LCD gone dark any ideas?

nearlyrich

My LCD on my Laptop IBM Thinkpad 600X has just suddenly gone dark.

I don't think I pressed anything but who knows?

I have tried the following so far :

1 Plugged it into another external monitor and it works OK .

2 Turned it off & back on again (don't know why but the techies at work always tell you to do that when you have a problem, I think it gives them a few minutes to work out what the problem is myself!!)

When it came back on it momentarily came back bright but lapsed into darkness in Windows (XP Pro by the way)

I suppose it could be the backlight ?

My favorite IT guru lives 150 miles away (and he is in Tesco at the moment) so I thought I would ask if anyone out there has any ideas please?
:-/ :'(

libra10

How old is your battery? Could it need replacing?

scheming_gypsy

2 Turned it off & back on again (don't know why but the techies at work always tell you to do that when you have a problem, I think it gives them a few minutes to work out what the problem is myself!!)

that's cos it usually works.. just like when the car makes a strange noise, you turn the ignition off and back on and hope it was just being naughty. Same with lights, if the bulb pops you always turn it off and try again.

nearlyrich

Battery is fine, it is fully charged and working OK.

I have 2 batteries and both have same effect.

The laptop is still dark on mains power.

Thanks for trying!

scheming_gypsy

what happens if you try in safe mode?

nearlyrich

not tried it, how do you get into safe mode ?

scheming_gypsy

press F8 as soon as it goes from the memory count screen..

could be a corrupt 'monitor' driver..

MisterT2

Could be a few things - if you have dislodged the contacts then you can get this effect. Probably worth taking the screen out and just making sure that everything is seated propserly. You don't have much to lose if you screw it up - but make sure you have copied off any info first.

nearlyrich

OK Sorry I went all quiet when you were trying to help.

I think S-G is off having fun in Blackpool

Pressing F8 just resulted in the keyboard failing to respond. Even plugging in an external keyboard didn't work

Just managed to get it back working but I am not sure how!

The laptop is currently dark but on first boot up it stayed on but flickering for a few minutes so I am now thinking maybe a cable is faulty leading to the screen.

Anyone know how to get into the LCD on this contraption?

>:( ??? >:( ::) :'(

SONIC_2

OK Sorry I went all quiet when you were trying to help.

I think S-G is off having fun in Blackpool

Pressing F8 just resulted in the keyboard failing to respond. Even plugging in an external keyboard didn't work

Just managed to get it back working but I am not sure how!

The laptop is currently dark but on first boot up it stayed on but flickering for a few minutes so I am now thinking maybe a cable is faulty leading to the screen.

Anyone know how to get into the LCD on this contraption?

>:( ??? >:( ::) :'(

There maybe some small rubber gromits arounf the edge of the screen, behind these will be the screws to undo the palstic cover around the screen. It may be clipped as well / instead so take it easy. Once you have the screen away, there should be a ribbon cable going from the screen down into the laptop base, turn the laptop on, and fiddle with the connections to this cable, and see what happens. If the screen goes bright again, that's your problem. I have found in the past that sometimes the cable just needs sticking to the case to stop if from excess movment using some electrical tape or similar.

Coldfinger

The LCD screen is backlit by a bulb(s) so if your screen has gone dark then it is possible that you have a bulb failure.

Though it may be possible to change the bulb yourself you may want to get this done professionally.

http://www.laptopsolutions.plc.uk/lcd_backlights.htm