight) at seemingly random intervals
• Normal key presses or mouse movement will not turn the display back on
• System must be shutdown OR hibernated, then resumed to restore display function
• One report of using the display switching Fn+F5 key to switch display output will restore display function
• One report of disabling all power saving options with no effect
• Edge 13 & 14 systems reported

Can everyone confirm which exact model they have, and whether it has Intel or AMD? Here is how to find your system model.

Also, please look up and post your graphics driver version. Here is how to find that in Windows 7:

Open Start Menu

Right click "Computer"

Choose properties

Select "Device Manager" in left pane of new window that opens

Expand the "Display Adapters" menu

Double-click the graphics card listed - if two cards are listed you will need to get the info for both

Click the "Driver" tab of the new window that opens - poste the driver date and version here, as well as which graphics adapter this is for (i.e. ATI Radeon HD, Intel HD, etc)

1. Open Start Menu
2. Right click "Computer"
3. Choose properties
4. Select "Device Manager" in left pane of new window that opens
5. Expand the "Display Adapters" menu
6. Double-click the graphics card listed - if two cards are listed you will need to get the info for both
7. Click the "Driver" tab of the new window that opens - poste the driver date and version here, as well as which graphics adapter this is for (i.e. ATI Radeon HD, Intel HD, etc)

[hirohito888]

Started using laptop again, and it's gotten to a point where i get blank/black screen more often than working screen.

To answer your questions:
Edge 14 AMD model 019929U
Graphics Driver: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250, Date: 3/30/2010, Version 8.722.0.0

Again, to reiterate, it appears that the laptop is functional, it's just that the display is not showing, or blacking/sleeping at random intervals, including random tilting of laptop.

Edit:

Definitely a display problem, I now mostly get blank/black screen, unless I tilt and angle the screen at an exact position. Otherwise it will go black. Ready to ship this laptop back for refund.....

question is, what laptop to get instead....

[deviate]

Regettably, it appears the list of users with this problem is growing and this simply represents the ones who have taken the time to discover/post on this forum.  Fortunately, I was in the 21 day return window and sent my Edge 14 back for a refund.  My particular unit had an Intel I5 processor, running Win 7 Pro 64 bit with a 500gig hard drive 7200 speed and 4 gig ram. 

I'm curious if Lenovo is even concerned or working on this issue as a brand new laptop with no display is useless.  Based on my calls to tech support it seemed as if they were completely dismissive.  From what I gather they must have cheaped out on parts to get the Edge series at a marketable price point.  Any suggestions on a reliable model would be appreciated.