LCD screen went dim and I noticed a high pitched noise coming from it
I have a Toshiba P35-S611 (bought a little over a year ago and warranty done). I am having similar LCD problems like a few others where the screen has gone dim. It started one day when for some reason it went dim and I noticed a high pitched noise coming from it. I turned off the laptop immediately. I waited a while then turned it on and it looked fine, but then went dim again the noise came back. Now I can’t even turn it on, just starts dim with sound. I am pretty sure it has something to do with the screen. When I tried playing around with the little knob (the one that when you close the screen turns the screen off), I found that whenever I press it the screen goes black (even more so ) and the noise stops. If I rapidly press the knob I can even sometimes get the screen to flicker to normal brightness. I tried plugging it to a monitor/external LCD and it works fine with no noise problem. While I can get by with using a monitor for now, I still need a laptop and not a fancy desktop, also my screen is a 17” (true bright) and no external screen will give the same resolution quality. I am thinking it might have something to do with the converter but haven’t heard any talk about a high pitched noise also. When I shut off the screen (hibernate or sleep by closing the lid) the noise stops, and it works with an external.
While scanning through the internet I ran across a forum where a person said that high pitched noises usually come from a part of the laptop that is either getting to much or not enough power. I am not sure if this would help, but I am thinking, there might be a connection. The screen isn’t working but the inverter/converter (whatever it is called) connecting the screen to the laptop is still getting the full power supply.
I think that you might have a faulty FL inverter board. Take a look at the laptop display assembly diagram. The backlight bulb lights up when it’s getting enough power form the FL inverter board. The inverter board acts as a power supply for the backlight bulb, it converts low voltage DC power to high voltage AC power. If there is something wrong with the inverter board, the backlight will not light up. I think the high pitch noise is coming from the FL inverter board and I would try replacing this board first. Here’s guide for taking apart the display assembly on a Satellite A65 laptop. It’s not for your laptop, but all steps should be pretty similar. If you follow steps 1-6 you should be able to replace the inverter board yourself. If you are not confident, take the laptop to a repair shop because you can damage it.
BTW, when you have a faulty display inverter board, you still should be able to see a very faint image on the laptop screen. Can you?
November 29th, 2006 at 8:35 am
Yes, I can still the desktop screen, although it is very faint and dim.
December 1st, 2006 at 6:19 am
I found your sight very helpful in repairing my son’s m35x motherboard when his dc in broke off. If I could make a suggestion however, if you could add arrows to the points of interest ie: screws/cables, when saying to remove them that would be very helpful.
Thanks and keep up the great work.
Tom
December 1st, 2006 at 8:45 pm
Tom,
If you click on a thumbnail, you’ll get a bigger image where all screws/cables are already marked as you suggested.
December 6th, 2006 at 12:57 pm
Hello, I am the person with the P35-S611 with the dimmed LCD and high pitched sound (first post in the thread). I did what you suggested and bought a new inverter. The laptop works perfectly now. The screen is as vibrant as ever and the noise is gone. Thank you very much for the help. You site is very informative and your solutions are accurate and easy to follow. When I spoke with Toshiba, they said it is mostly like a LCD issue and would have to replace the whole screen; would cost about $400 (not shipping and extra expenses) and takes 3-4 weeks. You wear able to diagnosis the real underlying problem and give a real solution. I got a new inverter form eBay for about $35 and was able to install in less than 5 minutes; saving me around $350 and weeks of time. Thank you again for your help.
January 22nd, 2007 at 10:49 am
Hello, I am having the same problem as the previous post. This morning my Dell Inspiron 5150 was worknig fine, but when i came back from class and moved the mouse to turn on the monitor, it basically went out. If I pull a lamp very closely to the screen I can still make out enough to use the computer. When I first turn on the computer, the screen flashes to full brightness for a split second, then goes very dim. I am wondering if this is the same problem and if the same solution applies since my computer is a Dell and not a TOshiba. Thanks.
January 23rd, 2007 at 7:45 pm
The_hub,
Yep, the same solution applies for any laptop. Most likely you have a faulty screen inverter. Replace the inverter and see if it fixes the problem. Here you’ll find some help for taking apart the display assembly.
February 5th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
Hello, I have a similar problem with a vaio fs495. Whenever I reduce the backlight level below the maximum setting, a loud buzzing sound appears. Apart from that, everything seems fine.
Do you think it might be the inverter going wrong? It’s a relatively new machine, I’ve only had it for a couple of days. Could it be going wrong already?
February 7th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
Kasper,
Sounds like a hardware related problem. I’ve seen dead laptops out of the box.
If the store policy allows returns, try exchange the laptop for a new one.
February 16th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
I’m haveing the same problem with the LCD of my Toshiba A10 going permanently dim. I can see the desktop and curser but very dimly. The display works perfectly plugged into an external LCD monitor. After reading ( on your site) that the probable cause would be the inverter, I ordered the part (shipped from Canada to Bermuda)and installed it but with no luck. I re-seated the display connector also with no luck. The lid shut-off is the magnetic type ans so it isn’t a switch problem. I can only deduce that it must be the bulb?
Thanks for your reply,
Ross Goodwin.
September 29th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
Yesterday my HP Pavilion dv1000 monitor started flickering and then the screen would start turn white from the bottom left corner and would slowing bleed up to the whole screen and then stop and go to normal, especially when I would start up my laptop.
No I’m having the same problem with my laptop as everyone else, my screen is completely dim and I can barely see a thing.
These two problems wouldn’t be connected would they and be a faulty inverter board?
September 30th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Jeff Kern,
I think you might have two different problems.
This part sounds like a faulty inverter.
This one sounds like a problem with the screen itself.
October 20th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
I’ve had a dell inspiron 8600 for 3yrs and suddenly the screen has gone very dim. You can still just make out things. At brief moments during startup it lights up but very quickly blacks out. One time it worked for a while but there was a black area in one corner.
Do you think this an inverter problem also?
Thanks
October 30th, 2007 at 4:44 am
Hiya,
I’m also having this same problem, but it’s on a desktop pc with a MAG innovision monitor. Is it possible for this to be the same problem?
Thanks
November 16th, 2007 at 9:10 am
I’ve had a dell inspiron 8600 for 3yrs and suddenly the screen has gone very dim. You can still just make out things if you try to see screen in light.
During startup it lights up but very quickly blacks out. I used an external Monitor and it works fine.
Now i found that if move screen at around 30-40 angle from key board and start it works fine after 2-3 attempts.therafter if i raise the screen it works without any problem.
Can you please let me know what exactly the problem is? is it some loose connection?
November 18th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Jeetendra,
First of all, I would try reseating the video cable on the inverter board. I think there could be some kind of connection issue between the cable and the inverter.
November 27th, 2007 at 2:30 am
I have sort of a similar problem with my Dell 5100. After being turned on for a few minutes, the computer freezes, and the monitor flashes bright and then dim. Then I have trouble turning the computer back on. I’ve heard the loud noise once and then the monitor started doing this. Is this the inverter? Also, what is a good adapter to take my hard drive out and hook it to my desktop? Thanks.
November 27th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
steggy,
Can you see anything on the screen after it goes dim? Any faint image?
Test your laptop with an external monitor. What happens to image on the external monitor when laptop LCD goes dim?
November 28th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Alright, I tried rebooting it with the monitor plugged in. It turned on and worked quite well for a while. Then my computer froze and did not have the monitor flash. I then got a blue screen. After unplugging the monitor and turning the computer back on, it worked well again, but then flashed again.
I waited a while, then restarted the computer in safe mode with the monitor hooked up. The monitor on my Dell 5100 flashed on and off (no dim image, bright image then black), but my external monitor did not. It also made some sort of clicking noise, but I’m almost positive it wasn’t the fan or the hard drive.
I then tried to turn the computer back on. It took a while as the computer turned on for a few seconds then off without any Dell or Window screen popping up. After a couple tries, I got a black screen and looked like it was in BIOS (I’ve never ventured into this).
Here is what the black screen told me:
It said CPU, RAM passed, Cache SRAM passed, System BIOS shadowed, Video BIOS shadowed, MOuse Initialized
ERROR 0271: Check date and time settings
WARNING 0251: System CMOS checksum bad – Default configuration used.
So now my computer won’t turn on again.
What do you think this might be?
Do you have any good recommendations about how to get the data off of my hard drive on my laptop without using my laptop? Like a USB adapter type deal or a way to hook it up to my desktop?
Thanks.
November 28th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
steggy,
Could be memory or hard drive related issue. It’s possible that one of this components is failing. Rum diagnostic tests on the HDD and memory, check out “Useful Links” on the right side. Use Memtest86+ for memory and Hitachi DFT for hard drive. Test the laptop with another known good memory stick. I would blame the memory first.
Usually you receive this message after the CMOS settings has been erased, it happens when you unplug the CMOS battery from the motherboard. If you didn’t unplug the CMOS battery but still see this message, it’s possible the CMOS battery has died. It could be your problem.
Here’s what you can do. When you get this message, enter the BIOS and set date and time. Keep the laptop plugged into the AC adapter for a while so the CMOS battery gets some charge. If you’ll see the same message again, which means all CMOS settings has been lost again, most likely you have a bad CMOS battery. Try replacing the battery.
You can hook up the laptop hard drive to a desktop computer via an external USB enclosure for notebook hard drives.
December 2nd, 2007 at 4:04 pm
I had a Dell Inspiron 5150 with identical problems as ‘The_hub’. I replaced my LCD inverter (P/N T601828.00) with Laptop Freak’s help on “taking apart the display assembly”.
With the new inverter, the LCD’s back up and running! (It sounds like Dell’s heating issues on the 5150 may cause the inverter to burn out?).
Thanks for the help LaptopFreak!
January 30th, 2008 at 1:19 am
hi,
I have an old inspiron 6000, about 3 years old.
For a few months its been starting up with the lcd screen a bit red, and returns to normal after a few mintues. But recently there is a very high pitched buzz and the screen just shuts off after a few mintues. Closing and opening the laptop starts the screen up again for a few mintues before it goes out again. Reducing the brightness of the screen to the minimum stopped the buzz but the screen turns a red hue. Can it be fixed with a new inverter or is the lcd just dying?
February 2nd, 2008 at 12:31 am
Hey Jer,
I have the exact same problem as you. An Inspiron 6000 purchased in Feb 2006 – the lcd goes off after a very short time of booting the laptop. there is a reddish tinge and sometimes there is that high pitched buzz before the lcd goes off… closing the lid brings back the display but for a shorter time. Keeping the laptop off for a week made it work for more time that the usual 2-3 minutes before the lcd went off again.
Did you find a solution to this prob? I cant afford to pay the ridiculous 750aud that dell is asking for this!
Anyone else with suggestions?
Thanks
Sanket
February 4th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Jer, Sanket,
I think the red hue indicates a problem with the backlight lamp. Check out this post.
And this one too:Troubleshooting laptop with backlight failure
March 15th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
hey,
Im having the same problem as many people here, i have a dell inspiron 6000, i was sitting on my computer, and all a sudden the screen went really dim, i still can barely see that its still on, if i shine light on it. Theres also a high pitched noise coming from the screen. So im assuming its the inverter cuz of the sound?? I also am wondering if the inverter is a part of the lcd screen. About half a year ago my screen broke, and my computer isnt under warranty anymore so i had to pay out of pocket for a new one. So i got the lcd screen replaced, and the new screen is still under warranty. So when they replaced my lcd screen, did i get a new converter as well? or is the converter the original one that came with my computer. Im just wondering so i don’t get charged for something i shouldn’t.
thanks, marty
March 20th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Hi there,
I think I’m having a similar problem to others here: I have an inspiron 5150 and I get a bright Dell Splash at the start but then very dim.
I tried rebooting using another lcd monitor but that didn’t work. Also when in Windows (XP) the screen flickers on and off sharply.
Does this sound like a two fold problem – inverter and memory and is it likely to have happened at exactly the same time??? If so any idea where I can get the spares in the UK?
Thanks, Sam
May 19th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Hi, very interesting forum. I have a very similar thing where my inspiron 2600 screen has suddenly gone very very dim.
This happened after i upgraded both the internal and more external RAM modules.
My question is: Are the 2 connected?
Thanks
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I have an hp Pavilion dv1000. The screen went dim (but still visible) and would only become bright if I jiggled the computer a bit. I replaced the inverter but am still having the same problem. I’m not sure what to do next. If I hold the computer still it’s fine, but if I partly move the screen up or down it loses its light. Help!
June 17th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
hi, i have a dell d620
my system is working fine but my screen is very dim, i can still make out what it says on the screen but it’s pretty difficult. when i turn the system on it has never flashed at full brightness, it just remains dim.
i called dell tech support and they said i need to replace the entire lcd screen, which i hope isn’t the case. i thought it would be the inverter or the backlight but they said the backlight and lcd aren’t separate entities, but that the lcd screen would have to be replaced to solve the problem.
i’ve tried reconnecting a few different things under my keyboard to no avail.
please help!
June 17th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Lauren,
This is a very good question and I think you are not the only one who is experiencing the same problem. I published your question with some tips and instructions here:
http://www.asklaptopfreak.com/laptop-notebook-help/2008/06/17/dell-latitude-lcd-screen-very-dim/
June 25th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
Thank you. This article and its links were very helpful. I do however have one more question. I have a Dell Inspiron 5160 that has a dim monitor and want to replace the Ambit t601828 inverter and the CCFL (this is because I am in the middle of Africa and a coworker is coming back from America so to be safe I would like to get both). I have no idea what CCFL to buy. Do they have different voltages or do I just need to get the correct length and diameter?
June 25th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Robert,
It’s not easy to replace the CCFL bulb. It’s buried deep inside the LCD screen and you can easily damage the screen during the disassembly process. I would consider buying the whole display panel witch includes LCD screen, inverter and video cable, check out these display panels.
Not sure about the voltage but you must get the correct length or it will not fit into the screen. I have a couple of different backlights with different connectors I removed from cracked screens. I use these backlights to test all laptops regardless the model and the brand, they always work fine. I guess any laptop CCFL bulb will fork fine with your screen as long as it has correct length. Just a guess.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:21 am
Thank a lot. I am planning to go with the full display panels since they are much less likely to break in transport and are not that much more.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Help I am having the same problem and I have a question:
I also have a Dell Inspiron 5150… and my screen is extremely dim. In the right light and at the right angle, I can see the screen. It never flashes to full brightness at start up. However I am wondering if something else might be wrong because the laptop will not operate on an external monitor. What do you think? Is this the inverter or something else?
September 15th, 2008 at 5:59 am
Hi. I have a HP Pavilion DV1000, I had a bad inverter so I replaced it, it works fine but only if the AC adapter is plugged in, shortly after it’s removed the screen goes dim, I also may have a bad battery because even charged at 100% it dies in a few mins. Coud that be the problem?
February 17th, 2009 at 6:14 am
Hi. I have a Dell Inspiron 1501 and the LCD screen is going dim, however it’s only the left side, not the entire screen.
Also there have been times in the past few weeks when the battery is unplugged the screen turned off and would not turn back on when it was plugged back in. (yes I did check the settings to make sure that wasn’t an issue, it’s not)
Also anytime the battery is unplugged there is a high pitched whining sound.
Any help would be great, thanks.
August 17th, 2010 at 11:04 am
Hi, I believe this problem MAY be an inverter problem but i am not sure. My laptop has been flickering on and off at times ( flickering is white ). I think it may be loose cable due to compressed air? But for now, I am not so sure if it is a hardware problem or a driver problem.. I have no idea on what is causing this flickering nor any way of finding out. Please help.