Did my Kindle’s magnet damage my laptop’s display?
QMy Lenovo Ideapad Z580 laptop (pictured below) has developed an irritating screen judder, regularly jumping up and down. My son suggested plugging into an external display, which I did – and no judder! This excluded the possibility that the fault is due to a display driver. I should add that my Kindle is usually positioned immediately behind the display. My Kindle’s case has a magnetic clasp, and I wonder if this could’ve somehow caused the problem? Clifford Evans
AIt’s an interesting theory, but not correct because modern LCD screens are not affected by magnetism as were the cathode-ray tubes in old-fashioned screens – so forget that as a cause.
Instead, it’s likely that the cable attaching the display to your laptop’s motherboard has worked loose. This is a reasonably common event, and can result in the kind of problem you describe.
It’s easy to fix, by ensuring the display-cable connector is pushed firmly home. However, the difficult bit is finding your way inside the machine.
Lenovo publishes manuals for its machines, with your model’s guide being at www.snipca.com/30181. You’ll need to work through the process carefully but, essentially, it’s a case of removing the keyboard and then pushing said plug back into place. You’ll find this plug illustrated by the number 6 on page 52 of the service guide (see screenshot above).