Solved! [Dell-Alienware] m18x Blank screen when powering it on.

rosenberg

Distinguished
Apr 27, 2009
9
0
18,510
Hi, today I was the happiest guy on earth for 7 minutes. I unboxed my new m18x and turned it on for the first time. Everything went fine, except I noticed a flicker of a white screen showing up with a few horizontal rgb lines.

Okay, I decided to ignore it but suddenly it wouldn't work anymore and would just show a white screen. Tried rebooting, removing battery, holding fn+F5, plus a bunch of other things.

When I was calling support I noticed that on my lap it worked (would show normal screen) whilst on the table it didn't (white screen). And then I noticed that by doing a slight inclination it shifted from complete white screen to normal back and forth as I inclined.

The Tech guy suggested it was a problem with the cable connected to the lcd screen, probably badly plugged.

Is it easy to access that cable if I should open the laptop? What do you guys recommend?
I can't send to the original place because I'm not residing in the U.S. - where I bought it.

Thanks.

PS: with an external monitor works fine.
 
Solution
90% chance it's the cable, and it's actually pretty easy to fix. Just pop it open and take apart your screen. Just make sure you remember in what order you take it apart so you can put it back together with the same ease. Also take out the battery before doing this, because you can hurt yourself if you're not careful. The cable should be very obvious, and it might even slip out of where it's plugged in if it's as loose as it seems. Just push on all the connectors and ensure they're all tight. After that, before putting it back together, put the battery back in and start it up. Don't touch any wires, just watch the screen and see if it's having the same issues.

If it's not looseness, it's your cable. Then you can simply buy another and...

macewrox

Distinguished
Apr 27, 2011
66
0
18,580
90% chance it's the cable, and it's actually pretty easy to fix. Just pop it open and take apart your screen. Just make sure you remember in what order you take it apart so you can put it back together with the same ease. Also take out the battery before doing this, because you can hurt yourself if you're not careful. The cable should be very obvious, and it might even slip out of where it's plugged in if it's as loose as it seems. Just push on all the connectors and ensure they're all tight. After that, before putting it back together, put the battery back in and start it up. Don't touch any wires, just watch the screen and see if it's having the same issues.

If it's not looseness, it's your cable. Then you can simply buy another and pop and swap.

 
Solution