Laptop screen blank

jaxx46

Hi
Son has a Sony viao laptop with a blank screen! Happened overnight, one day working, the next it's not. Switches on ok & can hear it clicking & whirring inside also fan is working ok. There is light (pinkish colour) but no graphics etc. Been looking on here for advice, have tried removing battery etc & also hooking up to an external monitor whch also had no picture. Tried f8 key, nothing, came back on here looking for further info & it started up in the log in screen. Duly logged in, very slow (probably due to the numerous toolbars running) norton anti virus screen popped up, then off it went grr. Shut it down, restarted it, came straight on to the log in screen again but went off before I could do anything. Back on here to see if I could find a solution & now it is repeatedly playing an excerpt from Quantum of Solace, sound only no picture & I am becoming slightly aggravated:rotfl:Does anyone have any thoughts please.

closed

has it got an nvidia graphics card?

Tis

This happened to me on a desktop and the graphics card had blown. I assume laptops have a graphics card? Think you need a new one - do you have a local computer shop who you trust? Ask them to take a look at the graphics card.

T_T_2

closed wrote: »

has it got an nvidia graphics card?

I was thinking the same thing.

To elaborate for the OP, there is a known issue with certain nVidia graphics cards, of which Sony Vaios are often affected. Blank screens, artifacts, blocky graphics and general overheating are common symptoms. The good news is that if your laptop carries one of these nVidia cards then they have a fund set aside to deal with it, either by way of repair, replacement or in some cases depending on the age of the device, a full or partial refund.

More info... https://www.nvidiadefect.com

jaxx46

Thanks for the replies.
Ok.... graphics card? way out of my comfort zone, how would I check? Am assuming I will have to open it up (gulp) TIA

cit_k

How much light is present?
Can you see anything if you look REALLY hard at different angles?
A pink light indicates a problem with backlight or inverter, one of the two is on the way out by the looks of it, unless its already so far gone its not able to light up the screen enough to see the image.
Check carefully to see if you can see anything, no matter how dark.

That could be on top of another problem though if you do have an nvidia issue.

MikeWhitehead

Do you have a spare external monitor handy? If so, plug this in to the external video port on the laptop and see if it displays an image.

There's a few things this can be:

GPU fault
LCD cable
LCD inverter
LCD backlight
LCD screen

Then the usual host of random causes. Is the pinkish colour an all-over view, is it lighter/darker in some areas, different colour when positioned in different ways?

Welcome to the fun of laptop diagnostics

jaxx46

Ha, having looked all over the outside of the lappy this morning with no joy have just opened it up to find little square saying graphics by nvidia however son bought it second hand so have no access to original purchase details. PC monitor recovered from attic, plugged in, just says no input signal
Pinkish colour is when screen tilted otherwise it just looks grey. Have looked very hard from all angles but no image to be seen. Is it too far gone? I really hate giving up

MikeWhitehead

jaxx46 wrote: »

Ha, having looked all over the outside of the lappy this morning with no joy have just opened it up to find little square saying graphics by nvidia however son bought it second hand so have no access to original purchase details. PC monitor recovered from attic, plugged in, just says no input signal
Pinkish colour is when screen tilted otherwise it just looks grey. Have looked very hard from all angles but no image to be seen. Is it too far gone? I really hate giving up

Is it staying powered on, or does it cut out after a while? the pinkish being grey makes more sense.

How brave are you with opening it up? That is if it is outwith warranty and the fault-fund time period (if there is one for your model).

Is it grey as soon as it is switched on, or does it happen after a few seconds? If you leave it on for a while (i.e. regular boot-up time) can you hear operating system noises (log in, etc)? A nicked LCD wire in the internal cable could be the cause of no image, although if there is no image when a working external monitor is used, a non-LCD issue is more likely the cause. The easiest way generally to rule out the LCD and associated parts is to unplug the LCD cable from the motherboard: takes it entirely out of the loop and relies on the external monitor.

EDIT: Just noticed you opened it up already. If you have access to the LCD cable connector on the motherboard, carefully remove it then repeat the external monitor test. Be sure to do it without AC/battery in case the power is still feeding through the board.

cit_k

Sometimes you have to press a key combination to get it to display on an external monitor, on dells it the function key and f8, not sure on sonies, look for a key with a symbol on that looks like a monitor/screen..

Whats the model number, you should be able to find info online about how to enable an external monitor, and if you know the model, it can be checked to see if its one that has a known nvidia issue.

jaxx46

Back again
Cit_k fn & f7 on sony should you need to know in future. Didn't work.
Mike Originally you gave me too much credit, when I said I'd opened it up I did mean literally that, not taken it apart lol. However with the aid of an e-how to guide I have now taken it apart & removed lcd cable, still no joy. As long as you guys have got the time & patience I have got the determination. Next please.