F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop Screen on your laptop is distorted.

Screen on your laptop is distorted.

Screen on your laptop is distorted.

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GhostyLite
Member
238
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM
#1
Hi everyone, I received an old laptop and want to give it a new life with Linux. It's an Acer 5940G running an i7 720QM processor, Radeon HD 4650 graphics, and 4GB RAM. It starts up properly, though the display looks severely distorted. See the attached photo. Initially I suspected a hardware problem with the screen; connecting it to an external monitor reproduced the same issue even in the BIOS settings. This makes me believe the graphics card is the culprit. Since I don’t have spare hard drives, I used a bootable USB drive with Windows 10 to install drivers from the provided link: https://www.acer.com/ac/en/ID/content/su...ct/1337;-;. I also tried updating the Radeon 4650 graphics drivers without success. On another note, the Blu-ray drive is missing, and I need a replacement or alternative. What options exist to prevent dust from entering? How can I best address this situation?
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GhostyLite
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM #1

Hi everyone, I received an old laptop and want to give it a new life with Linux. It's an Acer 5940G running an i7 720QM processor, Radeon HD 4650 graphics, and 4GB RAM. It starts up properly, though the display looks severely distorted. See the attached photo. Initially I suspected a hardware problem with the screen; connecting it to an external monitor reproduced the same issue even in the BIOS settings. This makes me believe the graphics card is the culprit. Since I don’t have spare hard drives, I used a bootable USB drive with Windows 10 to install drivers from the provided link: https://www.acer.com/ac/en/ID/content/su...ct/1337;-;. I also tried updating the Radeon 4650 graphics drivers without success. On another note, the Blu-ray drive is missing, and I need a replacement or alternative. What options exist to prevent dust from entering? How can I best address this situation?

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GeoForcer
Junior Member
41
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM
#2
My little coin, the graphics part in your laptop isn’t working. No one can patch that. If you don’t have an IGPU that’s not the graphics chip, you’re stuck and might skip the bluray bay entirely—you’ll need a new computer. That’s the bad news.
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GeoForcer
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM #2

My little coin, the graphics part in your laptop isn’t working. No one can patch that. If you don’t have an IGPU that’s not the graphics chip, you’re stuck and might skip the bluray bay entirely—you’ll need a new computer. That’s the bad news.

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BlueFlare601
Junior Member
27
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM
#3
Hi @Anghammarad, thanks for your response and feedback! It sounds like the laptop's GPU is indeed damaged. Are there options to replace it or are most graphics cards permanently soldered? I’d really like to reuse this machine since it still functions. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I’m also considering using a NAS server like OMV.
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BlueFlare601
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM #3

Hi @Anghammarad, thanks for your response and feedback! It sounds like the laptop's GPU is indeed damaged. Are there options to replace it or are most graphics cards permanently soldered? I’d really like to reuse this machine since it still functions. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I’m also considering using a NAS server like OMV.

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pachecogon
Junior Member
15
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM
#4
Unfortunately, we can't substitute the GPU in laptops.
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pachecogon
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM #4

Unfortunately, we can't substitute the GPU in laptops.

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choppchopp
Member
156
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM
#5
Thanks for the feedback. I understand you'd like to use this laptop as a NAS server with OMV, but it might not work well.
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choppchopp
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM #5

Thanks for the feedback. I understand you'd like to use this laptop as a NAS server with OMV, but it might not work well.

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KOleox
Member
61
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM
#6
It seems the GPU resolved itself after a long period of use. Whether the laptop is fully functional now depends on the root cause—if it was just a temporary glitch, it might be safe to say it worked again. However, if there was a recurring display problem, it could happen again soon.
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KOleox
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM #6

It seems the GPU resolved itself after a long period of use. Whether the laptop is fully functional now depends on the root cause—if it was just a temporary glitch, it might be safe to say it worked again. However, if there was a recurring display problem, it could happen again soon.

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zetoxe
Member
74
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM
#7
I wouldn’t hand it over to anyone else unless it would last at least a month. Even then, I’d only share it with someone I trust so I can stay accountable if it fails. I’ve experienced occasional problems before that aren’t too severe, and sometimes it just happens by chance. The only solution is to wait and observe whether it breaks again. Could be cold soldering, loose metal inside, or another physical issue?
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zetoxe
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM #7

I wouldn’t hand it over to anyone else unless it would last at least a month. Even then, I’d only share it with someone I trust so I can stay accountable if it fails. I’ve experienced occasional problems before that aren’t too severe, and sometimes it just happens by chance. The only solution is to wait and observe whether it breaks again. Could be cold soldering, loose metal inside, or another physical issue?

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ItsJamesYT
Member
69
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM
#8
Hi @zulc22, thank you for your message. I understand your point. The GPU problem came up, but I managed to keep the laptop running and even set it up as a NAS server using OMV.
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ItsJamesYT
04-14-2022, 09:30 PM #8

Hi @zulc22, thank you for your message. I understand your point. The GPU problem came up, but I managed to keep the laptop running and even set it up as a NAS server using OMV.