The laptop screen is going dark
I have a 1-year old laptop that the screen is going dark on. I did a lot of research (including from your site) and replaced the inverter. However, the problem persisted. I’m looking for either some advice on where to go next.
I know that the backlight and the LCD is okay because it lights up when I power the machine on. It’ll boot all the way into the OS, but then goes dark about 30 seconds after. External monitor works okay, and I can see the image on the LCD if I shine it with a flashlight.
I am starting to suspect the lid switch module. It has one of those magnetic ones that I can’t get to or even test easily. The strange thing about that is that sometimes, if I plug in my external monitor, the LCD will light up for a brief time before going dark again. Maybe this is “normal” when the lid is closed. It’s hard to tell at this point.
My other worry is about the motherboard. Do you know if these symptoms are consistent with a problem there? I’m *suspecting* not, because I’d imagine that if the MB had a problem, I wouldn’t be able to use the external monitor.
Even though the LCD screen lights up for a while and goes dark only after 30 seconds, the problem still could be related to the screen backlight. Unfortunately, the only way to find out is testing the laptop with another working backlight attached.
Try reducing the screen brightness a little bit, it might help to keep the backlight turned on longer. If the screen stays on longer when the brightness is reduced, most likely your problem is related to the backlight lamp. It’s getting old and has to be replaced.
Did you notice if the backlight goes off only in Windows? Enter the BIOS setup menu and leave the laptop in there for a while. Does the screen still goes dark after a while?
I don’t think this problem is related to the lid close switch.
April 14th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Hmmm, lots of problems, but very few solutions.
Has anyone had any further success with the problem of losing the lcd backlight?
March 14th, 2009 at 8:08 am
Hi Laptop Freak,
I have a problem similar to many listed here.
My HP Pavilion dv4000 recently started to get a dark screen when I plug in the charger, and a bright one when running on battery power - the opposite of how it used to and should be.
I’ve tried fiddling about with the power settings, but don’t really know what I’m doing and haven’t been able to rectify it.
Any help or advice you have would be greatly appreciated!
February 24th, 2009 at 1:46 am
I also have the same problem. Yesterday. My vista updated and I have had the problem also. It starts up fine then 5 to -0secs later goes dark. Thought it was off till I read comments here but it is faintly on. When you hit fn f5 it comes back on for a few seconds. The problem is on both my dual boots. Ubuntu and vista. I have a toshkba satellite a135-s4467. Also another thing I’ve noticed is before hand my screen was slightly flickering and had a slight red tint. It only flickered when it was plugged in though
February 19th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I have the same problem as Monique with an HP dv1000. I took it completely apart to see if the connections were still soldered between the motherboard and that tiny switch that says the screen is open or closed.
How can I override the switch on the motherboard to see if it works? or disconnect the switch from the motherboard so it thinks it is always open?
or what else could work? the computer is old so I don’t mind experimenting on it.