Predator PH317-55 display problems: HDMI port stopped working and now Internal display has stopped

The HDMI port on my Acer Predator Helios 300 stopped working a couple of months ago and then the built-in display stopped working (completely blank, not black) last week. The laptop is just over a year old and is out of warranty.

I have already taken it in to one computer repair shop and they were unable to completely diagnose the issue. So I am posting my question here in the hopes that someone can offer some thoughts on what is the most likely cause of the problems I am having which will help me to determine if it is something a local repair shop can handle or if it needs to be sent in to Acer for repairs.

I have been able to confirm that both graphics controllers are capable of providing a display on external monitors and 2 of the 3 available ports work.

There are 3 external ports that can be used:
The Mini DisplayPort, connected to the NVIDIA GPU works fine with an external monitor
The HDMI port, also connected to the NVIDIA GPU (if I remember correctly) stopped working about 2 months ago
The DisplayPort over USB-C, connected to the Intel GPU, also works fine with an external monitor

The internal display, which I believe is also connected to the Intel GPU, stopped working last week. It is completely blank, as if there is no power to it. The repair shop opened the laptop up and confirmed all cables are connected properly and there was no visible physical damage to the display or the ports etc.

Here is the information on the laptop:
Model Number: PH317-55
Part Number: NH.QB7AA.001

BIOS Version: V1.14
CPU:
Intel Core i7-11800H
Tiger Lake-H
Motherboard:
Model: TGL RAV4_TLS
Chipset: Intel HM570 (Tiger Lake PCH-H)

Video Adapters:
1 integrated & 1 discrete

Integrated GPU:
Intel Tiger Lake-H - GT1 Integrated Graphics [ACER]
Chipset:
Intel UHD Graphics
Tiger Lake-H GT1
Driver:
Intel(R) UHD Graphics
30.0.100.9864

Discrete GPU:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop (GA104M/GN20-E5) [ACER]
Chipset:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop
GA104M/GN20-E5
Driver:
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU
27.21.14.6262 (GeForce 462.62)

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows 10 Professional (x64) Build 19045.3208 (22H2)

So my question, is: What is the most likely cause of these type of symptoms? Where both graphics controllers clearly are functioning for some connections but not all?

The NVIDIA GPU: the Mini DisplayPort works but the HDMI port does not
The Intel GPU: the external port, DisplayPort over USB-C, works but the internal port does not work (or at least the current internal display connected to it does not work. But I do not know if it is the connection or if it is the display itself that is not working)

Any thoughts or feedback on what the cause likely is, or suggestions on how to get it repaired, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Accepted answers

All comments

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/689494/predator-ph317-55-display-problems-hdmi-port-stopped-working-and-now-internal-display-has-stopped

If you get an external image from the "Mini DisplayPort, HDMI port and the DisplayPort and it works fine with external monitor" then the problem of your laptop is either a faulty eDP cable that its cables have broken from their plugs that go to the mainboard or screen or the actual mainboard or screen eDP plug is shorted/burned, as these two components are the major causes of why you don't get an image. The below are the eDP cable/plug and Screens for your PH317-55s laptop that you need to look at and/or replace, which I'm surprised that the computer repair shop didn't look at or relaced?

Note: before you do any work on the eDP cable and its plugs and/or the screen make sure that you FIRST DISCONNECT the main battery from the mainboard, as if you don't, you will cause damage to your laptop's graphics.

eDP cables - check which screen you have as the PH317-55 came with either a 144/165/240Hz refresher rate screens:

Check the eDP plugs 40 pin video connectors, if they are not burned/shorted at either the mainboard end or the screen end, shown below is the eDP plug at the screen end:

The below list is the LCD Screens fitted by Acer to the PH37-55 laptops, highlighted sections are the screen part number. The best way and if you need to replace the screen, is to see the exact screen part number that your PH317-55 has, and then match that number with a new screen, also and if you have a 144Hz/165Hz refresher rate screen, you can upgrade the top of the range 240Hz screens for better image quality, good luck and hope this solves your problem.

awali

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1220249#Comment_1220249

Thank you so much for all the info! I am really grateful for this as I was completely lost in terms of what to do next. I will examine the eDP cable and its plugs and get the exact screen part number in case I need it.

I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this answer and for taking the time to provide such detail to assist me. It helps me a lot.

Thank you and I will post back to report on my progress.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1220255#Comment_1220255

Its my pleasure to assist you and its even more rewarding when a community member like you awali is so grateful, thank you and anything else don't hesitate to ask, cheers👍😀

awali

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1220256#Comment_1220256

First of all, thank you again for your help.

I have been able to inspect the eDP cable and its connection to the motherboard and so far everything seems to be ok, but I still need to inspect the screen connection end. From the information on the parts you provided, I now know the part number for the cable and think I have it for the screen (need to confirm it):
cable is: 50.QB6N2.008
screen is: BOE NE173QHM-NY6 V8.0

Since every laptop seems to be slightly different on this, before removing the screen to inspect that end of the cable etc, I was hoping to find some step by step instructions with diagrams and/or video for my specific laptop. I am much more comfortable working inside of desktops than I am with laptops, and I would like to be sure I am following the correct steps for my laptop before I start (so I don't mess anything up!)

My laptop is PH317-55-77S4 (I can't believe I didn't notice that I hadn't included that full model number before - sorry about that!)

I haven't had much success finding what I am looking for and was wondering if you might have any suggestions on where I could obtain that information?

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1220255#Comment_1220255

Here is a PDF extract from the Predator Helios 300 - PH317-55 SG for the LCD Panel and eDP Cable Removal for your information, follow these steps and you can't go wrong. Just so additional info, when you get to the screen where the eDP plug is, check if the mainboard plug or the eDP is not shorted in any way and/or its pins are not damaged or the eDP cables power/data strands are not disconnected from the plug, as that happens with these wires as they are very delicate and small, good luck and hope you sort the problem out.

Predator Helios 300 - PH317-55 LCD Panel and eDP Cable Removal.pdf

awali

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1220495#Comment_1220495

StevenGen

Just wanted to say thank you for your help. It turned out it was the motherboard that needed replacing. I appreciate your help. It got me pointed in the right direction.

Thanks again.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1224858#Comment_1224858

No problems, glad to help you out. But be aware when you replace a screen, as allot of users think that you can just replace a screen of a laptop by just taking the bezel off and taking the screws and double sided tape off and disconnecting the screen plug and then reconnecting the new screens and plug and reglueing the new screen, which is WRONG and should NOT be done, as if you do that, you are going to cause serious damage to the laptops mainboards components like its chipset or gpu or cpu, so be aware of this!

I've seen laptop chipsets completely burned out like a bomb has hit them from a screen replacement that the user didn't disconnect the charger and main battery, as when you do this, the full 19.5v get injected into these components and they burn out. I hope that is not what happened to your mainboard. So always be aware of that with a screen replacement and if you are going to replace the mainboard and replace the screen on this laptop.

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