Laptop Screen goes off while working

pinkcheshirecat

Hi all, am new to the tech forum, so please forgive me if I miss essential info, or don't understand some of the technical terms.

I have a Sony vaio laptop, its coming up for 3 years old and wasn't overly expensive in the first place, however, we're having problems which render it almost useless.

When you switch the laptop on it seems to start up normally, but within a few seconds....to a couple of minutes at most, the screen flickers and goes off. Generally it is just completely black, but this morning after I'd shut it down and restarted I could see a faint ghost of the vaio sign when rebooting, the computer did start, but the screen was not visible.

We managed to connect a vga lead to the tv and that seemed to work, but my dh seems to think that opening Outlook and having an email open stops it from happening, this is what he did to connect the vga , so at the moment, I don't know if the vga will work if the screen doesn't. This morning however, I couldn't even get it to stay on long enough to open Outlook.

I think medium term we will need to replace the laptop, none of ours have lasted more than about 3 years, but in the short term I can't afford to do that.

I have a few questions really ; firstly, we have Norton AntiVirus, it is subscribed, is it possible this issue is viral, or is it hardware? Secondly, if it is hardware, can you help me identify what and how much it might cost to resolve? Thirdly, if we wanted a laptop to last more than a few years, and were prepared to spend more, what should we go for.....or should we get a desktop if we want longevity?

Thanks in advance for all your help and for reading this far on a far too long post.

Pink

AirCooledHeaven

To me it sounds like hardware and at a guess I'd say the backlight inverter(s) have failed. A not too uncommon problem.

This can be a DIY fix if you want to try, take a look here to get an idea:
http://www.laptoprepair.co.uk/how-to-repair-backlight-inverter.htm

You can buy new inverters on ebay for 15-20 quid.

Hope this helps

Mista_C

To me that sounds like the invertor is either on it's way out or a connecting cable has come loose. It shouldn't take more than 5 - 10 minutes to fix (being cautious) and is a fairly simple task.

Assuming loose cables or dirty connectors...

Remove the power lead, battery and hold the power button for a few seconds to discharge the circuits.
Remove the rubber screw covers from the front bezel of the screen.
Remove the screws.
Using a Credit/Debit card or similar gently pry off the front plastic frame of the screen.
Look under the very bottom of the screen and you will see a small circuit board, this is the invertor.
Disconnect the cables from the invertor and blow into the connector points. You can use a sparing amount of contact cleaner if you have any.
Gently, but firmly, reinsert the cables into the connectors.

Plug the charger back in (not the battery at this stage) and run the laptop for a while to see if this fixes the problem. If not replace the invertor...

Make a note of the invertor model number or at least the model number of the Vaio.
Have a look online for a replacement invertor. eBay should be good enough for what you need.
When you have the new invertor remove the original invertor by unscrewing the screws and removing the cables.
Screw in the new invertor, reattach the cables and front bezel. Don't worry if you hear cracking noises, it's just the clips locking but be certain not to apply to much force as you don't want the screen to crack.

pinkcheshirecat

Thank you so much for such quick and knowledgeable replies, will try that and let you know how I get on. This is why I love mse, so many incredibly helpful people.

Pink

Hammyman

+1 for the inverter.

pinkcheshirecat

Just wanted to say Thank You, my DH ordered an inverter from ebay as suggested, and it's made a massive difference:j

Thank You all for your advice - Its what I love about MSE, there are really helpful people who know a lot more about something than I do, and they give their time and advice for free. I wish there was an extra 'thanks' button!

Pink:T