Laptop screen fault (opinions wanted)

[DanielJames]

Morning everyone, hope you can help!

I have my friends laptop with me, they told me that the screen has been blank for a while, it works fine on an external monitor with HDMI, but there is no display on the main screen.

When you first turn the laptop on the screen will flicker the post message for perhaps 2 milliseconds (you wouldn't be able to read it) then the screen stays blank. When I first got the laptop you could see the screen very faintly, too faintly to read but you could just about make out the windows home screen.

My first thought was the lid close switch, but it's a modern Toshiba which has a magnet so that can't be at fault unless it's receiving faulty messages. Inverter? Video cable?

I don't want to tell them to start purchasing parts on guesswork unless that is final straw!

Regards
Dan

 

[H182]

Sounds like the back light. Probably the screen itself, or it could be the inverter.

Doubt it's the cause, but its worth re-seating the screen cable connection just to be sure.

 

[DanielJames]

I've reseated the cable, going to borrow a screen and inverter to test if its the same.

 

[DanielJames]

Well I just got about 30 seconds of light out of teh screen, then we get this

I've booted into BIOS too so it's not software related.


Can inverters overheat? Something is starting up normally, then timing out :S

 

[H182]

Is that with a different screen? I'm fairly certain it is the screen or the inverter. Unless its the motherboard itself not supplying enough power.

 

[wezzel98765]

Inverter!

Check to make sure that the little magnet isn't on it!

Just had a customer's CQ61 in and it had a tiny magnet on the inverter from a previous repair... this was causing intermittent problems with the inverter.

I've taken it off, now all is good

If not, I reckon inverter still!