[ltp] T40p Running out of video RAM?

[James Knott]

darian schramm wrote:
> I've got a strange issue. The other day my girlfriend accidently
> spilled some soda onto my keyboard. I immediately shut down, removed
> the battery, and flipped my thinkpad over to get what was left of the
> soda out. There was enough to pour out a little, but I don't think any
> actually got to any of the internal components. A few of the keys
> stick, but at least everything seemed ok.
> 
> Until today... My video seems to be flaking out on me. Everything
> looks fine with normal use, but if a lot of text runs through a
> terminal, or if I move a window around a bunch my screen jitters, then
> blanks out. I can run glxgears and xengine at the same time and
> everything looks fine till they stop, then the screen jitters out of
> control and blanks like its trying to catch up. The jittering looks
> like a horizontal blur.
> 
> I can make this happen by running dmesg twice right after each other,
> or grabbing a browser window and moving it around quickly.  The reason
> I'm wondering whether its a memory issue is that if I wait a while and
> try and do it again it takes longer than if I do it all at once.
> 
> I'm also starting to wonder if the issue has anything to do with the
> soda, and me just being paranoid and looking close at my machine made
> me discover it.  Is it time to use my warranty or is this something
> else?

It might very well.  The soda spilled on the system might be causing
leakage on the circuit board.  When drinks like that are spilled on
computer equipment, you should immediately rinse it with clean water
(preferably distilled).  Clean water won't hurt most equipment.  Soft
drinks etc. will.