4820TG 1900x600 screen BIOS hack needed

Anybody wanna help me hack the BIOS / vBIOS on my 4820TG to get a 1600x900 screen working? I got ubuntu and win7 on it, so whichever is better for doing the job...

 

1. It is 1600x900, not 1900x600.
2. Post of a photo of what is wrong with the screen at the moment
3. Acer Aspire 4820/5820 has InsydeH2O (AKA InsydeH20 or Insyde). You need to look for Insyde BIOS modders.
4. Here is ATI vBIOS mod tool that I found RBE - Radeon BIOS editor. It doesn't seem to have the options needed. Perhaps it is possible to contact the developers?
5. Some information that might be useful:

 

Thanks! I changed the title at least. I'll try and get a picture of it, but I've got work to do tonight and can't disassemble the laptop just now. Just imagine that every other pixel, horizontally, is black. Res is 1600x900 according to windows and ubuntu.

When I get some time tomorrow or the next day I'll plug the 1600x900 panel back in and get a picture.

Meanwhile I'll trawl through the various threads you've linked and see what I can find.

 

By the looks of things 4820TG uses single LVDS interface so you can't use a screen with resolution above 1400x900.
I don't think any kind of mod will help- if it's every other picsels/line visible it means you're using single LVDS instead of double LVDS.

 

The problem is the single LVDS port implementation.

You can simple check the clock signal of the 2 channel. Have a look at page 16 on the link.

 

no more updates? =(

 

I want to see someone put a better 13" int he 3820tg like one from the samsung 9 laptop or Sony vaio SB

 

The display from the Samsung 9 could fit inside the Acer. Also the Sony could work.

Be the first and try it.

 

Sorry, haven't had a lot of free time. I need to get teh bios disassembler downloaded and see if the BIOS has settings in it for 1600x900 or not.

 

I don't think so, because the hardware doesn't support it.

 

Hi Sxooter,

from my experience it is possible to add the second lvds line to the existing lcd cable. I have done a mod of an AS4315 cable to support a 1440x900 screen. I followed a recipe posted on Instructables - Make, How To, and DIY, where someone modified a different acer cable to support a higher resolution screen. All you need is a couple of spare screen cables, patience, a calm hand, a multimeter and a bit of logic thinking. The AS4315 cable was different to the one in the instructions, but with the help of the multimeter and a lvds layout, I was able to figure out where to add the additional wires, taken from another lcd cable. You might want to get a couple of the proper lcd cables in case something goes wrong. This is a destructive process for at least one of the cables. This works well for cables made of individual wires. If you have a printed cable, you are prbably out of luck. You will have to join Instructables.com to gain access to the files. just do a search for Acer and something should come up. I have a look if I still have the pdf as I don't own the as4315 anymore.

Good luck, have a read of the article on instructables and don't blame me if something goes wrong.

 

I think I found what brotsack was talking about:
The WXGA to WUXGA LCD cable mod PT1 - seen here first!
The WXGA to WUXGA LCD cable mod PT2 - seen here first!

On a side note, I found where you can get 4820 schematics ($12.50) Could be useful for other mods, perhaps?
Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820T schematic – ZQ1 Motherboard schematic

 

The schematics reveal that channel B is simply not connected.
U35D routes the eight signals to "T" labeled ports. I have not yet looked for these ports on the motherboard, but it is conceivable that they are accessible for a little soldering work.

It would be great to have a map of the motherboard (the silk screen layer with connector diagram ) but I will make usable photos the next time I rip apart this baby.

My current strategy is to

• Find an Acer with a higher resolution in the same series ( [567]xxx ? ) and check if there is a usable cable
• Find the "T" ports on the motherboard
• Find the corresponding signals on the earlier pointed out 1600x900 panel
• Find a way to connect and route eight leads (there is not much room available and thickness must be considered)
• Solder the extra leads
• Test the computer with the standard screen
• Order a new panel
• Replace the panel
• Hope

Seriously, I expect the routing of cables to be the biggest problem. This is a quite small computer.

brotsack:

It would be nice to have that PDF document. Any luck in finding it ?

Ah well, back to work; there'll be time for daydreaming later.
BTW, +1 rep to you all for getting me started. Lots of fun hardware hacking will follow for me at least.

//

 

Update...

I have inspected the schematics and now I have little or no hope at all to do this upgrade. The main culprit seems to be the dual graphics.

Acer has simply not had this planned at all. The internal switching circuitry operates on a single channel, which would force the installation of a second switch. Even so, we would need to access the second channel on the Radeon card. The Radeon chip has these pins unconnected, and since it is close to impossible to access the pins, we will not be able to make an upgrade to dual channel panels.
The entire TimelineX series has this feature - HD resolution with no planned option to upgrade.

This is sad, because when I purchased my 4820TG, I really expected to be able to perform this upgrade. The HD resolution offers too few pixels for working with images IMHO.

My findings reveal that the upgrade should be theoretically possible on 4820T (with only internal graphics), so we may yet see some brave soul hack their hardware.

Ah well. I will be much more careful when selecting the next 14" notebook. Until then, this baby is all but perfect.

//

 

aww, that mean no 1600x900 for 3820tg either.

 

Hello bekkra

I'm looking for screen upgrade for my 4820. Your posts are very informative and now I'm ready to try adding second channel.
Could you send me the motherboard schematics if you still have it.

Thanks!

 

Is it possible to upgrade to a 1440x900 pixels screen? Or even in this case a second line is needed ?

 

The short answer is "No", "Should not".

The 4820 TG accomodates an LCD panel in 16:9 - 1440x900 is 16:10.
To add such a panel, you would have to modify the quite delicate lid assembly. Then there would be a risk of the BIOS not recognising anything else than HD, because it is so in the design of the machine.

So basically, choose an other laptop for higher dpi.

//