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Author Topic: Laptop goes dark!!!!  (Read 4176 times)

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Offline The Village Idiot

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Laptop goes dark!!!!
« on: December 24, 2009, 08:51:10 PM »
The laptop backlight on my neices Toshiba has apparently gone out. Although it blinked on and off at least once. I think loose wiring.

I think the warranty is expired.

Should I just look for a random geek?
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Offline thundley4

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Re: Laptop goes dark!!!!
« Reply #1 on: December 24, 2009, 08:54:04 PM »
Does it have a way to connect an external monitor?  That would be a way of checking if it's just a connection.
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Offline Thor

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Re: Laptop goes dark!!!!
« Reply #2 on: December 24, 2009, 09:24:10 PM »
Many times, the hinge in the lid/monitor has contacts for connection. There have probably gotten dirty/ worn.
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Offline Chris

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Re: Laptop goes dark!!!!
« Reply #3 on: December 24, 2009, 10:07:23 PM »
Do you have any video at all?  If its just the backlight and you still have some very dark video, it could just be the inverter.  A new one is about $20.  No video on a laptop is usually one of four things (from worst to just plain bad):

Bad motherboard... plug it into an external monitor and check to see if everything still works.

Bad LCD... no backlight (also looks like a bad inverter but isn't) or no video at all.

Bad inverter... very dark video but laptop still works normally.

Video cable (loose connection or no video at all)... pull the lid open and closed to see if it comes back on.  At least on the laptops I've repaired, the video connection is in the upper left corner above the keyboard.  It can get jarred loose.


I know you said it was a Toshiba, but HP has known issues with their motherboards crapping out.  No video is a symptom of a defective motherboard and they repair them at no charge.  Check Toshiba's website for any recall or enhanced service warranty information.
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Offline The Village Idiot

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Re: Laptop goes dark!!!!
« Reply #4 on: December 25, 2009, 10:14:01 AM »
Quote from: Chris on December 24, 2009, 10:07:23 PM
Do you have any video at all?  If its just the backlight and you still have some very dark video, it could just be the inverter.  A new one is about $20.  No video on a laptop is usually one of four things (from worst to just plain bad):

Bad LCD... no backlight (also looks like a bad inverter but isn't) or no video at all.

Bad inverter... very dark video but laptop still works normally.

Probably a bad inverter or loose wire. Its just the backlight, the image is still there, just very hard to see.
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Offline Chris

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Re: Laptop goes dark!!!!
« Reply #5 on: December 25, 2009, 02:13:41 PM »
The video cable that plugs into the motherboard also connects the inverter to the LCD panel.  It may just be a loose wire.  The inverter plugs are small and easy to dislodge.
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Offline The Village Idiot

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Re: Laptop goes dark!!!!
« Reply #6 on: December 25, 2009, 06:09:14 PM »
Quote from: Chris on December 25, 2009, 02:13:41 PM
The video cable that plugs into the motherboard also connects the inverter to the LCD panel.  It may just be a loose wire.  The inverter plugs are small and easy to dislodge.

I am definitely going to tell the geek to look for that. heh
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Offline LC EFA

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Re: Laptop goes dark!!!!
« Reply #7 on: December 27, 2009, 12:32:09 AM »
Quote from: FGL on December 25, 2009, 06:09:14 PM
I am definitely going to tell the geek to look for that. heh

Usually, mentioning to the geek that it "might be a loose wire" results in them making rash and potentially uninformed decisions about your technical ability.  :-)

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Offline The Village Idiot

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Re: Laptop goes dark!!!!
« Reply #8 on: December 27, 2009, 12:52:45 AM »
Quote from: LC EFA on December 27, 2009, 12:32:09 AM
Usually, mentioning to the geek that it "might be a loose wire" results in them making rash and potentially uninformed decisions about your technical ability.  :-)

The BIL took his daughters comp to a guy he knows, yeah, didn't explain anything, got a complete overhaul... now she is using a different computer.
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Offline Thor

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Re: Laptop goes dark!!!!
« Reply #9 on: December 27, 2009, 12:35:31 PM »
IF you could make it up North, I could probably look at it for you. I'm not real strong on laptops, but with Chris' assistance, I'm sure we could get it going.
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Offline The Village Idiot

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Re: Laptop goes dark!!!!
« Reply #10 on: December 27, 2009, 01:13:59 PM »
Quote from: Thor on December 27, 2009, 12:35:31 PM
IF you could make it up North, I could probably look at it for you. I'm not real strong on laptops, but with Chris' assistance, I'm sure we could get it going.

They have the screen and stuff off. I have no idea if there is anything left. I might open it up and see if the processor and RAM and stuff is still in there.
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Offline Chris

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Re: Laptop goes dark!!!!
« Reply #11 on: January 19, 2010, 10:04:52 PM »
Did you ever get this resolved?
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Offline The Village Idiot

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Re: Laptop goes dark!!!!
« Reply #12 on: January 19, 2010, 10:09:21 PM »
Quote from: Chris on January 19, 2010, 10:04:52 PM
Did you ever get this resolved?

Its called a whole nother laptop. Windows 7 with 3 GB RAM.

Better than mine. dang it.
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Offline Chris

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Re: Laptop goes dark!!!!
« Reply #13 on: January 19, 2010, 10:11:02 PM »
What happened to the old one?
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