Help!! Two Questions - 1st PC monitor blacked out. 2nd Cant upload photos!!

STORM_2

Hi ,

I just need a little advice to anyone who is techie minded. I am not techie minded so use simple language please!
1st Question - My laptop monitor has blanked out. I can switch the laptop on, but the screen does not come on. The guy at PC World has told me that the graphics card has gone and it will cost £229 to replace. Any ideas? Oh he also said that I can plug in a separate monitor.
2nd Question - I have tried to upload a photo to the website photobox- they are saying that the picture is of low / poor quality, but Im confused because im using a 10 mega pixel camera. They will not let me use the photo. I have uploaded it as a jpeg as they request.:(

poppy10_2

STORM wrote: »

1st Question - My laptop monitor has blanked out. I can switch the laptop on, but the screen does not come on. The guy at PC World has told me that the graphics card has gone and it will cost £229 to replace. Any ideas? Oh he also said that I can plug in a separate monitor.

He's either lying, incompetent, or (most probably) both. Very few laptops come with separate graphics cards, usually the graphics are integrated. But even if he is right and the graphics card has gone, then you would not be able to use an external monitor as there would be no graphics card to provide the output to it.

Avoid PC World, they are scammers. Try a local independent computer sho. Also check whether it is something as simple as needing to press Fn+F6 to switch the display output from external to the internal monitor.

poppy10_2

STORM wrote: »

2nd Question - I have tried to upload a photo to the website photobox- they are saying that the picture is of low / poor quality, but Im confused because im using a 10 mega pixel camera. They will not let me use the photo. I have uploaded it as a jpeg as they request.:(

Check your camera settings - even if it is a 10 megapixel camera, it might be set to only take pictures at a much lower resolution.

TonyMMM

1) Are you sure you haven't accidently turned the laptop screen off ?.... laptops have a command that switches the display from the laptop to an external monitor and back ...often F5, or Shift+F5 but you will need to check for your particular model.

Is the laptop definitely running ....is anything visible on the display at all ( they have a backlight which can fail, and lead to a very dark image).
Ignore PC world for now - most laptops don't have a separate graphics card anyway, it is part of the motherboard. If the graphics have really failed, connecting an external monitor won't help ....however if an exrernal monitor works, it could indicate that it is the actual screen itself that has failed. These can be replaced, and replacements bought on ebay for far less than £229.

If you are not happy doing the diagnosis yourself, I would find a reputable small PC repair shop that can give proper advice ...NOT PC WORLD !


2) What size is the photo ...how many kb/or Mb ....is it straight off the camera, or have you done any editing to it ? Is the camera set to its max quality in the settings ?

JasX

STORM wrote: »

1st Question - My laptop monitor has blanked out. I can switch the laptop on, but the screen does not come on. The guy at PC World has told me that the graphics card has gone and it will cost £229 to replace. Any ideas? Oh he also said that I can plug in a separate monitor.

screens do go on laptops, worth checking it with an external monitor (find someone with a desktop and borrow their cable + screen to test), that'll give a good indication of whats wrong

you'll be able to get a brand new laptop for £300-£400. The graphics card or laptop screen route may be a possibility depending on the make of your laptop and if you can get the parts cheaply enough on ebay

JasX

TonyMMM wrote: »

...NOT PC WORLD !

See here

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2359179&page=2

STORM_2

TonyMMM wrote: »

1) Are you sure you haven't accidently turned the laptop screen off ?.... laptops have a command that switches the display from the laptop to an external monitor and back ...often F5, or Shift+F5 but you will need to check for your particular model.

Is the laptop definitely running ....is anything visible on the display at all ( they have a backlight which can fail, and lead to a very dark image).
Ignore PC world for now - most laptops don't have a separate graphics card anyway, it is part of the motherboard. If the graphics have really failed, connecting an external monitor won't help ....however if an exrernal monitor works, it could indicate that it is the actual screen itself that has failed. These can be replaced, and replacements bought on ebay for far less than £229.

If you are not happy doing the diagnosis yourself, I would find a reputable small PC repair shop that can give proper advice ...NOT PC WORLD !


2) What size is the photo ...how many kb/or Mb ....is it straight off the camera, or have you done any editing to it ? Is the camera set to its max quality in the settings ?

1) Done all your bits and no joy! So I will take to a small PC shop methinks!!

2) Crikey!!! Im trying to find out the size of the photo now. How exactly do i do that? It is straight off the camera ( I cropped it on the camera and turned it into black and white ) and I put it onto a jpeg, then tried to put it into photobox. Ive got the intstruction book with me, but its confusing, it doesnt tell me much. The camera is a Samsung S1050. :embarasse

closed

Make sure it's not in a hung suspend state by removing the battery, and mains lead, then powering on with mains lead attached

What model is it, how old is it, and do any lights come on at all?

STORM_2

I done that, but it looks fine. Heres something I found on the internet prehaps someone can intrepret it for me!!!

http://www.steves-digicams.com/camera-reviews/samsung/s1050/samsung-s1050-review-7.html

I hope I have put the link in correctly. This is not a good day for me

Ive got a headache now. Going bed!!

debitcardmayhem

STORM wrote: »

1) Done all your bits and no joy! So I will take to a small PC shop methinks!!

2) Crikey!!! Im trying to find out the size of the photo now. How exactly do i do that? It is straight off the camera ( I cropped it on the camera and turned it into black and white ) and I put it onto a jpeg, then tried to put it into photobox. Ive got the intstruction book with me, but its confusing, it doesnt tell me much. The camera is a Samsung S1050. :embarasse

2) Right click on the photo on your PC select properties and select the details Tab , it will tell you all the bits you need under Image

HoofeHearted

£229 is the standard PCW charge for laptop repairs. It covers any fault, from something minor to a mobo or screen replacement. Stay clear.:money: