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.
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 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)
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.
March 21st, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Once they go black, they never go back.
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.
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.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.
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.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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?