Screen on my laptop going black
I have a Gateway mx6025 and I have a problem with my screen going black. I can still faintly see the screen if I hold it to light. I have it hooked up to an external monitor and I’m using it now to type this. The problem started a while back if you moved the screen it would go black and you could restart it and it would be ok. Now it’s always black it just flickers on when you first start it up for a second. Is this something I can fix? I took it apart once but didn’t know what I was looking for I thought maybe a broken wire or something unplugged but I didn’t see anything.
I think you might have a failed screen inverter (FL inverter); this problem is very common with laptops. The inverter board acts as a power supply for the LCD screen backlight bulb, it converts low voltage DC power into high voltage AC. On most laptops the inverter board is located inside the display assembly below the LCD screen and you can get access to it if you remove the screen bezel (LCD mask). When the screen inverter goes bad the backlight will not turn on anymore or it turns on for a short time and then goes off, but you still can see a faint image on the screen and the external monitor works just fine. First of all I would make sure it’s not just a loose connection and reseat connectors on the inverter (it looks like you already done this part). Next, I would try replacing the inverter board. It might fix your problem with the backlight. It’s possible that you have a faulty cable, bad motherboard or even bad LCD screen, but I would try replacing the screen inverter first.
January 2nd, 2007 at 8:27 pm
on my toshiba satellite 1805-s254 i will be playing on it and the screen will just go black and i can tap on the button by the screen (i think the lid close button) and it beeps but the screen comes back on.. sometimes i have to do this quite a few times to get it to stay on but i think its that button?
January 3rd, 2007 at 12:40 am
Allen,
I think you have a faulty FL inverter board. Try reseating the inviter board connectors first, may be it’s just a loose connection. If it will not help, replace the inverter. I’ve created a display disassembly guide for Satellite 1415 and you can use it as an example. It shouldn’t be much different from Satellite 1805.
January 3rd, 2007 at 11:37 am
Hi, all. I have a Satellite M45 and I am having the same problem. With a PC, I am pretty good at getting into it and fixing things myself, but I’ve only had a laptop a little more than a year and I’ve never fixed anything on it myself. How do I reseat the FL inverter board connectors? Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
Cassie
January 3rd, 2007 at 11:40 am
ps,
um ok I feel like a total dork because on this very site I have found the instructions on how to do this task. So I will try the instructions and let you know if I have further problems.
Cheers,
Cassie
January 6th, 2007 at 5:46 am
Ok I have a hp pavilion zv5000 and I came home from work today and the screen is black. The power is still on but nothing shows up. I tried to power it off but it won’t turn off, it just makes a clicking noise like its trying to shut down, but can’t. I took the battery out and it still doesn’t work. All the lights are on and the fans are running but the screen is black and it will not power off.
January 9th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
My problem is with a Gateway 400VTX. The backlight did not come on. Not knowing if it was the inverter or the LCD, I took the entire top half off another 400VTX and put it on the unit that was not lighting up, in effect changing the LCD, inverter and cables all at once. The second LCD did light and give me a clear picture, only for about twelve hours. I needed to reboot after I had installed new software and I left the room. But when I came back, the second LCD was now unlit like the first LCD had been. Do you know of any conditions that could cause the LCD or inverter to fail a second time in the same way? (Unfortunately I did not try to part-swap to see whether it was the inverter or LCD that went bad). I doubt that the ‘third time would be the charm’ and I don’t have a third setup available!
January 10th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Eric,
I cannot say what is wrong exactly but I can make a guess. The backlight will not light up but you still have a very faint image on the screen, right? To light up the CCFL tube (backlight bulb) you have to get power to the FL inverter board first. Before the power comes to the inverter board, it goes through the lid close switch. This switch cuts off the power from the inverter, when the laptop lid is closed. Here’s my guess. May be you have a faulty lid close switch, it would explain why both displays failed the same way.
January 11th, 2007 at 4:01 am
Excellent point, didn’t think of that! (That’s why we ask, two heads are better than one). The lid switch on this Gateway 400VTX is under the LCD casing just right of center. I can see the plastic button tab and it is not physically stuck in the ‘down’ position. The button goes into the plastic behind where the power button and option buttons board is mounted. Any ideas on where it connects and if I can simply bypass it? I wasn’t aware this would shut off the backlight but not the display, and I don’t care if the backlight stays on permanently when the top is down, I always power off first anyway!
January 11th, 2007 at 6:42 am
I have an HP Pavilion and i went to bed and everything was working fine. Woke up screen was black….if i hold it up to the light i can barely make out stuff. Just wondering what i should do or is there a Guide to checking the monitor.
January 11th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Sorry Eric,
I cannot tell you how to bypass the lid close switch. I’ve never worked with Gateway laptops and actually never tried it on any other laptop.
BTW, in the comment 6 you said:
This another 400VTX is a working one? Can you test both displays on it?
January 11th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Nick,
There should be a lid close switch located somewhere close to the hinges. Try tapping repeatedly on the switch, will it make the backlight to flash? Will it light up for a moment when you start the laptop?
I think you have a failed FL inverter.
January 22nd, 2007 at 11:57 am
My problem is with a HP Compaq Presario V3000 that I JUST got. The screen doesn’t turn on and it makes series of clicks, one like it’s powering up.. this one is really soft.. and then the others which consists of a longish click and 2 short ones. According to IBM, their laptops emit a beeping sound when there are problems.. so I’m wondering if 1 long and 2 short clicks mean anything since 1 long 2 short beeps for the IBM laptop means Display adapter problem (MDA, CGA). I only Hibernated it then took it upstairs.. then upon powering it, found it to be a black “dead” screen. Everything else is on.. the CD runs, the power button is on.. (not the caps lock or the number) but technically, the shouldn’t be any problems with the computer itself. I also tried to loosen the ram and reseat it. Also tried hooking it up to an external monitor, but it doesn’t work. Could it be that the cables inside the LCD screen are loose? Please reply!
January 23rd, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Yu,
I’m not really sure about these clicks, but here’s what you can try to narrow down the problem. Unplug the video cable from the motherboard, this should be pretty easy for Compaq notebooks. After the cable is unplugged, start the laptop with an external monitor. If the external monitor is still black, it’s possible that there is something wrong with the computer itself, and nothing wrong with the LCD or video cable.
February 5th, 2007 at 10:22 am
The same problem with me. I purchased V3000 AMD version two days back. Everything was working fine. Today evening, the background light suddenly flickered and went off. The screen would come in and then go. First I thought it was software bug but then I figured it was hardware problem as backlight turned on and off in CMOS screen too. While it is off, I can faintly make what is on the display by tilting and placing on the light. Maybe the hinge close lock is malfunctioning or the FL inverted is gone as mentioned in this thread.
What a rotten luck.
February 7th, 2007 at 8:08 am
I have an Acer Aspire 3003 that I accidentally spilled some water on. I turned it off and dried it as best I could. When I turned it back on the video was fine for a while, and then went dim. I’ve changed the invertor but it is still the same. The video to an outside monitor is good. Could it be a blown fuse on the motherboad? Can they be replaced? How can I get instructions on changing one?
Thanks for any help
February 7th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Hello,
I am experiencing similar problems with my laptop as mentioned in this section (hence how I found it).
My problems started a while back. I have a Compaq Presario v2000. One day, I pressed the screen dimming switch (what is pressed when the screen closes) and the screen didn’t come back on. I played with it, and the switch would not reactivate the screen. Upon opening and closing the unit, the screen came back up.
Then one day, I opened my laptop and POOF, dim screen, although as previous posters mentioned, the faint windows background could be seen when closely inspected.
I have since changed the inverter! At first- no result! Boy was I sad, hah. But I noticed when plugged in (my guess to get LOTS OF voltage) when i hard powered off my laptop, the screen would FLASH, then the unit would power off. I was re-energized to fix it!
Anyway, I booted the laptop up, played with some function keys (switch output, brightness) and POOF, it was on!
The catch it… The brightness keys don’t seem to work. Hitting the dim key doesn’t do anything. Hitting the brightness key makes the screen get a LITTLE dimmer, but then turn off the backlight.
Also, the area where the inverter is gets pretty hot now!
The inverter is the same model# as my old one, but a different company (don’t know how that is possible).
Could the plugs be in backwards? lol
Could i be overloading it?
any advice would be great!
February 8th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Tim Nichols,
Apparently water went down to the system board and shorted something when you powered up the laptop. You’ll have to disassemble the laptop and take a look at the system board. Most likely you’ll see corrosion and the system board has to be replaced.
February 8th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Jordan Caras,
Did you purchase a used inverter? Maybe you got a bad one. You cannot plug it backwards because connectors on both ends are keyed.
Make sure you are using a correct inverter board. When the screen is on the inverter should be warm, but not very hot.
February 18th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Hi,
I have an Acer Travelmate c100. Yesterday and this morning everything was fine. When I came home today, I get no video. I rebooted and it flickered orange for a second and went black. I hooked to an external monitor and it was on for about 5 minutes, then that monitor went black. Can you please (if you know) explain what the problem is and how I can rectify it?
Thanks in advance for your help
February 20th, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Hi all, I have a IBM ThinkPad 240Z. I got the same backlight not working problem. At first the laptop can run 2-3 hours with no problem, later, it can run only 30 – 45 minutes, now only last 5 -10 minutes. the video drive is ok, I can see dimed display on screen. also no problem with external monitor connected. I have been tried to fix by myself and replaced the inverter card (which is ordered directly from IBM) cad backlight bulb. but the problem still there. I got frustrated. maybe the culprit is the cable (I don’t know how to test the cable) or the main board. any suggetions?
February 20th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Samm Coleman,
Did you mean the power LED flickered orange and then it turned off? Maybe the power adapter is bad and there is no charge in the battery? I would test the adapter first, it’s just a guess.
February 20th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
Laptop Freak,
The screen flickered orange, just for a second and then went black. I can see faint immage with a flashlight, and actually logged all the way in and out again.
February 21st, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Samm Coleman,
Not sure what’s going on with your laptop. As you can see a faint image on the screen I can assume you have a faulty inverter, but I’ve never seen a screen flickering orange because of a faulty inverter. Sorry, I cannot narrow down the problem just from your description. It’s necessary to hook up either a known good inverter board or test backlight bulb.
February 26th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
Hi,
I have a SONY Laptop K15 that has become dim screen recently. I went to a local computer repair store. The technician told me that it is common that the inverter is broken, then he placed an inverter from a different SONY laptop model in to test. Out of 3 different inverters to place in, one was working for about 1 hour, then it is dim screen again. At first, i thought it was because the used or faulty inverter he placed, that’s why it only lasted 1 hour. Then i began going to ebay to buy used inverter. I tried 3 times on ebay buying used inverters, they ALL didnt work.
Now, I am led to believe that it is the backlight bulb that is broken since the probability of all 3 of the inverters from ebay is less than the chance of other problem such as the backlight bulb.
What do you think? And if it is the backlight bulb, how easy it is to replace it? I saw some pages in this site that demonstrate how to replace this, but none was SONY laptop.
I hope i will get a reply from you. Please email at orangejim@gmail.com if you do so i know it has been answered.
February 27th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Jim,
If the screen doesn’t work with a known good inverter board then it could be:
1. bad backlight lamp
2. bad video cable
3. bad motherboard
All three mentioned above parts can cause the same problem. I don’t know witch one to recommend. Connecting a test backlight lamp would help you a lot. Maybe the repair computer store witch you mentioned above has a test LCD screen? I keep a few cracked laptop screens with good working backlight lamps just for this purpose, it helps me a lot.
The lamp is located inside the screen and it’s not very easy to replace it, I’ve never done it myself yet. Here’s an example of replacing the backlight lamp on an IBM ThinkPad notebook.
March 1st, 2007 at 5:49 pm
I had a very similar problem with my Gateway laptop & resolved it by rapidly moving the monitor forward & backward about 25 times, maybe 10-12″ each way. I reasoned that maybe the interlock that turns off the monitor when the lid is almost down had gotten dirty. To my surprise, it stopped flickering right away and hasn’t returned for several weeks. Worth a try . . . good luck.
March 21st, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Once they go black, they never go back.
May 11th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Give your laptop a light swat at the back of the screen with it partially flipped open. My black screen disappeared after I tried this. Must have reseated a loose connection. These laptops are fragile. I must have closed it too hard when I last used it.
July 9th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
I can’t seem to get anything up and running on my Toshiba M35X-S163 laptop. Suspected culprit… lid close button stuck, is there any step by step dissasemble instructions on repairing a stuck lid close button..(closed position)
July 12th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Thomas,
You purchase your Toshiba Satellite M35X in the United States, right? If you did, then you should know that Toshiba extended warranty for this model (i believe until November 2007). Take your laptop to an authorized repair center and they will fix it at no charge. Good luck!
July 19th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
I have an HP Pavilion zt1150. My screen would come on if I had it half way closed. So I bought a used inverter and now I can’t get the screen to come on at all. Do you think it is the lid switch? If the lid switch is pushed, Windows goes into standby. Also my mouse pad isn’t working but was when the lcd used to turn on.
September 7th, 2007 at 2:43 am
i have Acer Aspire 3610 there is no image on my screen
only gray light,when pressing the lid close switch, the screen turns black and when releasing it it comes back gray….
i do have an image whe using an external screen.
What is it ?
the LCD screen ?
the FL inverter?
the bulb ?
September 19th, 2007 at 10:48 am
I have a Pavilion zv5000 Notebook it has the same problem the monitor goes out and the switch is tapped and it works, after a while the switch breakes completely on the motherboard the switch is s6 or s9 if you plug in a s video cable in to a TV some times the screen will work, this tells me the computer need a monitor driver that can over rule the switch. I have not found one yet nor have a found replacement switch. HP will sell me a new motherboad but it only need this $4 switch. I consider replacing a $4 switch with a $749 motherboad enviromental bastardy when the TV tech say all that is needed is a $4 switch or a driver to over rule the monitor. Got any idea’s
September 27th, 2007 at 11:42 am
Please help me I purchased a secondhand Toshiba Sat Pro 120-160 with a broken screen. I have purchased a new screen 3 new inverters and have only a dim display. Works perfectly with external monitor. Have changed settings to Laptop monitor still the same. If I disconnect the cable from motherboard no display also replaced the ribbon cable. There is a magnet on the bezel of screen surround is that the lid shutting down as cannot find the switch anywhere. I am completely broke and cannot afford to bring to have repaired. Please help. Thanks in advance Paul V
October 21st, 2007 at 12:37 am
I have a Acer Aspire 5050, i try starting the computer the screen is black.
November 6th, 2007 at 9:18 am
I just bought an older laptop, a Dell Inspiron 5100, from a friend and about a month later, i came back to find that only the top 1/3 of the screen work. The bottom 2/3 is grey with vertical lines. i put the start menu on the side and it makes the bad part turn a light color of grey. Is there anyway to fix this?
November 6th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
I have an Acer Aspire 3680, after plugging in a Targus wirless Mouse, my screen flickered in a white light and then went black. I could sense that the keyboard and mousepad were working but after doing a hard power off it would not boot up. I just hear the fan and no display is shown. After a while I saw the splash screen, but then the same flicker and then darkness. Is this a hardware or software conflict? And how can it be resolved?
November 6th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Derek,
You can try reseating the video cable connection on the motherboard, there is a chance to fix the problem. But most likely this is a problem with the LCD screen. I’ve published your question here: Only the top 1/3 of the laptop screen work.
November 6th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Julian,
This sounds like a hardware related problem. Did you test your laptop with an external monitor? Can you see anything on the screen when it’s dark?
I’ve posted your question here: Screen went black after I plugged a wireless mouse
November 7th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
No I haven’t. But can I do that by plugging it into a normal desktop monitor? And if it does or doesn’t work how do I reseat the video cable?
Thank you for your prompt response.
Also I thought aboutit long and hard as I was looking at the posts for a screen going black. I assessed that it can be more than a faulty inverter as if the screen was dim only I would still be able to input my password and hear HD activity, but I hear none, no LED light up.
A friend of mine told me to try the Acer’s auto-recovery option. My approach if it was a PC would be to take out all cards and try again.
Still thanks for your reply.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Julian,
That’s what I’m talking about. Test your laptop with a desktop monitor connected to the laptop via the VGA port. Can you get video on the monitor?
November 14th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Hi, I have an hp pavilon dv1000 laptop and the screen flickered with black lines for about five months before going totally dim. I have had both the backlight and the inverter replaced and the screen still does not light up. Is this a motherboard issue? Or is it a cable issue? Can this be repaired or does it have to be replaced?
November 14th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Lynne,
Did you reseat the video cable on the motherboard?
Did you check if the lid close switch moves without any problem?
I’ve published your question here: I replaced backlight and inverter but the laptop screen is still dim
November 16th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
I’ve read all the postings- here is a new dim screen story…
I have a Gateway NX270S. I was editing some photos from a digital camera. The pics were stored on this SanDisk multimedia card. As soon as I inserted the card my screen went black. Now, whenever I start up my computer, I have to gently jostle it until I get regular brightness…similar to moving you tv antenna around in order to get a signal.
I’ve tried playing with the open/close switch. I think the inverter is fine..but I’m not expert.
Is it true that when they go black they never come back? Help!!!
Perhaps useful info: The card had never given me problems before. This instance was the first time I had used the card since saving some edited photos to the card. In other words, the card had never had edited photos on it before.
November 18th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
Joe,
Can you test your laptop with an external monitor? Does the external screen work fine?
If you have to move the laptop screen in order to get regular brightness, then it’s possible that there is some kind of connection issue inside the display panel. Maybe loose cable.
November 19th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Hi inmy case if the external monitor is not working what steps do I take next?
December 7th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
hi,
i have an Acer 5050…my screen has a black line through it which gets thick or thin depending on how i move my laptop. My daugher stepped on it (when it was closed) and since then my screen has a black line through it. i’m not sure if the screen is cracked b/c my monitor works just fine…i’m wondering if its just the LCD film or something…is there a cheap way to fix it…b/c when i contacted acer they said it’ll cost over $600. (more than what the laptop cost me). thanks.
December 28th, 2007 at 1:27 am
I have a gateway MX4314 and the night before i had issues i closed the lid while the computer was on. Many hours later plugged it in and turned it on and i noticed the screen would not turn on. I turned off the computer and booted up again. As it booted up the computer fan came on and it sounds like its trying to boot up normally but the screen is still black and i cant make out anything if i face the light on it. any help would be greatly appreciated.
January 28th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
hi , i was on my laptop watching a movie and then all of the sudden the screen turned black !! this had happened before because of the battery being low but the laptop was plugged into the wall so that wasn’t it , when the screen turned black the sound was still going then it stopped now if i try to turn off the laptop by pressing the button it wont turn off if i close the laptop it also still wont turn off , plz help , quick !!!
February 1st, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Hi, I have a Gateway MX3417 notebook. I’ve had this laptop for almost a year now and it has worked just beautiful for me. I create websites, edit photos, and play video games such as World of Warcraft. I have an Nvidia GeForce 6100 graphic. I know its not the best for what I do but it holds up quite qell. But, recently (about 3 days ago) my fiance went to turn on the laptop and it started up you could hear the fan running but the screen did not come on. After turning the computer on and off a few times it still didn’t work. I just let it rest for a day. I turned it on earlier and the screen came on. I was amazed. Then I turned it off to move it to a location I could attempt to see if there were any errors on the hardware. Plugged it in and the screen didn’t turn on. I got so pissed =P. However, after turning it off and on a few times I finally got it to come back on. I read through some forums and found this one. Some suggested new video cards, some suggested replacing the FL inverter board, but some also suggested that it could be the AC adapter in which I have had to buy a new one because my dogs chewed up the old one. This adapter does not charge my battery, and infact at the moment it says that my battery is “dying”. Any suggestions?
February 4th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Hi there again,
Thanks for your help in trying to identify my problem. I have reached to the point where I am trying to reseat my memory to see if my problem lies there. But I do need some help in doing this.
Can anyone or can you help me to have a step-by-step guide to Changing the memory in an Acer Aspire Model Laptop?
Thanks in advance.
February 4th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Julian,
You’ll find this instructions in Acer service manuals.
February 4th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
billy,
First of all, check the memory. Try reseating the memory module, move it into an empty slot. Could be memory related problem.
When you have a bad inverter board, you still should be able to see a very faint image on the screen. If there is no image at all and the screen is completely black your problem is not related to the inverter. Yes, it’s can be related to the video card, but I would check the memory first. Try installing a known good memory stick.
February 19th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Hi Laptop freak,
The problem was in one of the memory modules. Thanks for sending the instructions on removing memory.
I tried the suspected module by itself in the machine and it did not come up! But when I examine the module closely I see some differences in color of the contacts of the module. The contact in question look shinier than the others. I thought it was corrosion and tried ruding them with an eraser, but this did not work. What other tests and solutions are they to to find out if the memory is faulty or not? This laptop is (and I am assuming the memory is as well) new. What can be wrong?
Also do you know if reseating memory modules voids an Acer laptop warranty. Mine is under a 1 yr warranty.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:10 am
I have a HP Uzv5000 laptop i got used. It worked for a few weeks but now screen blacks out alot especially when trying to startup. I sometimes hear a clicking noise while its trying to startup. When I am using and the screens blacksout all of the power buttons are on. Any suggestions? Thanks!
February 24th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Deve,
There can be a problem with the hard drive. If the clicking noise is coming from the hard drive, you’ll have to replace it.
March 13th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Okay, I have the same problem with my HP laptop DV2125NR. I installed a new power inverter, plus I installed a new LCD screen. It still didn’t fix anything!
The screen is black, but if I shine a flashlight on it, I can makeout a few details (but only if I shine my light on it).
I thought it was the power inverter so I changed it brand new. When it didn’t work, I figured it must be the backlight. So, I decided that instead of trying to install a new backlight, I’d probably be better off buying a new LCD screen. Well, that didn’t fix it either.
Can you help? Any ideas? I found the LCD lid switch and I pressed it up and down. Don’t know how else to go from there…
Thanks!
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:01 pm
I have a HP Pavilion dv2000 laptop, and all of a sudden, when i turn on my computer, the screen is black. This only happens sometimes, though. Occasionally, when i turn it on, the computer will be working properly, however, the screen will be black. When it does work, it works fine. Basically, when it starts up, it either works perfectly, or does not work at all. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
May 5th, 2008 at 5:14 am
My husband’s Toshiba laptop (A-25 S-279) The lower right hand corner of the screen is going black and is extremely hot to the touch in this corner of the screen. If he were to leave it on, I think the blackness would wave across the entire screen, but the heat prompts him to shut it down. Any fixes for this? The fan on the computer is working, but I assume this has nothing to do with this problem…thanks in advance for your help.
May 5th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Mary H,
How black the screen is? Look at the screen very closely with a flashlight. Can you see a very faint image?
Did you test the laptop with an external monitor? Can you get picture on the external monitor?
May 5th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Lori,
I’m not sure exactly why it’s happening. It’s possible that the inverter board overheats causing this problem. Here’s what you can try. You can remove the LCD mask as it explain in this disassembly guide (steps 20-23) and get access to the inverter board. Touch the inverter board when the laptop is on. If the inverter board is really hot, this could be your problem and it has to be replaced. This is just a guess. Proceed on your own risk.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:47 am
Hello again. Well, i did try and put a flashlight to the screen, but i could not see anything. It’s looks as if the computer were turned off. No picture at all.
I also tested it on an external monitor and the picture didn’t show up as well.
Thanks!
May 7th, 2008 at 7:24 am
Why does it gotta be black? Why can’t it be going white?
May 7th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Mary H,
This could be memory related problem. Do you know if the laptop has two memory modules installed? Try reconnecting memory, just removed it from the slot and install back in. Test the laptop with each memory module separately, installing them one by one in each slot.
If the laptop works with one module in both slots but doesn’t work with another module in both slots, apparently you have faulty memory module.
If the laptop works fine with both modules installed into the slot 1 but will not work with both modules installed into the slot 2, apparently the memory slot is defective.
Test the laptop with another known good memory module if you can.
This is just a guess, I cannot give you a better advice without taking a look at the laptop.
May 9th, 2008 at 11:00 am
HP notebook. screen blank on start but with other indicator lights on with the key panel. OS not loading. After a few tries the Os loads. Some times goes dead black again. HP Note books have a motherboard issue which HP is willing to replace with a an extended warrentee.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Hi, I have the same problem as Mary H “I have a HP Pavilion dv2000 laptop, and all of a sudden, when i turn on my computer, the screen is black. This only happens sometimes, though. Occasionally, when i turn it on, the computer will be working properly, however, the screen will be black. When it does work, it works fine. Basically, when it starts up, it either works perfectly, or does not work at all. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!
”
Unfortunately, i live in Africa (Uganda) i’m not sure how much it would cost me to ship the laptop to HP, and i think the warranty has expired (about 3 months now). Please advise me. Thanks alot!
June 1st, 2008 at 6:54 am
Hey,
I had the same problem with my Toshiba Satellite 1805-S254. I reformatted Windows Xp Pro and the problem stopped! Might have been a virus. Anyways, hope this info will be useful!
June 21st, 2008 at 6:35 am
hi i have a toshiba A215 7414 and i was using it and then the screen went black so i turned it off and wait a couple of minutes then turn it on but the screen wasnt coming but the computer it self was plz tell me what to do
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Hello….have the same problem…when i turn my pavilion dv6000 seems that everything is working except screen…it is black…then i turned off and turned off my notebook again and then i started windows in SAFE MODE and bah everything fine no problems so then i restarted again in normal mode and……screen in black…what a problem???? thank you
June 29th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
i have a gateway mx3042, and recently my screen started flickering and goes solid black, i freaked out for a couple of days then it started working fine, but now it will flicker and stay black, i can still see the screen when held up to the light, please help me
July 16th, 2008 at 1:20 am
MARY!!!!
I ahve the same problem. PLease let us know if it works or not. I have no $ to send it to HP and I do not knwo a lot about computers. PLEASE HELP
July 18th, 2008 at 7:26 am
I have an hp pavilion zx5000 and occasionally the screen will dim to a point where you can barely see what’s on the screen.
I went out and bought a separate flat screen which got me back in business but I lost my mobility. Then I discovered by accident one day that if I hit the display lid switch several times, the screen will eventually come back.
The flat panel always displays with no problem but again, I bought the laptop so I can take it places.
I’m really happy I found this discussion because I finally know what the problem is – it sounds like the problem is a failed screen inverter (FL inverter)
July 18th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Ed,
These instructions for taking apart the display panel on a HP Pavilion zv5000 could be helpful if you decide to replace the inverter board yourself.
July 28th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I hve a Compaq Evo n620c. The display goes on shortly after booting (Compaq splash screen), but then becomes black – whether one allows the booting continue, or presses F10 for BIOS settings. Tried reformatting the hard drive, reinstalling the Windows and the drivers – no help. Tried BIOS reflashing, installing new CMOS batter and no luck.
Frome the discussion it sounds like it might be an inverter, not a backlight lamp?
The laptop works well on the external monitor.
Are there instructions available for n620c how to replace the inverter?
July 29th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
i have an hp dv2000, a little while ago as i was using it, the screen started flashing black and then back to normal. it did this for a while until the screen just stayed black. i turned it off manually and then turned it back on and it would work again like normal but then after a while it started doing it again. after it started flashing and the screen would go black, it would turn off and turn on and reboot by itself. but this time when it turned back on it would just stay black, so i left it on for a while to see if it would fix itself but nope, the screen would just stay black and after a couple of mins it would reboot itself again but to the same black screen. and i just kept repeating the same thing so i just turned it off. i try turning it on everyday to see if it starts, and i think out of the many times its started up normally like 3 time but then after being on for a bit it does the same thing, so if any one can help me it would be awesome, thx!!! =)
July 31st, 2008 at 9:08 am
Hello, My Name is Henry.
I am somewhat experiencing a similar problem.
Except I am sure it is not a backlight failure.
I have a Toshiba Satellite a105-s2071
I was doing some work on it, and opened it up.
Nothing big just changing memory, and cleaning.
After i closed it up and tried turning it on.
It turned on fine, but the BackLight wont turn on.
I know its not a backlight failure or something like that because there are usually signs. and there are none.
I’m pretty sure i must have done something to a sensor of some sort that tells the laptop whether or not the lid is open or closed.
Can anyone help me fix this?
August 12th, 2008 at 7:59 am
I have a hp laptop and I came home from work today and the screen is black. The power is still on but nothing shows up. I tried to power it off but it won’t turn off, it just makes a clicking noise like its trying to shut down, but can’t. I took everything out and put it back in and it worked for awhile. But then it did the same thing a day later. All the lights are on and the fans are running but the screen is black and it will not power off.
August 15th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
I used to have the same problem, but then I opened up the outer border of the screen and tighted some wires and the problem went away
August 27th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Hey there, my laptop has been having this problem since of this morning, this has never happened before.
Whenever I start the game World of Warcraft, it runs fine for a few moments, I would say a minute or two tops, than my screen goes completely black, and I am forced to restart the laptop by pushing the button.
When that happens, I can still hear the sound on the back, so I know the laptop didn’t shut down or anything, except that the sound is very sluggish, sort of like I am getting extremely bad hardware lag.
I have a Sony Vaio laptop which I have been using for about 3 years now.
Intel Pentium Processor 1.86GHz, 1.00GB of RAM
I would be sooo grateful if you could help me.
thanks in advance
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:58 am
Yesterday my laptop was slowing and so i restarted it and it said that a drive is failing or about to fail. then it froze and i decided to let it rest over night and today when i turn it on it goes black. what do i do? can i fix it myself?
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:06 pm
hi all … I also faced a similar problem with my compaq laptop with the screen turning black after being kept on for some time, the power management scheme makes the screen go black but it never turns on… until u have to restart it again and again. I recently came across another forum saying that this is happening because of excess charge built up…and can be corrected by unplugging the battery and the power cord and restarting it again…this has worked but its not at all permanent…the problem starts over again and again…my warranty has already expired and don’t know what to be done…can this be a software problem?or a graphic card related problem? of-course not but can any body suggest me what to be done to rectify this problem.
December 28th, 2008 at 9:41 am
my acer travelmate 4720 was working fine all this while but suddenly there was a clicking sound (like when you force shut it down) and the screen went black. i tried to shut it down because the mouse light was still on meaning the laptop wasn’t shut down yet but it couldn’t be shut off! thought it was out of batt so plugged in the power but nothing happened. Someone please help!!!
January 2nd, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Laptop freak,
My laptop is a Toshiba Satellite A135-S4656. One day opened up my computer it was black just black I adjusted the screen nothing happened tap the key it came on fine for the hour or two I used it. Got home turned it on it was blacked tapped nothing happened adjusted the screen got a picture it flickered and the colors were inverted and wavy lines across the top.I restarted the computer and the flickering was worse and chunks of the screen were black. Now I can get to stop flickering if I hold it a certain way but still all the colors are inverted. please help thank you.
P.S. I have defraged my hard drive ran a virus scan restored it.I’ve run out of Ideas helped.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
why when i go to full screen on any website does the screen go black but the sound keeps on doing???
February 5th, 2009 at 2:54 am
Today I cleaned my keyboard with a light brush and left the room. I came back to a black screen on my Windows XP Compaq Presario V3000 laptop. Windows is running but is way too dark to see it and work (I did the flashlight test)
WEIRD THING Screen runs perfectly on battery power. If I plug in power cord it turns black immediately.
If I boot the machine with power cord. I can see the windows loading, loaded screen and my desktop briefly. Power cord still lights up at the plug in location and charges battery.
I tried power supply plugged in both with and without battery in its slot – screen does not work. Any Suggestions?
A technical friend checked my BIOS and said nothing in there that should be causing problem. I have hibernation turned off and power settings on Never.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:22 am
OK HERE IS THE DEAL I HAVE A TOSHIBA SATELLITE A105-S2236 FIRST MY LCD SCREEN HAD A BUNCH OF HORIZONTAL LINES BUT EVERTHING STILL WORKED SCREEN WAS BRIGHT AND COULD SEE EVERYTHING ONLY THING IT HAD LINES IN IT, SO I RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM AND FOUND THE CONCLUSION THAT THE LCD WAS BAD SO I ORDERED A NEW LCD FROM EBAY REPLACED IT WHEN I TURNED IT ON EVERYTHING WORKED PERFECT BUT THEN I STARTED TO NOTICE AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF BEING ON THE SCREEN WOULD GO BLACK BUT I COULD STILL SEE THE WINDOWS ONLY BY SHINING A LIGHT ON IT SO I HELD THE POWER BUTTON AND TURNED OFF AND THEN TURNED ON THE SCREEN AND IT WOULD COME BACK UP EVERYTHING WORKED BUT AGAIN AFTER A FEW MINUTES IT WOULD GO BLACK. THEN FINNALY IT WENT BLACK AND NEVER TURNED BACK ON I NOTICED THAT AT THE BOOTOM OF THE SCREEN WHERE THE INVERTER BOARD IS LOCATED IT GOT REALLY HOT AND I BELIEVED SOME OF THE PLASTIC SLEEVE THAT COVERS THE BOARD LOOK LIKE IT MELTED A LITTLE. I TOOK THE OLD SCREEN AND PLUGGED IT BACK IN AND THE SAME THING BLACK BUT I COULD STILL SEE THE WINDOWS AND THE HORIZONTAL LINES I KNOW THAT THE OLD SCREEN WAS WORKING BESIDES THE LINES I NEED HELP IN DECIDING WHAT TO DO A NEW INVERTER BORED COST 49.00 DOLLARS SHOULD I BUY IT OR ARE THERE ANY OTHER WAYS TO MAKE SURE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS
February 5th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Ben,
The laptop still works fine with an external monitor attached and you can use it with external video, right?
Try downloading and updating the BIOS. I know that some people experienced exactly the same problem with their Satellite 105 laptops and updating the BIOS helped to fix it.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:32 am
RebeccaRose,
March 3rd, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Hi,
I have a toshiba laptop and it broke a few weeks ago because the screen went black. I took it into the computer place and the button that shuts off the screen when you close it was stuck. Well last night it happened again and if i push that button the screen will flash on but goes away in a matter of seconds is there anyway i can fix it with out taking it in?
April 2nd, 2009 at 12:06 am
Hi,
I have a HP Pavilion DV6000 and its not letting my see nothing its black but my computer is on. I shut it down but still i dont see nothing.
I really need help some on my friends say to get a Y cable to connect it to my TV??
April 20th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Laptop Freak!
So.. My dad’s laptop has been freezing in the middle of him watching films or doing such and such. So I thought maybe we could do a system restore type job and VAIO has a recovery program on the laptop so I followed the steps. We saved his important files on a USB already and began rebooting one of the drives but the laptop just turned off (so I don’t think it went through..) Now when we turn it on it displays the Windows XP screen with the loading bar but then the screen just turns off. However, the lights still indicate that the laptop is running.. any suggestions? I’ve tried going through safe mode but the same thing happens.. I haven’t attempted to reboot the whole system using the options given with safe mode either.
Sorry.. it’s a VAIO Model PCG-6P2L with Windows XP Media Centre Edition 2005
April 25th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
I have a Gateway 3018 and the other day the screen went off. Now it will not come back on. When I press the power button the power light comes on and the busy icon will flash once. The fan will come on after a few minutes. I can also open the cd-rom tray. I am not sure if is a booting issue or what. Please help!
July 21st, 2009 at 5:44 pm
i have a hp pavillion laptop and my screen goes off after i login it flashes the screen for like 2 seconds then goes off and i cant see it wat so ever and i dont kno how to reboot the system im only 15!! please someone help me!
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:44 am
Gateway MX6442 darkened screen problem.
The LCD works when plugged into a different motherboard.
I’ve tried a system restore and various ATI display settings, all connections are tight…
Am I missing something or do I have to come to grips with the fact I need a new motherboard (which isn’t going to happen…)?
February 15th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Help!
I took my laptop to the beach to watch a movie. At the end of the film some stuff spilled and got into the air vent but I cleaned it out. Now I try turning it on and the monitor goes but not the screen. It is black. I charged it thinking the battery was dead but nothing!!! HElP ME! I just bought one week ago!
April 2nd, 2010 at 8:58 am
Hi,
Can anyone help me, I have an IBM Lenovo 3000 N100 laptop. My battery hasn’t been working well and the power cord occasionally has a spark when I plug it in but the computer still worked ok (3 1/2 yrs old). The other day the computer screen went black. warranty just ended 3-4 months ago. When I try to turn it on, the power 2 green lights show up then it’s just 1 green light, it makes noise but then stops. I can open the cd player, so it’s not a stuck cd or anything weird. I didn’t know i the screen suddenly died, if it’s the power cord or something else – I don’t want to put $$ into buying a new cord if the screen is busted, but it didn’t have any cracks or weird colors or anything. I also really need to get my files off. Hoping my cousin can help me, I’m not experienced with computers but he used to be on Geek Squad at Best Buy. I have grad school applications/essays that I really need to get off.
Beth
May 4th, 2010 at 2:13 am
My loptop shut off and would not turn on. the three lights at the bottom just flashed three tines. I took out the battery and plugged in the power cord and it worked fine. then the screen went black. I hooked it up to an external monitor and the computer is working. How do I fix the screen?
June 24th, 2010 at 6:50 am
The Lid Switch is the problem, opening and closing wore the sw out.
August 10th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
I have a sony vaio FGN-FZ and last night suddenly it just went black. All I can see is just the cursor (it is not blinking thou) and I can still move it around. So I decided to unplug it and let in ran out of battery itself, since I can’t turn it off. And today I turn it on again, everything was okay until I get to the step (supposedly) I type my password. From that step afterwards the screen went black again. But everything else like, cursor and all the sounds seems normal. Does anybody knows what’s wrong and what should I do? Thank you for help me solve my problem. I am so desperate.
August 10th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
aj,
What if you boot the laptop in Safe Mode?
Turn on the laptop and when Sony logo appears on the screen, press F8. Select Safe Mode and press Enter.
Can you use your laptop in Safe Mode? If yes, try reinstalling the video card (display) driver.
August 11th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
I can use the safe mode. Do you know the specific name of the driver I need? Cause I lost my CD and when I browse online, I don’t know what I’m looking for specifically.
August 11th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
aj,
Instead of Safe Mode try Last Known Good Configuration.
If it doesn’t help, boot into Safe Mode and revert system back in time when it worked using System Restore.
August 11th, 2010 at 6:00 pm
So, I turn on my vaio again and now its strangely working just fine. I haven’t done anything yet. Do you know what might cause It ? so I won’t having the same problem again.
August 30th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
my laptop screen is black but it is on.what might be the problem?