Black screen on my Laptop

[Margaret Taylor]

My laptop appears to boot up BUT the screen does not appear to come on - black screen

 

[jjhuang42]

have you tried hitting the function key to switch displays? cycles from laptop only, laptop/external, and external only.

the other possible problems are:
1) loose monitor cable
2) bad backlight (if fluorescent bulb)
3) bad inverter
4) bad GPU

 

[Margaret Taylor]

Many thanks for your reply - can you tell me which function key to use please??

 

[jjhuang42]

depends on your laptop - what's the make and model? usually has an icon of a display on it - one of the top row of keys; have to press the Fn key simultaneously with it. You may also have a dedicated key.

 

[Margaret Taylor]

Hi again - it is a Packard Bell EasyNote/Windows Vista. Have now tried pressing the Fn key simultaneously with the icon of a display on it and nothing happened?

 

[AntiZig]

to check for backlight, get a flashlight, turn computer on, then shine the flashlight at the screen, see if you can make something out. If yes, then your backlight has died and you will need to have it replaced.

also, can you try to connect an external monitor to your laptop and see if external works? if external monitor doesn't work, you might have a motherboard/GPU problem, I'd advise taking it to a repair specialist at that point.

If external monitor works, then the problem is in your laptop monitor, most likely a bad cable or bad inverter. You should take it to the repair shop at this point too, but replacing just the lcd screen of the laptop is a lot cheaper than replacing bad motherboard/gpu.

Good luck.

 

[Margaret Taylor]

Many thanks, I will try all your suggestions and then let you know how I have got on.