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Laptop help please!

It was working perfectly ok yesterday. Switched it on today and the power light comes on and it's making the usual noise but the screen is completely blank.


Any suggestions as to what I can do to solve the problem?

Thanks :)

Comments

  • Little_John
    Little_John Posts: 4,033 Forumite
    there are a few things it could be, maybe you turned the display off? my laptop has a fn/function key with blue text on it it works with a selection of other keys on the keyboard also with blue icons/text on them one of them allows the swap between the screen and external vga ports on min I hold the fn and press the f4 key with a picture of a screen on it. maybe try that.

    it could be a failed back light normally you see the image but it is very faint like someone has turned the light off at the back of the LCD panel.

    how old is the laptop? if its new then ignore this bit
    it could be the link between the scren and the base broken connection or somthing that happens over time due to the opening and closeing of the lid. try moving the lid open and almost closed to see if it flickers on will indicate a broken connection.
  • scotnan
    scotnan Posts: 636 Forumite
    Thanks for replying.

    Hve tried your first suggestion with the fn & f4 buttons, no luck there.

    It's about 3 years old.The lid stays open all the time now as one of the hinges has been broken for about a year (a well known manufactueres fault apparently) so cant close it but its worked perfectly well like this without any problems.

    Although the laptop is definitely powered up ok and there's no strange sounds at all, the littel lights that normally flicker at start up, aren't coming on. Does that make any sense lol?
  • £$&*"($£&(
    £$&*"($£&( Posts: 4,538 Forumite
    If you have the battery in it's worth taking it out and trying again. Sometimes the battery can become slightly unseated and this is a typical symptom.
  • Browntoa
    Browntoa Posts: 49,612 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I suspect the inverter for the screen is possibly dead (or the backlight it powers) as they are normally in the hinge area of the laptop, could possibly be that the broken hinge has damaged the ribbon cable going to the screen or cause it to unplug

    you can check the graphics card is working by plugging a monitor into the connector on the side/back of the laptop
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  • scotnan
    scotnan Posts: 636 Forumite
    Browntoa wrote: »
    I suspect the inverter for the screen is possibly dead (or the backlight it powers) as they are normally in the hinge area of the laptop, could possibly be that the broken hinge has damaged the ribbon cable going to the screen or cause it to unplug

    you can check the graphics card is working by plugging a monitor into the connector on the side/back of the laptop

    By a monitor, do you mean another laptop, cos thats all i've got here, dont have a monitor on its own.
    And how would \i do this connectin please.
    Thanks for the help btw :)

    And grawhawk the battery's been dead for a long time, have been working it from the mains for ages now, but thanks for replying anyway.
  • albertross_2
    albertross_2 Posts: 8,932 Forumite
    Try taking the battery out (or holding down the power button for 6 seconds) anyway, just to make sure it isn't in a suspend/hung state
    Ever get the feeling you are wasting your time? :rolleyes:
  • scotnan
    scotnan Posts: 636 Forumite
    albertross wrote: »
    Try taking the battery out (or holding down the power button for 6 seconds) anyway, just to make sure it isn't in a suspend/hung state


    Took the battery out and it made no difference then tried holding down the power button as you suggested and the lights started flickering as if it was going to start up then they stopped flickering and nothing, power is still on and the fan working but still nothing on screen.

    Thanks for replying.
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