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.
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?
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 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 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 10:40 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 10:34 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 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
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,
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 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!
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!
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?
October 30th, 2007 at 4:17 am
forgot to mention the laptop works fine when connected to an external monitor
Rgds
Kieran
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
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.
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 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 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 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.
August 26th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Tom,
I saw your comment on the other site and posted some suggestion there.
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
July 28th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Mike Mathews,
I think the LCD screen has been damaged and you’ll have to replace it.
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 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 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 22nd, 2007 at 1:27 am
Oh no, wrong link. Here you go again:
http://www.hk3d.com/temp/InverterReplacement.pdf
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 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 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 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?