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.
October 23rd, 2006 at 2:59 pm
Thanks for the response. I’m sure you are totally correct about those wires running either side of the panel, makes perfect sense.
It would be great to be able to prove it was the inverter without buying one! I did take a quick look on ebay but it came back blank (like my panel!). Maybe the inverter board itself has a part code on it so I can purchase one.
Cheers
Paul
October 28th, 2006 at 4:14 pm
Well, thanks for your help, and, I can happily say that my laptop is now fixed. It was, as you suggested, a faulty Inverter. I bought a new one for £5 ( 7.5 euros, 9.5 US Dollars) and hey presto!
So, once again, thanks for your help, this time last week I had never even heard of an Inverter ! Now, with your guidance, I have fitted a new one and bought a spare also, and all is well.
If anybody has trouble sourcing parts, inverters etc, especially for Fujitsu Siemens hardware, you could try here: http://www.servicesource.co.uk/default.htm
Cheers
Paul
November 13th, 2006 at 3:38 pm
I purchased my Toshiba Satellite 1135-S125 from a friend. He told me that it had an issue with the screen. Sometimes when you turn it on the screen is grey (the laptop still boots up fine). You have to turn it on and off a few times and shake it around a little for it to start working. So I figured the problem was with the LCD flex cable. So I opened it up, but the cable was firmly seated. I still tried replacing the cable, but that didn’t work either. When I would connect the laptop to an external monitor the picture would show up fine on it. The symptoms on the laptop started to get worse. The grey screens started to get more frequent. Then the screen turned white instead of grey. Now sometimes the screen stays blank when I turn it on. And sometimes the screen turns on but the backlight doesn’t work. I figured the problem was with the inverter board so I replaced that. Still the back light remains off. I can’t seem to figure out the problem with this one. I opened up the laptop everything is seated well. If its not a cable then why did the shaking make any difference? Thank you for any help, Eli Teigman
November 13th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
Eli,
Connect the laptop to an external monitor and set up the laptop to output video on both screens at the same time.
If the laptop LCD fails but the external monitor works fine, then most likely you have a bad LCD screen.
If both screens fail at the same time, then it’s the video card problem. The video card in this model integrated into the system board. If the video card goes bad, the entire system board must be replaced.
November 20th, 2006 at 12:53 am
Hi, whe replace mi ccfl bulb the panel works great for 2 o 3 days , now , whge start , the bubl goes on for 2 or 3 second and goes off….i try to replace conecctions and so many thing ….but the problem contiinue … its possible , the inverter board has dead with the new ccfl bubl?
any ideas?
Thanks
Waldo
Sorry for my prehistoric english…..
November 22nd, 2006 at 6:31 pm
I have a Toshiba M35X-S114 out of warranty which has not been dropped or jolted but has traveled under 10 times to the local Panera Bread for surfing. The problem is that today after a short trip out (I left it on but nobody was there to touch it or anything) I returned to find the screen black. After the shock wore off I removed the battery, unplugged and restarted it and noticed that I could see faint images in the background. After connecting an external monitor the display began working again. I detached the external monitor and it went black BUT after I clicked the lid close switch a few time it was on again of again intermittently. When I tried to access the internet it went blank again. After adding the external monitor it stays on without fail. What is wrong? Please help.
November 24th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
I have a Fujitsu N Series Lifebook that cost me a bunch. Just about a year after I bought it, my screen failed to come on. I could see it very faintly in dark light. Also, I could access the computer with another monitor. During the transfer to the external monitor, I would get a brief flash on the laptop screen showing the working screen, just before it appeared on the external monitor, much like Paul’s problem above. Fujitsu said they would remedy the problem, even after the warranty expired, but I was too busy to send my laptop to them. Way too much time has now passed, so I do not plan to ask them again.
But I was extremely happy to learn of the inverter, although I do not know what one is. I can build a desktop with no trouble, but I never messed with laptops. Can you give me a bit more information on the inverter and what the repair entails? Thanks, I am sure there are a bunch of Fujitsus with this problem. Also, any remedy for the supersensative keyboard? Jumps all over the place while I type.
November 25th, 2006 at 9:30 pm
Kendi,
I think you have a failed FL inverter board, the part that works as a power supply for the backlight bulb. The FL inverter board is located inside the display assembly and could be replaced if you remove the LCD mask.
November 25th, 2006 at 9:44 pm
Bruce,
Here’s a generic notebook assembly diagram. It will help you to understand what the FL inverter is. I work mostly with Toshiba laptops and can show you how to access a failed inverter on a Toshiba laptop example. I don’t think it would be much different for Fujitsu laptops. Here’s a website I dedicated to Toshiba laptop disassembly. Read through a few display disassembly guides and you’ll see how to get inside the laptop display.
November 26th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
Have a 3 yo Toshiba Satellite A15-S127. Display does not light-up. Can see Windows desktop images faintly by shining flashlight on the screen. Repair shop swapped out the inverter, but problem persists. Diagnosis: backlight failure. Is it possible to replace the backlight rather than the whole LCD? If so, where can I find the part? Cheers. CK
November 27th, 2006 at 6:23 pm
I currently have a failed backlight and am attempting to connect an external monitor. During startup the external monitor works and you can toggle between the two using Fn+F4. Once windows logs in though, the external monitor stops working. The screen is extremely faint, but given enough patience I can still navigate around. When I go into the display settings it does not give the option to select another monitor. The toggle key is unable to bring up the external monitor as well. Any suggestions on what I can do to remedy this problem? I’m currently more concerned with getting the external display working as opposed to getting the lcd fixed. Thanks.
November 28th, 2006 at 11:16 am
Chris Killion,
The backlight bulb is located inside the LCD screen and to replace the bulb it’s necessary to take apart the screen. I know that it’s possible but I’ve never done it myself. Toshiba lists two different FL tubs for Satellite A15 with the following part numbers: P000371180 (for 15” Samsung screen) and P000371040 (for 15” Sharp screen). I don’t know what the difference is and if these backlight bulbs are interchangeable but if you search on Google by the part number you can find a seller. I would recommend contacting the seller before you buy the backlight bulb, just to make sure that’s the part you are looking for.
November 28th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
Brad Sherman,
May be you have to choose a primary monitor in the BIOS setup? Enter the setup and see if you can see any settings for the display.
I think another way (as an emergency) would be unplugging the LCD video cable from the motherboard.
November 29th, 2006 at 4:46 am
Hi,
I have a Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo M1450G. The screen was dim so we replaced the inverter. The screen then worked for about 15mins but has now gone back to not lighting up the CCFL…
We have buzzed out the LCD cable, checked & reseated all cables and associated connections etc..
Any ideas as to what the prob could be?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Lee
Cool website by the way
November 30th, 2006 at 5:13 pm
Hey Lee,
Did you buy a used inverter, may be it was a defective part? I would try replacing it again. The screen worked fine for 15 minutes after the first replacement, so I assume that the backlight, video cable and motherboard is fine.
December 2nd, 2006 at 6:59 am
Hi there,
Very usefull site – keep up the excellent work!
I just bought a 2nd hand T30 and the backlight dies periodically. I think I have isolated it to the inverter but since the seller can still take it back I need to be (almost) sure it is not the bulb it self. Since I ot the T30 at a pretty good price I’d like to keep it if it is inly the inverter that needs to be exchanged.
I can now reproduce the error by turning up the LCD to max level, shortly after it goes out. Turning of the screen with FN+F3 and waking it up again turns on backlight again and if I dim the screen a little bit it stays on, no problems.
My question, can I be sure this is the inverter or could a failing bulb show similar behaviour?
Cheers!
Greetings from Denmark
December 2nd, 2006 at 8:49 pm
Jesper,
It sounds to me lake a bad inverter but you cannot be 100% sure until you run the laptop with a test inverter. How much time you have to return the laptop? You can buy one really cheap on eBay but it’ll take some time for shipping.
December 3rd, 2006 at 8:01 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite 1955-S801. It works fine when i use an external monitor and i have taken it completely apart and reseated every possible cable. I’m 99.99 % sure its the lid close switch. The screen flashes when i tap on the switch, but it doesn’t stay.
My question is, how do you properly clean it, or is there someway to bypass it?
Thanks in advance,
Philip Hayden
December 5th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
Philip,
You said that the screen flashes when you tap on the lid close switch. Most likely there is nothing wrong with the switch and you have a failed inverter board. I would try replacing the inverter first. Here’s an example on how to take apart the display assembly and replace the LCD inverter. The inverter is shown on the step 7.
December 7th, 2006 at 5:46 pm
I want to know if my Toshiba laptop 1135-S125 satellite is backlit or if it has lighting from the top, bottom or sides? If it’s backlit, is there a protechive film covering the back of the screen keeping the light from coming thru the back? I want to mod my laptop lid. Im thinking of cutting small holes or slots in it for what I want to do. I’d like to let the light from the screen shine thru these holes or slots. Is this possiable?
Thank you.
December 8th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
I have an interesting issue. When I open and close the panel for my laptop the LCD flickers on and off. Occassionally if I stop it will remain off and by moving the panel back and forth I can get it to turn on. This problem was preceded by the battery and power lights, which are on the base of the LCD display, flickering on and off as well.
Thanks in advance,
Eric
December 14th, 2006 at 9:17 pm
Sir please post a instruction how to replace Hp compaq invterter.. Thank You So much Sir…
December 15th, 2006 at 1:48 am
my laptop has also gone completely black, i can faintly see the icons and it loads up fine,.. Is there anything i can do without taking it apart? thanks in advance
alison
December 15th, 2006 at 6:05 am
Hi trying to troubleshoot a tecra a2 video problem. The screen is constantly white but when you bend the laptops chasis it fixes itself until u release it to the normal position and then the screen goes white again.. any ideas will be helpful
December 16th, 2006 at 7:18 am
Mark Burgos,
I don’t have instructions for replacing a screen inverter on HP Compaq laptops and I know that you will not find them on HP website either. I’ve created a few disassembly guides for Toshiba laptops and some of them show how to replace the inverter board. Read through my LCD disassembly guides and you’ll see how to access and replace the inverter. There shouldn’t be a lot of difference between HP and Toshiba laptops, they all have similar disassembly steps.
December 16th, 2006 at 7:23 am
Alison,
It’s a hardware issue, most likely you have a faulty screen inverter. There is nothing you can do without taking the laptop apart.
December 16th, 2006 at 7:32 am
Sammy,
It’s possible that you have a loose video cable. First of all, I would try reseating the video cable on the back of the LCD screen, it might help. I don’t have instructions for Tecra A2 but I have them for Tecra A3, they should be about the same. The video cable is pictured on the step 5. The connector is located under the yellow tape and when the connector is not seated properly, you might get a white screen. If the laptop is still under warranty do not open it, send it for repair to Toshiba or take it to a local service center.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
I have a Fujitsu LifeBook S-2010 laptop with the same situation as the Fujitsu Amilo above. The screen is really dark, boots up and can be viewed on an alternate monitor.
I took off the lcd mask and reseated both cables on each side of the FL inverter board, with no luck. Can you tell me where I can go to purchase an inverter board(used if possible)for my particular model or if there is a compatible board for my model. I’ve looked everywhere and the only prices I have found were over $200.00. Any advice or info would would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Leslie
January 12th, 2007 at 3:01 am
The solution at the top of this page thankfully worked fine on my Fujitsu Siemens L7300 (intermittent and finally total loss of power to the backlight – apart from when the screen is lowered to activate the switch, when it still briefly flashed power to the screen). Replaced the inverter and with just a little care taken removing the outer edge of the screen cover all’s good.
Good tip: To eliminate whether the problem is a faulty connection in the cabling is to keep the screen still and use a bit of paper to activate the screen switch (located just back from the power switch under the LCD) If its flickers when touched then it isn’t a connection/cable problem.
Thanks for your help!
January 15th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Hi there
I have a compaq r4000 with windows xp pro 2002.
My problem that has only just happened is that when the power cable is IN the the screen becomes DARK, when the power cable is out the screen becomes LIGHT. I assume you can see the fail in logic there. its very annoying when im photo editing.
I have gone into power manager but there is no option to amend this.
there is also no way to amend this in my bios.
thanks for any help
January 15th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
I have replaced the display in a Toshiba Satellite M35x. The screen had rainbow verticle stripes in it so I took it out and got the serial number off of the display and ordered a new replacement. When the red and white wires are plugged into the right side of the inverter board the backlight comes on and I get a white screen. When I connect the video cable to the back of the display the monitor is dark although I can see the image is all there if I look at it under a light. What would cause the backlight to go off when connecting the video cable?
Thanks,
Jack
January 16th, 2007 at 5:29 am
I have Toshiba Satellite P35-S609, and I also have a backlight problem. The screen has now gone black and I am using the computer with and external keyboard and monitor.
Is there a solution to this problem, please advise
Thank you,
Bill Hannon
January 16th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
Puck4001,
A few months ago I had to repair a Toshiba laptop with exactly the same problem. Man, I spent 2 hours playing with the power manager settings changing brightness for all power modes back and forth and it didn’t help. The BIOS didn’t have any settings for that either (some laptops have it in BIOS). I even installed a test hard drive and reimaged it with the factory restore CD but it didn’t help either. Finally I had to replace the motherboard, fortunately for my customer the unit still was under warranty.
If you don’t have any settings for brightness in BIOS or power manager software, you might have a problem with the motherboard. I hope not, but it’s possible.
I would probably try reflashing/upgrading the BIOS just in case. Please let me know if you find a solution for this problem. Good luck!
January 16th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Jack Carroll,
That’s weird. I know that it’s normal for the screen turn white (on Satellite M35X) when you unplug the video cable from the LCD, but I’m not really sure why the backlight goes off as soon as you plug the video cable back into the screen.
The screen is the same as the old one, right? I’m thinking if the screen is a little bit different it might have a compatibility issue with the old inverter.
With the old screen you were getting the image (with vertical stripes) and backlight at the same time, right? So I assume there is nothing wrong with the inverter board and video cable. May be your new screen is bad?
BTW, are you working on this laptop under warranty or it’s a cash unit? The laptop was purchased in the USA? You might be able to fix the laptop for free through Toshiba even though it’s not under warranty anymore, check out comments 7 and 8 in this thread. I hope it helps a bit.
January 16th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Bill Hannon,
Disconnect the external monitor and reboot the notebook. Take a closer look at the screen. Can you see a very faint image on the screen? It would be a regular image but very dim. If you can see it, most likely you have a bad FL inverter board. Open the display assembly and replace the screen inverter. Here are some inverter replacement examples.
January 17th, 2007 at 9:02 am
I found the solution. I ended up trying the FN F6 key which is the brightness control and the backlight came on. After rebooting, the screen would go dark again right after loading windows. I upgraded the bios and that fixed it.
Thanks for your help.
January 22nd, 2007 at 10:43 am
Hello, I have a dell xps m170 and I am having a problem with the monitor. I was playing some games last night and all of a sudden it went black but it was still on it did not turn completely off. The computer itself was also still on because I could hear the game sound. It did this twice last night and I let it set for around 20-30 mins and then it would work again. I figured it was due to overheating, but today I was just surfing the web and the laptop had been on for about 5 hours and then it did the same thing again. Now I have not gotten the screen to work. It has a glow but it is just black. I hooked up a normal monitor to it and it worked fine. I ran the diagnostics test and it found no problems but I do not know if that checks the lcd when I have it hooked up to another monitor. Any information would help .
January 22nd, 2007 at 4:42 pm
I took apart the xps m170 mentioned and reseated the video cable from the lcd to the motherboard. This did not help at all. Just to let you know there is no picture so i dont think it is the inverter because from what I have read if it is that there is a faint picture, I do not have even that. I tried to update drivers, and messed with the standby options. Nothing has worked so far. What step should I take first? I was figuring buying a video cable might be a good start or do you think that it is the entire LCD?
January 22nd, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Jerry Jones,
You still can see an image on the external monitor, so most likely there is nothing wrong with the motherboard and the graphics card works fine. You cannot see any faint image on the LCD, so probably it’s not a faulty inverter board.
I would also try reseating the video cable on the back of the LCD screen. If it doesn’t help, I would try replacing the video cable next. You have a chance to fix the laptop and it’s much cheaper than replacing the screen.
January 23rd, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Thanks Laptop Freak. I ordered a video cable online last night. After I get it in ill let you know how it is working. Thanks again!
January 27th, 2007 at 7:39 am
I have Sony VAIO laptop VGN-A170. Since three days ago, only very very very dim faint display on LCD (too dark to be even noticed) is visible, but the display to an external monitor is working. Based on the previous postings, I guess I have a FL inverter problem, right? If that is the case, I am looking for an instruction on how to replace a faulty FL inverter replacement on Sony VAIO VGN-A170. I could not find any in anywhere, incl’ Sony tech support site. Any help will be appreciated.
January 27th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Dan,
I’m not sure where you can find instructions for Sony notebooks. Here’s a guide for taking apart display assembly on a Toshiba Satellite A65 notebook. Steps 1-6 shows how to access the inverter board. Probably your Sony laptop requires same disassembly steps.
February 3rd, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Thanks. Just following up and also seeking for any recommendation from you…
The SONY VGN-A170 LCD deassembly was easier than I expected. I just needed to take out four screws on each corner then carefully pull the cover off. The inverter is situated in the bottom middle just like the Toshiba. So, I bought an used unit from ebay and it got delivered today. Well… I replaced the unit, but the same result… very faint display on the LCD. Am I missing something or this unit is a faulty one that I need to return?
February 4th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Dan,
In most cases you can fix a faint display by replacing inverter. In most cases but not all the time. Sometimes the same problem might occur because of a faulty backlight tube or bad motherboard. If you replaced the inverter board and it didn’t help, probably you have a failed backlight bulb or something else is wrong (bad motherboard, faulty cable, loose connection, etc…)
More advanced diagnostics steps are required to narrow down the problem. I usually connect my test backlight bulb and check if it lights up.
If you purchased a used inverter board, it’s possible you got a faulty one. If you have a lid close switch, make sure it’s not stuck inside and moves freely. When the lid close switch gets stuck inside, the laptop “thinks” the lid is closed and it cuts off power from the inverter board. As a result the backlight will not turn on even when the display is open.
February 5th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
I have a Dell Inspiron 8600. Dim/Dark screen.
Error message LCD INVERTER LAMP NOT DETECTED.
Is this a backlight or an inverter issue?
Problem started a while back when after coming off of standby or hibernation while on battery the LCD would be dark and rebooting was necessary to bring it back up again. yesterday the screen was dim/dark on boot up and it hasn’t come back. Diagnostics via Dell support came uo with the error message LCD INVERTER LAMP NOT DETECTED
Dell support advises replacement of display assembly for more than computer is worth. I’d love to replace the inverter if that is the problem but how hard is this procedure?
advise wuld be much appreciated
thanks
February 7th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
Randy,
I’ve never seen this kind of error before and have no idea what it means. This error mentions both the inverter and lamp, so I would assume it could be either of them. Probably I would try replacing the inverter board because it’s pretty easy and inverters are cheap. Here’s an example of replacing screen inverter on a Dell Latitude D610 notebook and here’s Dell’s instructions for Dell Inspiron 8600.
February 15th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
The laptop: Sony VAIO PCG-GRT100K
I have a client that is having problems with the display on their laptop. It is having the following symptoms:
***When the laptop is turned on the “VAIO” splash screen is flickering with a red tint.
***As soon as the “VAIO” splash screen goes away the backlight goes off.
***If I connect an external monitor the monitor shows the windows splash screen while windows is booting, but then as soon as windows comes to the “welcome” screen the external monitor turns off.
***When in Windows you can barely make out what is on the screen (backlight off)
***Once in windows hitting the “FN-F7″ button does not redirect the display to the external monitor.
***I don’t know if the laptop screen is doing what it is doing because of the backlight, or the inverter board. Or if this is a problem with the video “card” because it won’t go to the external monitor via the “FN-F7″ combo.
Please advise on how we can get this solved.
Andy Suarez
(847) 738-0249
andysuarez_at_realm249_dot_com
February 17th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Andy,
I think you might have a problem with the backlight lamp. I’ve published your questions and some suggestions here.
February 27th, 2007 at 10:25 am
Folks,
Toshiba Satelite, year 2006: At first the laptop booted up normally. After about six months it still booted but when connected to the internet by cable or wireless, the screen went black although the computer itself continuted to function. A month later it started booting with the screen black. Now if I trick the computer into thinkin there is an external monitor, the screen comes back on and works normally until the machine is shut off. I use the Intel Graphics Acceleator program to set the computer for an external monitor. I had to learn the sequence of keystrokes to do it in the dark. The computer is useable this way, but it is a real bother.
Thanks
Steve
February 27th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Steve,
Isn’t it still under warranty? I think you might have a faulty screen inverter.
March 2nd, 2007 at 8:01 am
Hi there Laptop Freak…
I am also a owner of a fujitsu/siemens Amilo M3438G and my screen is in total black
… i have triede to reattach all caples (unless the one back on the screen will i try right away) .. it boots up just fine and starting windows can i hear on the sound of windows … but the screen stayes black… if i remove the gfx card inside (yes in this compputer the card is just a slot card) the monitor becomes white just fine so i guess it works just fine … any suggestions on what it could be ?? do you think the gfx card is dead ??
i have looked all over for a new gfx card (Geforce go 6800) but not found any cheap one
thanks in advance
michael
March 5th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
Michael,
Attach an external monitor to the laptop and test the external video. If the laptop works fine with the external monitor and you can get video on it, probably there is nothing wrong with the graphics card. It’s still possible that you have a problem with the graphics card even though the external video works fine, but it’s not likely.
It tells me that there is nothing wrong with the backlight and screen inverter, because the screen lights up.
I think you might have a problem with the video harness or have a problem with the LCD screen.
I would try replacing the video harness first because it’s not as expensive as the LCD screen. It’s just a guess.
March 5th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Thanks fot the help so far…
I have tried to connect a screen to the dvi and even the tv output but nothing just the black screen on all 3 , (lcd,dvi,tv) and yes have tried to swap screens with the “F” key nohing happens … the only thing i know is that the machine boot`s up just fine starting windows normaly what i can hear on the sound of windows ….
you mention “video harness” ecxactly what and where is that ?? and where can i get one of theese ?
Best regards and hopefully i will find the help i need
)
Kindly
michael
March 24th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Hello, Laptop Freak:
Hope you could help me on this. I am using a Dell Latitutde D505 laptop computer. It boots up well, with the Windows sound coming out, but the LCD panel is very, very, very faint and dim. Whatever you think the problem is (faulty screen backlight and screen defective inverter board,failed motherboard, backlight lamp or tube, video harness), please give me a no-brainer step-by-step set of instructions. I appreciate your kind help to everyone!
April 29th, 2007 at 7:37 am
Hello,
I have a Toshiba laptop…Satellite A105-S4201
All of a sudden screen is black, everything else seems to be running. Thanks, Kim
May 18th, 2007 at 11:48 am
hi,
if your inexperianced at fixing backlight bulbs please dont. can i just add that on some/most laptops i work with after replacing inverter boards at no success the next stage i consider would be to check the bulb wiring/ chaffing on metal case due to movement ive found this on most toshibas/ inturn leads to bulb renewal aswell a job not for the nervouse.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:54 am
again,
the bulb wiring is sealed in the lcd panel itself and can be tricky to locate, id like to think all my screen isues were inverter boards, but sometimes they are not, please be wary of the externall monitor method aswell due to the mobo on some laptops use a independent display adaptor which inturn doesnt condone the faulty adapter used by the lcd.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:56 am
last but not least,
so now you know that you cant rule anything out good luck
June 19th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
I have a Toshiba P15 series notebook. A week ago the screen went blank when I tap the keyboard to inactivate the screen saver. The computer worked fine when attach to an external monitor, and its still blank even when I try to switch between the desktop monitor and the LCD screen. The backlight of LCD screen still work as I can still control the brightness with the function key. Therefore, I think its not the inverter problem. I bought another video cable from ebay and it still doesn’t work. Is there a way to tell if the problem is really from the LCD screen itself without having to buy another LCD screen just to test it out? Your help will be greatly appreciated.
July 8th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
My old Sony PCG-FX220 has been around the block for a few years about four years ago the screen went blank I called Sony and paid for one of there technician to walk me though a few things but nothing work so I took it into Greek Squad for repair, a thousand dollars later they told me that the motherboard had to be replaced it worked fine until one night about six months later I had left it plugged into 110 AC to charge the battery and in the middle of the night it exploded nothing seem to be hurt but the plastic case so I purchased a used case off of ebay from about four different sellers now the screen is blank again what could it be, before I forget I tried running the recovery cd’s but I cannot see the screen when I needed to push the keys on the keyboard and I also called Sony technical again they even remember me from so many years ago everything they told me to do I tried it, no luck (not even the reset button helped) I even changed the inverter out from the plastic screen case it came with the LCD screen case that I purchased off of ebay.
Thank you
Dan Paul Williams
341 County Road 134
Athens, Tennessee 37303
July 11th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
I have an IBM T40. The screen stays on for about 5 seconds and goes out. If I push the closed lid button it turns on for 5 seconds and goes out. If I push swith to extra monitor keys it does the same. It does the same for standby mode keys. If I use an extra monitor the extra monitor stays lit just fine but the laptop lcd goes out. I have replaced the inverter card 3 times. What can the problem be?
July 12th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
CBent,
It sounds like you might have a problem with the backlight lamp. I think you’ll have to replace the whole screen or attempt replacing just the backlight lamp (not easy at all).
July 13th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
My old sony laptop model PCG-FX220 does not light up when the power button is pushed, I have my LCD screen out of its plastic case I need to know how to replace the bulb in it can you tell me please, after I unpluging the invertor the only wires coming out of the screen are a lite blue and I beleive a gray wire about a 24 gauge they both are connected to one plug that I unpluged out of the invertor can you help?
Thank you
July 16th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
Hi,
The LCD of my GreatQuality laptop, model Green320 (MX-3202) does not light up. When I boot the laptop, I can see the screen faintly when I hold it up to the light. It seems to work fine but i can’t see what I’m working on. I bought it 2 years ago but this problem started some weeks ago when I used it on a 17.5KVA generator set in my office. Could it be a power surge that caused the problem? Please what is the right amount of voltage that I can use on my laptop? I don’t want this problem to occur again after I fix it. Please tell me how to fix this problem as soon as possible. Thanks.
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:27 am
Oh no, wrong link. Here you go again:
http://www.hk3d.com/temp/InverterReplacement.pdf
July 24th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Hello,
I Recently replaced a broken screen for a client on a vgn-fs790 Vaio Laptop. It worked fine. After about 7 days the boot screen and Bios is fine but in windows the screen went gray . After checking the video settings and removing hibernate the screen returned to normal and worked well until the next morning. I did not see but, the client explained that the system booted and the image was ’shaky’. after the boot completed the screen was gray at the top and bottom edge with a white horizontal band across the screen.
By the time I got there (1hr later) it was fine again and working perfectly. Many reboots, checked power settings, put system on battery and light taps on the side of the screen but I could not get the problem to manifest again.
This is a brand new screen and a part number match to the original, the broken screen worked while it was on the system. What could be the problem? Could cables be slack?
July 24th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Leslie Gray,
It’s hard to guess until you can reproduce the problem and test the laptop with an external screen. It is possible that you’ve purchased a defective screen or this laptop has another issue.
First of all, I would check the video cable on both ends and make sure they connected properly. After that, connect an external monitor and set the laptop to output video on both screens. Test the laptop and hopefully you’ll be able to reproduce the problem. If both internal and external screens fail the same way, most likely the video failure is not related to the new LCD and something else is going on with the motherboard or video card.
If the external monitor works fine and only the internal video fails, your problem somewhere inside the display assembly. Check cables and after that contact the seller and replace the LCD screen.
July 27th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
my gateway mx6454 took a 1 foot fall.after the fall i turned it on and 2/3 of the screen,when i first boot up stays grey with some lines. as it boots the lines and the lighter grey area around them starts to go white.once windows loads the top 1/3 of screen works perfectly but the bottom 2/3 stays completly white.ive reset the connectors on the mobo, inverter and back of lcd and nothing.also if i hook up an external monitor it works just fine.
July 28th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Mike Mathews,
I think the LCD screen has been damaged and you’ll have to replace it.
August 23rd, 2007 at 3:27 am
Hi Laptop Freak,
First, thanks for your site and suggestions. I like your simple yet informative explanations.
I have a Fujitsu A6020 just purchased new about a month or two ago. Occasionally, when I power up the laptop, the screen appears off for a few seconds, and then I see a slightly lighter blank screen. This is the point where I’d normally see the BIOS copyright and boot screen. Nothing happens after this point.
If I turn the system OFF and then ON several times in a row, it seems to eventually start up with a blank dark screen but then the expected lighted screen with the BIOS copyright text. However, it seems to be getting to the point of taking more and more OFF/ON attempts before it boots correctly. I have to turn it OFF and ON many many times and eventually it seems to work.
I haven’t broken it down to something specific that I do to get things working. I’ve tried unplugging the power, the battery, and while those things sometimes seem to coincide with things working, there’s nothing concrete and repeatable. I’ve also done those willy nilly things and still the screen is black and then a lighted black (without text) while I try turning it OFF and ON over and over. Eventually, though, if I keep trying, it boots and shows the BIOS boot screen.
I think related to this problem is this: When the operating system is fully booted, and I close the lid, or the system goes to sleep, it never ever seems to show the screen again. As before, the screen is not pitch black. It goes from pitch black to a lighted black but it remains blank, no bios copyright appears.
The problem with sleep seems to always happen. Once again, if I power on, it goes from pitch black (off) to a lighted black and the system does not resume. If I want to try doing the power ON and OFF thing, I end up shutting down the sleeping OS which is lame as you can guess. Because of this, I don’t consider “sleep” to be an option which is further lame. I tend to either always turn off the unit or I go to hibernation. When I resume from power off or hibernation, I get the same results of a blank screen without light for a few seconds, then a lighted-black screen that is basically blank. (When I say lighted blank, I do not mean white, but I mean the difference between a completely OFF screen and one that appears to be ON but black. I’m calling that “lighted-black.” It appears to be more ON than when it was just black/off but there is no graphics or text. As usual, if I turn the unit OFF and ON over and over, the system eventually goes to a normal resume where I can see things. For hiberation, it resume from hiberation just fine.
With all of the above, the problems seems to have gotten worse. It seems to take more and more OFF and ON steps. Each OFF and ON step always goes from black/off, to a lighted black/blank, and eventually when I’m lucky, I get a BIOS boot, or resume or whatever is normal.
One other note: I have PGP Whole Disk Encryption (WDE) installed. That modifies the MBR and boot so that the WDE password screen is displayed first. This allows WDE to know how to decrypt drive contents so that it can resume with the Windows boot. Since the BIOS gets first shot upon boot, and since that’s what I should always see (the copyright), I don’t see how WDE could be affecting the display in this fashion. But until I investigate, I don’t want to assume, so I mention it for whatever it’s worth.
On final item relating to PGP WDE: Since the first screen displayed after the BIOS is the WDE password screen, when I do my OFF and ON attempts to get the display to work, I think it’s booting and going to either that screen or something. If WDE isn’t related to the cause, I guess WDE’s presence is a sort of a blessing in disguise because it means the system will not start doing a full boot while I cannot see the screen – when the screen is a lighted/black but neither the BIOS copyright nor the WDE password screen is visible.
Please excuse that I mention its lighted blank, but I see the other suggestions you offer, and when I see the screen go from black without light, to a lighted black, it makes me think the backlight is working but that some other thing is messed up. There’s nothing glitchy and when it works, and the OS is running, it doesn’t go blank or anything like that. It is a odd problem to me.
Do you have any thoughts on this?
Regards,
Tom
August 26th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Tom,
I saw your comment on the other site and posted some suggestion there.
September 20th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
My laptop displays a very dull green/grey screen when started. It doesn’t change throughout the boot up process and theres no ghost desktop. An external monitor works, and when toggling to an external monitor the dull green/grey on the laptop screen goes to black (like it would look swicthed off).
I’ve used a test invertor and replaced the cables running to the LCD screen, and the result is the same.
Any ideas about this one as it seems its not the invertor. Could it be that the whole LCD screen has failed?
Any help would be much appreciated.
September 20th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
James Coleman,
I’ve published your question and some suggestions here: Laptop display very dull and has no image
September 22nd, 2007 at 5:13 am
Hi,
I have bought a Fujitsu Amilo Siemens laptop/notebook in the Uk a few months ago. I now live in Australia, and suddenly for no reason, the LCD screen goes blank but i can still see a faint image. It comes on and goes off, but more so just recently. From what i have read i’m wondering if it’s the inverter board? (It worked fine for some time here in Oz, before it went wrong!)
I went to see a bloke in a computer shop, but he recons it’s the LCD screen. What can i do? I need it to keep in touch with People, and i have no warranty, as i have moved country. Please help! Thanks Shirley Peace
September 28th, 2007 at 9:21 am
I am having the same problem with my Dell computer. The thing is, mine is a desktop, not a laptop. However, this is the only place I could find a similar problem. Everybody else says their screen is completely black or something. Anyway, I got up and went to the computer and suddenly the screen had gone black. But after closer examination, I realized that the screen was not totally black, but I could faintly see the icons, etc. in the background. It was almost like the brightness was down all the way on the lcd, but when I tried to brighten, nothing happened. I have asked around and been told I needed a new monitor, no I need a new video adapter, no I need a new graphics card, no I just need a whole new computer—I don’t know what to do, help!!
September 29th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Kathy,
You have LCD monitor, right?
I think your screen is dark because it has a failed inverter board. This part is located inside the monitor and works as a power supply for the backlight lamp. When inverter fails the backlight stops working too and all you get is a very faint image. Another possibility – you have dead backlight lamp, also located inside the monitor.
So, I think your problem is somewhere inside the monitor and it’s not related to the computer itself. I guess you’ll have to buy a new LCD screen, these days it’s cheaper to buy a new screen then fixing the old one.
October 30th, 2007 at 3:13 am
Hi
I have a dell inspiron 8600 which is about 3 years old.
I then changed the graphics card which didn’t work. Any suggestions? I think the inverter is built into the screen I bought so have no idea. Thanks Kieran UK
One day the backlight went. I could barely see the desktop icons in the background. If I rebooted it would be ok, but then after a few seconds it would go black again. Someone suggested to buy a screen from ebay. I did this and this still hasn’t worked
October 30th, 2007 at 4:17 am
forgot to mention the laptop works fine when connected to an external monitor
Rgds
Kieran
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:24 am
I too have a screen problem. At first I was thinking that it was the inverter because the screen suddenly went out when I was working on it. You can still see the faint log in screens etc. and it works if you hook it up to an external monitor. In focusing on the screen I forgot to notice that the computer no longer recognizes when it is closed and continues to stay on. Prior to the screen going going dim, if you closed the lid it would go into sleep mode. Is it possible that I lost a connection inside and thinks that it is closed all the time so it does it supply power or light up?. I sent it in for repair and Hp sent it back saying that they tightened screws on the motherboard I believe. It worked for less than a week before the same problem started. Any ideas?
January 29th, 2008 at 6:41 am
Hi, I’ve a FJSiemens Amilo ProV2010, I just replaced the inverter because I could see a very dull display and when I pressed the FN+F4 key it lit up for a second. Now it doesnt even do that and when I put the original inverter back in it still doesnt do that anymore? Display still works on an external monitor. Any ideas what the problem is? Should I be able to use a multimeter to measure a high voltage from the inverter o/p if it works ok because I’m getting very low voltages when I do that? The one I bought was from inverter central.com and doesnt quite look like the original? Help please!
February 17th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Please help me.
I recently purchased a replacment screen for my Sony Vaio VGN-A215M. The screen I took out
(cracked) was a Hitachi TX39D80VC1GAA with the numbers 4103C 50373 in a black box with Rev A
underneath. The screen I purchased had the same model number but 5051C 04401 Rev D in the
box below the model number. The supplier assured me it would be compatible, and I could
find no information on what the numbers below the model number meant – I guessed maybe a
serial number. No where gave me information on the meaning of Rev A or Rev D either, so I
took the advice and fitted the screen.
I fitted it to my laptop, and the connections are perfect and when I switch it on, it comes
on for a few seconds, but then the backlight goes off. I know it works because if I hold a
light to the screen I can see the screen working, but the backlight is off. This happens
every time I switch it on, and nothing seems to fix it.
To check if the inverter was faulty I plugged my cracked screen back in, and it works
perfectly. When I plugged the new screen in, the exact same thing continued to happened –
on for a second, then backlight goes off.
I have a suspicion it might be something to do with the graphics card not recognising the
new LCD – but I cannot find info anywhere that might back this up… or info on flashing the
video memory. Would flashing the bios help? Sony Vaio’s website has no information on
flashing the bios, could anyone give me any advice on this?
I would have thaught that if it was a faulty backlight, then it would not come on at all?
Would I be right in this assumption?
If someone could give me adivce on this I would much appreciate it… and please don’t
advise me to replace the inverter because the original LCD works fine on that inverter!
I have also tried to press Fn then external display, I have scoured BIOS for power saving
options etc. but to no avail
Thanks for your advise guys
I am very grateful!
February 27th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Dear Laptop Freak. My Fujitsu N-Series has display problems as the display “scrambles” or flickers when on D.C. power, and sometimes on A.C. as well. If I move the display around a little bit or tap it on the frame it solves the problem for a while, but then comes back. I’s a lovely display, I just wish I could resolve this problem. Any help would be appreciated.
February 28th, 2008 at 6:18 am
I have a Compaq 2100. The screen is totally black. No faint image. When I connect it to an external monitor, it works fine. Is it the LCD flex cable?
Thx,
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:37 pm
I have Toshiba 2435 -S255 Laptop, from two weeks i have send it to a non certified service center to check the sound line-out problem, but they didn’t know how to fix it, anyway after two days from the service, when i started my laptop the backlight of LCD worked for like two seconds then turned off, i went back to them and they said to me it is FL – Inverter problem, so they replaced it, which fixes the problem, but after that i have this wired problem when i shutdown the laptop by removing AC adapter & Remove the battery (the non traditional way), the backlight stopped working, but when i shake the laptop a little & start the laptop the light works back again, So anyone have any idea why when i shake it, the light works? this is really confused me!!!!!!???? Adam
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Yannis,
If the old screen works fine, there is nothing wrong with the laptop hardware (motherboard, video cable, inverter board). Either the new screen is not compatible with your laptop or it has a faulty backlight lamp.
You don’t have to replace the inverter board. If it works with the old screen, there is nothing wrong with the inverter.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Steve,
This might be connection related issue. I would reseat the video cable connections on the motherboard (or video card) and on the back of the LCD screen. This requires laptop disassembly and if you don’t know how to do that, I would recommend taking your laptop to a repair shop.
Test the laptop with an external monitor? Does it flicker too? If the external monitor flickers the same was as the internal LCD, you may have a problem with the motherboard or the video card if it’s a separate module in your laptop.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Eugene Rudkevich,
There could be many different reasons.
1. The laptop video stuck in the external mode. Try switching video between external and internal modes by using Fn+F4 key combination.
2. The video cable got disconnected from the motherboard. Make sure it’s connected.
3. Bad video cable.
4. Bad motherboard.
There is no simple answer to your question. Try 1 and 2 first.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Adam,
Sounds like a connection related problem, apparently one of the cables or cards is not seated properly. In this case it’s necessary to open up the laptop and reseat all connections and cables.
March 21st, 2008 at 6:50 am
Hi,
I’ve just installed a new screen on my dell inspiron 9300, to begin with i could hardly see a thing so I changed the invertor board and the brightness did improve but it’s still quite dark, I’ve spent ages messing around on the power options and I can’t find anything that will make it any brighter. Should I change the invertor again or do you think the bulb has gone?
Cheers
Ruaridh
March 24th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
Everybody is saying these are hardware problems. I have an IBM Thinkpad X31, and the screen has gone blank, and it’s not a hardware problem. It started when I somehow got the computer into 800×600 mode by pressing an undocumented magic button sequence, and then tried to get it out by pressing fn-F7, and then shut the computer off while it was still trying to switch video modes.
On an IBM Thinkpad, if you connect or disconnect an external monitor while the computer is in suspend mode, the backlight is turned off permanently. There is no known way to turn it back on that I can find. This seems to be the same problem that I’ve triggered. It’s not a hardware problem.
It may be possible to turn the backlight on using a Linux device driver, but I can’t boot to Linux, since I can’t see the screen except by booting to Windows and viewing on an external monitor.
Any help?
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.
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
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.
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 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 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 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 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 13th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
justin tugaoen,
Yes, the motherboard still could be the problem.
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
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.
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 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.
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!
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 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 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 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?
August 29th, 2008 at 1:38 am
OK I have read all and I think it is the inverter. The site is informative.
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
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.
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
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
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,?
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 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).
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 ,
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
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.
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!
July 29th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Hi
Re. Previous Post: ‘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.’
I have a similar problem with Fujitsu Amilo Laptop. Screen is fine until I open it more than 45 %. Fine all the time on an external screen.
Any suggestions? How to I get access to the inner parts?
Thanks
March 6th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
i have just replaced the backlight ccfl and inverter in a dell inspiron 6000 afterwards the screen lit up great and all looked great but after i replaced the bezel 5 min later the screensaver came up then the screen went black and i couldnt get the light back on any ideas what the issue might be?