Topic: Laptop Dim Screen

[Simon]

My cousin has asked me to post this for him:

I have a Packard Bell BL IGO 2491 Laptop. Basically when I turn on the laptop the screen is so faint I can't read it.  I have tried the basic functions on the keyboard to increase the brightness but that doesn't seem to make any difference. Someone told me to take out the battery pack and refix it back in, but that made no difference either.
 
When I phoned up Packard Bell they want to charge £130 just to pick it up that's without a diagnostic check, plus labour and parts. One 'specialist' said that if the screen has gone, it would cost £700 to replace it, as it was the most expensive item to go wrong.
 
I don't know if the bulb has gone or how to check it out, as you can't see anything on the screen.  I can't use the serial port on the laptop to even view the screen on my desktop PC as the connections are different.  The power cable feeds the monitor without the use of the serial cable.

Can anyone help?  

[Sandra]

Has this just happened suddenly or has it been getting dimmer for some time ?
As they said if its the screen thats gone its usually time to scrap them  
The only thing he can do is make sure hes plugged into the mains,(laptops tend to drop the cpu speed and maybe screen brightness too, to conserve the battery power), and check the display properties.
Cant think what the options would be in that for a laptop though  

[Adept]

Simon, if faint text is visible on the screen, it is unlikely that the LCD panel itself has failed. It sounds as if the lighting panel for the screen is gone   This should be repairable at a reasonable cost. Doesn't sound like Packard Bell understand reasonable though Does he have a computer repair shop locally he can use?

The "specialist" is correct, LCD panels for laptops are very expensive to replace and a broken screen will often  right-off the laptop. Insurance is a very good idea for laptops

[Simon]

OK, thanks.  I'll pass those on.  Any further suggestions welcome.  

[Simon]

Update: He says he's had it checked out (didn't say who by), and apparently the screen has gone.

Not having a clue about laptops myself, how would he go about retrieving the data from the laptop, onto his main PC, should he decide to scrap it?  His laptop is XP, but his main PC is only Win98.

[Dack]

Easily

Boot up with a monitor attached to the laptop (so you can see what its doing).

Either:
1. copy the stuff onto a CD (if there is a CD-Writer installed)
2. Copy it onto a memory stick drive..you will need drivers for 98. This of course is if you have USB ports on both machines.
3. Get hold of a null modem or 'laplink'  cable and set up a network connection between the two machines.

BTW it's usually just the backlight that goes on TFTs and they can be fixed with a little bit of perseverance, a lot of effort (to access the dodgy component) and a good soldering iron.

[Simon]

Boot up with a monitor attached to the laptop (so you can see what its doing).

That's the first hurdle.

I can't use the serial port on the laptop to even view the screen on my desktop PC as the connections are different. The power cable feeds the monitor without the use of the serial cable.

[ketamininja]

I can't use the serial port on the laptop to even view the screen on my desktop PC as the connections are different.  The power cable feeds the monitor without the use of the serial cable.

Ok, two things here : It sounds, from that, like he is trying to plug the monitor connection into his RS232 serial connection. Does he have a monitor connection on the notebook at all?? Check for that first.

Also, try booting in safe mode. I have a feeling he will get full colour and brightness back. Why?....

I've worked on many many notebooks with this problem. Its a total pain in the @$$, but it is usually related to a driver issue (hence it working in safe mode). Uninstalling the graphics driver, and LCD driver (if you have one) then reinstalling can do the business....

I don't fully understand WHY it dims, but I've always managed to get it back. I suppose it IS possible that the backlight has gone, but again -- if safe mode works, then the screen should be fine!

Make sure you have your insurance sorted just in case!!  

[Simon]

Thanks, K - I'll pass that on.  

[Simon]

Here's his reply by e-mail:

I have tried to start the Laptop on "Safe mode"  which was as you said the F8 key, this worked but the monitor still did not come on. Is there anywhere else in safe mode I need to check?? ie monitor settings etc?

I must admit I am not to sure about uninstalling the graphics card and the LCD driver, but if this works I will give it a go. Where abouts is this on the settings and how do you reinstall the drivers.
 
Martin

I told him the drivers should be on the CD that came with the laptop, but I wasn't sure if the procedure was the same as on a PC.  If the screen still doesn't light up in safe mode, is it worth reinstalling the drivers anyway?  

[Adept]

If the screen still doesn't light up in safe mode, is it worth reinstalling the drivers anyway?  

If the screen doesn't light up, how's he going to see the device manager screen anyway

Is the screen visible during the boot sequence Simon? If not, no amount of reinstalling drivers will make it work -it is not a Windows issue

[Sandra]

According to this product specification it has a VGA Monitor port Simon  

http://www.packardbell.it/files/pdf/it/product_specs/iGo%202491Spec_pcc.pdf

[ketamininja]

Simon:

Can he see the POST screen?
Can he see the Startup menu (F8)?


If he can, then the screen is not faulty.
If he can see the above, then he should also see the Windows LOGO screen (XP, 98, 95 - whatever).

If he sees all that, but not windows, its definitely a driver issue...  

On the other hand, if he can't see that stuff, then its definitely duff.  


-edit-
Just noticed Adept said basically the same thing!  :-[

[Simon]

If the screen doesn't light up, how's he going to see the device manager screen anyway

Is the screen visible during the boot sequence Simon? If not, no amount of reinstalling drivers will make it work -it is not a Windows issue

He has borrowed another monitor, so he can now see what's going on.  Sorry, thought I'd mentioned that.  

No, he can't see anything during boot up.  He can see that there is text on the screen, by holding it up in a light, but the screen itself doesn't light up.  Sounds like it's buggered, doesn't it?!

[Adept]

Sounds like it's buggered, doesn't it?!

Only the backlight.

As Dack and I have already said, it should be possible to fix at a fairly affordable rate. The LCD panel is OK and DOES NOT need to be replaced.

Tell your cousin to find a good laptop repair shop