Laptop Screen Problem.

[BRL]

Hi all. My laptop screen has gone really dark. I can just about see the background and if I press the windows button I can see the start menu in the corner but it is so faint, almost impossible to see.

Last night I pressed the little button that puts the laptop into standby when the lid closes and the screen flickerd a few times as it was before it went dark. Doesn't do it now, as I say the screen is really really faint.

Not seeing the screen clearly, is it possible to plug the laptop into my television so I can back stuff up before taking it to the shop to be repaired or is there another way of doing it?

I have a new laptop here so could it be possible to link them together and use this one to 'look' at my broken one if you know what i mean??????

Thanks.

[bnt]

What you can plug your laptop in to depends on what ports are on the back. There'll be a VGA port for standard monitors, but if you had another monitor handy, or a TV with a VGA port (like mine ), that would be too easy. :8

So, find out which video output ports are on the laptop, and what video input ports are on the TV (and VCR, if you have one). Then it's a matter of getting the right cable.

For example, can you see S-Video (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-video) ports? or Composite Video (a yellow RCA connector (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_connectors))?

PS: if you just plug the cable in, you might not see anything until you hit a key combination on the laptop, such as Fn+F4 - look for video icons on your function keys.

[BRL]

Hi there. It only has a VGA port on the back of it. Can you get a lead to plug it into another laptop or ordinary TV?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/SVGA_port.jpg/300px-SVGA_port.jpg

Nothing else like what you have mentioned.

I have used this port in the past to connect a projector to it when doing a presentation for a course I was on and it worked ok then as you would expect it to.

[Tinstaafl]

That port will plug into a standard monitor (or projector, as you know).

From your description the backlight in your laptop's screen is not functioning. This is commonly one of two things: The light itself or the inverter board that powers it.

I've replaced the inverter in a couple of laptops & LCD desktop screens. Pretty easy & usually quite cheap. If you're comfortable disasembling your laptop then you can usually replace the inverter board quite easily.

If you're *really* lucky it might just be a cable in to or out of the board that's come loose and resocketing its plugs will fix it. Don't fiddle with the inverter with the power on - it's a high voltage device.

[NutLoose]

Yep, your backlight inverter or the tubes have gone, but more likely the Inverter......... this is an easy fix and not to expensive, you could try Ebay for one and do it yourself..

Although this is an American site they are very good for this type of thing, see link and select make then model, they have a guide on the top of the page too.....

http://www.lcdparts.net/LaptopInverter2.aspx

Again dependant on model they have idiot guides with pictures on how to do it...

http://www.lcdparts.net/howto/inverterinstallation.aspx