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  • Laptop monitor cutting out

    My BF's laptop monitor randomly goes black, like it's turned off. Sometimes it comes back on it's own, sometimes he can get it back if he puts the laptop to sleep, and sometimes he has to restart it.

    I had him download a new display driver, and that helped but did not fix the problem.

    There is no obvious pattern, it's not when he's running a certain program, and it's not at a specific time or anything.

    Any thoughts?
    The High Priest is an Illusion!

  • #2
    A bad connection to the backlight inverter would do that. When it cuts out, if you shine a bright light on the screen, you should still be able to see vaguely what's on it.

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    • #3
      Check the other drivers, too.

      I've had a motherboard driver that screwed with my display, before.

      ^-.-^
      Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

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      • #4
        Does it go out when he tilts the monitor at a certain angle or angles? Try hooking up an external monitor to it and see if the same thing happens on the other monitor. Also, he could be mistakenly hitting the function key (Fn) on the keyboard and another key on the keyboard to trigger the sending of the primary video to an external monitor.

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        • #5
          I've seen the wiring go bad on one laptop I fixed. The person opened and closed it more than 40 times a day. They had this weird idea that it was better for the laptop to be closed if you were not using it at that moment. They would type something and then close it every time. They didn't stop till I 'accidentally' set it to shut down when the screen closed.

          It's also possible that the video chip had gotten too hot and is coming loose. This is a fairly common thing in older laptops with the Geforce chips (There was a class action lawsuit over it.) If you can get us the model number, we can check to see if it's one with the issue.

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          • #6
            Quoth emax4 View Post
            Does it go out when he tilts the monitor at a certain angle or angles? Try hooking up an external monitor to it and see if the same thing happens on the other monitor. Also, he could be mistakenly hitting the function key (Fn) on the keyboard and another key on the keyboard to trigger the sending of the primary video to an external monitor.
            It's not either of these, it was happening last night while he played Crusader Kings II, and he wasn't adjusting the screen and the only key he was hitting is space.

            I'll try installing some other drivers, and shining a light on it when it goes again, and get back to you guys.

            Thanks.
            The High Priest is an Illusion!

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            • #7
              All the drivers were already up to date, and it's not the backlight converter. Wait, the light I was holding was at a bad angle. I can see stuff on the screen.
              Last edited by ArcticChicken; 11-04-2012, 11:56 PM.
              The High Priest is an Illusion!

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              • #8
                If it's the backlight inverter, they're generally pretty cheap and not too bad to replace if you don't mind tearing your laptop apart.

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                • #9
                  Oh thats bad. When that happened to me, they told me that it would be almost an $800 fix. The Laptop was only worth $200 more than that, so I decided to junk it and buy a new one.

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                  • #10
                    Quoth suburbandecay View Post
                    If it's the backlight inverter, they're generally pretty cheap and not too bad to replace if you don't mind tearing your laptop apart.
                    I could probably do it, but since he bought an extended warranty, I'll leave it to the professionals. If for whatever reason they won't do it and it'd cost enough to have them replace it that he'll get a new one, I'll give it a go first. That kind of thing is fun, but I have no job and no insurance against accidentally bricking his laptop.
                    The High Priest is an Illusion!

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                    • #11
                      Quoth ArcticChicken View Post
                      I could probably do it, but since he bought an extended warranty, I'll leave it to the professionals. If for whatever reason they won't do it and it'd cost enough to have them replace it that he'll get a new one, I'll give it a go first. That kind of thing is fun, but I have no job and no insurance against accidentally bricking his laptop.
                      I wouldn't touch it either then, as long as it is under warranty. Otherwise the procedure for replacing it is relatively simple, if involved.

                      If it's the back light itself (the bulb) that went out, you couldn't pay me enough to replace it. I've done it once (to see if I could) and it is a colossal pain in the ass. Not to mention it didn't look all that good when I was done. The only reason I attempted it was because the person didn't have the money to replace the LCD and I had a one from a dead laptop that had a good bulb.

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