My LCD panel has gone blank! The laptop boots up fine, but the panel is blank
My Fujitsu Amilo M3438G LCD panel has gone blank! The laptop boots up fine, but the panel is blank. Upon close inspection, I can just about see the Windows XP login screen, although this is extremely faint. All is fine on an external monitor. I have noticed that pressing the Fn+F4 key combination to switch to an external monitor lights up the LCD for a fraction of a second. I assume this is a problem with the backlight not triggering when it is supposed to. I have taken the back off it but there is nothing obviously loose.
This has happened a few times in the past, but upon powering off then back on it has always sorted itself out. Oddly enough, in the past, it only seemed to happen when the power cable was connected but not turned on at the mains, although this could be a coincidence.
I have had this laptop for about 8 months (and so out of its 6-month warranty) and it stays at home, i.e. it does not travel!
I assume that the backlight itself is ok, since every time I press the Fn+F4 key combination it lights up, although briefly. As suggested here, I guessed it may be the ‘close-lid switch’ which has somehow got stuck in the closed position; however, I cannot find such a switch.
Just a quick update, I have now managed to take the LCD panel apart. I notice there are thin wires running vertically along the left and right sides of the panel (grey on the left, black on the right), connected to some small strips of metal. I wonder if this laptop uses a magnetic field to determine whether the lid has been closed as I cannot see a switch.
Could there be a problem here?
First of all I would like to mention two wires connected to small strips of metal you found inside the LCD panel. Most likely they are wireless card antennas and they have nothing to do with the backlight.
If you take a look at the generic notebook display assembly diagram, you’ll see that there are four parts that can cause the backlight failure: lid close switch, video cable, FL inverter board, CCFL (backlight bulb) itself. Let’s go through them one by one.
The video cable conducts data signal from the motherboard (video card) to the LCD screen and also provides power for the FL inverter board. I don’t think that you have a bad video cable because you still can see a faint image on the LCD screen and the backlight lights up for a second when you use Fn+F4 keys, so the power is coming to the FL inverter board.
I don’t think it’s the lid close switch issue because the backlight flashes sometimes. If it would be a stuck lid close switch, the backlight wouldn’t flash when you press Fn+F4.
Most likely it’s just a bad FL inverter board and you’ll fix the backlight issue if you replace the inverter. I guess it also could be a failed backlight bulb, but I would go with the inverter replacement first.
Here’s my suggestion. Open up the LCD panel again and reseat cables on both sides of the FL inverter board and the backlight still will not light up, replace the FL inverter board. Most likely that’s your problem.
Let me know how it goes.
June 29th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Having a similar problem with a del inspiron 1525. Boots fine, youre able to use it for a few minutes, but then backlight goes off. (You can see a faint outline of vista etc in the background)
It’s a curious problem because it always happens a few minutes after boot. Hibernating for example returns the backlight, for another few minutes.
The dell payed support guy said it was a boot problem, but i didn’t believe him so I didn’t fork up the cash.
Could there be a settings or a software issue at the core of this? Or am i screwed without my warranty…
Any help appreciated!
May 30th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
If you have a second computer it helps. The computer you are using hit the start button located between the crtl and alt key and U this will open your Narriratot so then you can hear what you are doing from there do a system restore.
I accidentally deleted my displays and this is how I did it.
March 8th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
hi. i have a dell inspiron 1525 laptop and i just recently replaced the motherboard on it and now the screen is black when i turn it on. The computer itself is running fine as i used an hdmi and hooked it up to my televison. Just wondering what your insight on what it could be with the screen? I was thinking the inverter but not sure
Thanks
February 12th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
sir good day i have a problem with my gateway mx6454, its restart its like overheating , i try to reformat it but unfortunately i did not finish my fomating cause it will restart , and underneath the laptap is very hot, can u help me what to do , thanks in advance ,
January 29th, 2009 at 2:26 am
My question is, if the laptop (hp pavilion dv6113us - windowsXP) display does come on fine but within a second or two goes dim (not totally blank, just faint display), and the same thing happens if I close the lid & reopen, what are the most likely culprits? I am sure its not power save settings, and this problem started after I accidentally dropped it from my lap. However, external monitor display works fine, and laptop’s own display works too initially, and it doesn’t totally blank out, but just dims indicating back light is coming on but not staying on. So I think we can definitely narrow it to parts within LCD. I got a (supposedly) new inverter from ebay and the result is exactly same as with my original. Of course chances are new inverter is also bad, but for a moment, lets assume its not the inverter, and as far as I can tell I don’t see lose connections, and the fact that though my display comes on and then goes off, its not totally random, or caused by movement, so may be I can rule out lose connections. Then whats left is the backlight (CCFL bulb), but can it really go bad such a way that it comes on and goes off within a second? I know regular FL bulbs have starting trouble if they are bad, but may be CCFL would have trouble staying on too if they are bad. I guess its worth trying to replace that too, but I read its not as s cheap or as easy as replacing inverter, so, appreciate if someone can take the guesswork out based on my descriptions, and point to the one most likely culprit I should try to fix next (& also how if its not straight forward).
January 19th, 2009 at 2:38 am
I have a problem with Sony Vaio - the screen sometimes flickers and goes completely dark. If i close and open the screen it usually starts working again. Eventually the problem will come back.
Any ideas or suggestions. I have tried a local repair shop but the screen never played up whilst they had it.
January 11th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Hello everybody,
i have Fujitsu “A series”
problem with me;
1. i opened my notebook , it runs fine
2. and after some minutes 10-15, my screen gets totally black. audio is fine but screen is black.
3. after that i made my laptop to sleep mode and when notebook logs, it works fine and again after 25 min the screen gets black.
the interesting part is , this happens when i am running my laptop in battery mode only.
Any suggestion,?
November 19th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
my laptop lcd flikker when windows xp boots, the lcd is working fine i chked with another system. i changed the invertor , same problem. the same lcd is working with another laptop. the laptop is working on externel monitor perfectely, i changed the lcd cable also same problem, whatdo u think the problem is can u please tell me what will be the problem, is the issue is with motherboard thanks & regards
November 13th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Sometimes the LCD Display Screen on my HP ze4900 laptop will go BLANK –looks black…When I move or adjust the Lid/display to a more upright position everything displays great.. until I try to lower the position.
I did unplug and reconnect the Video cable at the MB but nothing has changed. What next?
Thanks
October 30th, 2008 at 8:55 am
My son has a Toshiba Satellite A105-S4004. He was recently cleaning up old software on it. When finished it boots up but the screen remains blue/grey. The screen does come on but nothing shows. I hooked up an external monitor and it worked but all windows were lime green instead of std windows per the setting. I restored the unit to a safepoint in August. The screen now is normal but the LCD does not function. It is on, but windows does not appear. I can’t even see a vague image in the background. Toshiba can’t help, out of warranty and says it is hardware but can’t tell me what hardware.
September 3rd, 2008 at 7:25 am
Right, when i boot up my laptop every thing boots up as it should apart from my screen i know this because i can hear the hard drive spinning and all the correct lights flash but nothing happens on my screen. ive tried removing both the battery and the cmos battery and left them out for about 30 minutes, but still to no avail. i 1st noticed the problem after i was using microsoft word and everything crashed so i had to switch it off and tried rebooting it but the blank screen came on. ive also tried using an external monitor and shining a bright light to see if my back-light has gone but nothing has shown up. nothing shows on the external monitor either.
many thanks
August 29th, 2008 at 1:38 am
OK I have read all and I think it is the inverter. The site is informative.
July 25th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Hi,
I have a problem with Gateway MX7340,
while first boot,the screen flickers,
moving the screen away or towards you
will correct the problem,it is a ongoing
problem that persists,once the flicker has been corected,really is not much of a problem,till next boot,or if you adjust the screen,
Do you believe the pc monitor cable is the problem?
July 20th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Hi,
I have a similar problem with dell inspiron 8600 laptop. When I start the machine, it shows full screen of vertical lines of diff. colors for a minute or two. Then it is blank screen with one horizontal blue line at the bottom of the screen. (20% of this line is in white color). I can adjust brightness of the screen. The external monitor works fine.
Could you please help me determine the cause of this?
Thank you.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:03 am
so i put in the new inverter and it seems that after 20-30 minutes it goes on and works fine until i turn the computer off for a bit,then it wont work and i have to wait another 20-30 minutes. now it seems like the inverter is the problem. all of the inverters for my laptop were around $60-$70 except the one i bought, which was only $30. did i get what i paid for? garbage?
July 10th, 2008 at 11:10 am
i checked the lcd connection to the monitor then “wallah” it worked, until i shut it off.
so its
-the lcd to motherboard connection (cable itself)
-the lcd itself
-still a faulty inverter
have you ever seen this before? the lcd sometimes goes on when a cable/conection associated with it is adjusted or when the computer is bumped or just completely at random. i think its the lcd. i use this thing for music and i need it working ASAP!
thx
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:19 pm
yeah its still working from time to time. i turn on the laptop and nothing. i connect an external monitor and use that for a while and 1-3 hours later the laptop screen will go on by itself and work PERFECTLY until i turn it off. then it wont light up when i turn it back on but if i restart it instead of turning it off it will light up again.
one time i moved the laptop an inch at the right moment and it turned on and this time it just went on by itself.
crunk confused! need food!
June 29th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
i forgot to mention that i switched the new and old inverter back and forth and they both worked but only after the jolt or impact of inserting the clips of the molding made the lcd backlight work. so basically the new inverter and old one appear to be working.
June 29th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
hey FREAK!!!
i have had problems with my laptop (gateway mx7340) lcd flickering for 6 months. i found that by quickly pushing the screen forward or backward that the flickering would stop. eventually this became something i had to do quite frequently until a week ago when the lights just went out for good.
so i found an inverter online and put it in. nothing happened. so i took it out and put the old one back in and then the screen light worked and i thought “ok problem solved”. the next time i turned the laptop on (or even after it hibernates for a bit) the screen/backlight didnt work anymore. so i took it apart and checked the connections to the inverter and nothing. then when i was putting the plastic molding back around the lcd the snap of the plastic clips jolted it enough (or in the right spot) to make the lcd backlight go on again. this worked a few times and now not at all.
since then i checked all the wires i could see and they all seem fine and dont cause any change when lightly tapped.
so is it the backlight bulb?
or is it the connection to the motherboard?
is there a loose wire somewhere?
i cant seem to find a close lid switch. does my laptop have one?
an external monitor works just fine and i can see the images on screen with the aid of a flashlight.
any help is much appreciated
June 28th, 2008 at 11:13 am
My LCD on my dell inspiron 6000 went dark, but you could still see a faint image. It might of been the inverter but i replaced the entire screen and inverter with one I purchased on ebay. i replaced the screen myself and the lcd was working great for 3 weeks. then the screen went dark when I started it up 3 days ago. and it stayed dark. you couldnt see anything, not even a faint image of the desktop, it was just black. I used an external monitor for 3 days and now, today, i pressed the function button to switch back to the lcd and it worked and now im back on my laptop screen. im worried it will happen again. i have a 100 day warranty on the lcd from the ebay seller. should i get a new screen to replace it or do you think something else is going on? whats the usual culprit when the screen is completely black, with no faint image? you are really helpful, thanks a lot.
May 15th, 2008 at 4:42 am
I have a Satellite 1955 S 801 w/removable keyboard etc. I once got a grey and white (ghostly looking ) screen a few days ago. Then yesterday a blank (with dim 3-5% light ) screen taht returned to normal on reboot. Today it happened again and I needed to reboot 2 times.
It never went to just white. I did a system restore before finding your site and for now it is working ok.
I have a feeling that I will eventually need to change the FL inverter board.
My puter is not the same as the ones you show and I think I may have mistakenly tried to remove mask seals which were just lid stops.
Are the mask screw covers on my model in the middle bottom of the screen , below the toshiba Logo? Or are they at the far ends of the screen,at the same level with the Tishiba logo?
I do not want to pull out, or destroy the wrong rubber part.
Also does the fact that it is intermittent, mean I can leave it alone , and maybe get by without doing anything.
I have googled FL Inverters and they are listed as $79 so its not that easy a decision to make on a 5 year old 16 inch laptop.
TIA
Peter
May 13th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
justin tugaoen,
Yes, the motherboard still could be the problem.
May 9th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
So the motherboard could still be the problem even though I can get video on the external monitor?
May 7th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
justin tugaoen,
This is normal for some Toshiba laptops. When you unplug the video cable from the LCD screen it turns completely white.
It’s impossible to troubleshoot these kind of problems without spare parts but I think you have either bad video cable or bad motherboard.
May 6th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Hello again.
When the video cable is disconnected, the screen stays white, until I reconnect the cable.
I tried your suggestion with Fn+F5 and this indeed showed the desktop on my external monitor. As I pushed the above combination, the screens changed in the following manner: (laptop black; ext desktop screen)>>(laptop gray; ext black)>>>(laptop gray, different shade; ext desktop screen)>>>laptop black; ext desktop screen)>>>repeats.
Thanks for your help with this.
justin
May 1st, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Sandeep,
Did you notice if the screen gets completely blank? Can you see any data on the screen at all when it’s black?
Make sure you have the latest BIOS version installed on your laptop. I think your problem could be similar to this Toshiba laptop.
May 1st, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Justin Tugaoen,
Will it stay white for a long time if you keep the video cable disconnected? If yes, apparently the inverter and backlight lamp work fine.
I’m thinking maybe you have a problem with the video cable?
Can you get video back on the external monitor if you use Fn+F5 key combination? This combination switches video between internal and external modes. Hold down Fn and at the same time press on F5.
May 1st, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Phil Goetz,
If you think your problem is not related to hardware, then reinstalling Windows OS from scratch should fix it.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Hello ,
i haev also same problem. the only difference is that i get blank screen while i am watching movies.
While i use my notebook normally, the scrren gets blank quite rarely but when i am watching movies my screen gets blank frequently. i can hear the audio of the movie only the screen is black. and when i close my lid(sleep mode) and open it agian , the screen appears again.
i have Fujitsu “A series”.
If anybody have an idea whats going on, please let me know?
Thank you
April 27th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Hello, I’ve gone through all of the above but still have a problem. I have a Toshiba M55-s3315, about 2 years old. Worked perfect until about 4 weeks ago, when I turned it on screen was black, no faint pictures. I pushed power button until it turned off, tried turning it on a few times and it eventually turned on normally with a normal screen. Subsequently I haven’t been able to get it to work. I tried replacing the inverter (since it was easy and cheap) but to no avail. While laptop is on when I disconnect the lcd cable the screen turns bright white, when reconnected it’s black again. When I tried connecting an external monitor, the external monitor initially runs normally: First the “In touch with tomorrow Toshiba” screen shows then switches to Microsoft Windows XP screen for about 20 seconds, then the external monitor switches off to black/hibernate. The laptop screen stays black throughout. In one attempt at turning it on with the external monitor, I was able to go to safe mode, and this went all the way to my normal desktop screen (on the external monitor). At that point I went through system restore to Feb 1 and this seemed to restore normally…I went ahead to restart computer, and again the above happens, where the external monitor turns off after the WindowsXP screen comes on for 10 seconds. What’s the issue here, where I can’t even get the external monitor to work past that point, and yet be able to go through safe mode? My guess is it’s not just a laptop screen problem? Thanks for all your help.