First gen pi-top laptop - no video output

pi-top [1] + pi-topCEED
,
#1

I have a green first gen pi-top laptop. It’s been working fine for awhile, but after not using it for about a year, I hooked it up to a pi only to discover the display has completely stopped working. I’ve tried other cables, other pi devices, and other displays, and it’s definitely either the LCD itself or the hub board. I doubt I’m still under warranty, so I’m not expecting to get it repaired…but has anyone seen this issue and have ideas on what’s happening?

At first I was seeing a washed-out display (backlight on, gradient from light gray to dark that disappeared over a few minutes), but now it’s black, and the backlight definitely isn’t turning on.

#2

@ClairelyClaire You are right, it does sound like it’s either the hub or the screen. I’m inclined to think that it’s the screen cable/connector if you were getting a backlight and then nothing, implies to me that it’s wear and tear.
I’ll get in contact with you through our support email and we can arrange spare parts

#3

Thanks. Do you have access to my profile email, or do I need to create a ticket somewhere first?

#4

I had exactly this same thing happen to my pi-top [3] just the other day. Actually, in the right light, I could tell that there was something on the display, but otherwise it just looked dark. I sent a note to the support email link, and got this very useful reply below back. About 30 minutes of careful work and I was back up and running.

"It sounds to me as though one of the cables from the hub to the screen is a little loose and the power for the backlight isn’t being sent to the screen. It may be a simple fix though it will take a little handiwork from yourself to test it out, would that be okay?

You’d have to remove the cooling bridge and slide out the hub from the Raspberry Pi as well as disconnect power. Then remove the 4 screws that connect the hub to it’s sliding rail., careful that the screwdriver does not make contact with the other components on the board. Once you’ve done that, carefully spin the hub, so that the hdmi connector comes up. Be careful of the cables that are still connected, don’t disconnect any of them yet. You’ll see two sets of cables, one at the bottom of the hub, and two towards the top, don’t disonnect the bottom cable (it’s marked with a warranty sticker).

Carefully disconnect both of the cables at the top of the hub bu pulling the black bar towards the cable andout of the connector. It’s a delicate connector and you don’t need much force. Do the same with both cables, but careful to remember which cable does into which connector. Then reinsert both cables back into their respective connectors as far as they will travel inside and push the black bar into the connectors to lock the cables in place and flip the hub back and secure it back in with screws and attach the cooling bridge.

Reconnect the power cord and check if the screen is now working."

#5

@coverclock That was indeed me! Though the interface between the screen on the pi-top1 is different to the pi-top [3]. We made the change to prevent situations like @ClairelyClaire 's happening.

I’ll post an update back here once we’ve diagnosed the issue with this one
-Rez

#6

So, I did pop open the display assembly and verified everything is connected between the display, the backlight, and the hub board. I also peeled back the black film to make sure the cable was properly connected to the display.

#7

The suspense is killing me, was it properly connected?

#8

Heh sorry for not making that clearer! The LCD cable to the hub was slightly askew at first, and the cable to the display was fine. Fully connecting the LCD cable didn’t do anything.