Laptop screen turned white

[jdd2800]

My laptop screen suddenly went white yesterday while I was watching something and has been like that since. Its a thinkpad e431.

 

[Solandri]

Try connecting it to an external monitor and hitting the key combo to turn on the external display (usually F7 or Fn-F7 on a Thinkpad). If that generates no picture (or rather, a white picture like your screen), then the video card on the laptop is probably dead. The only way to fix it would be by swapping the CPU (video is built into the CPU on that model), which may not be possible since they're usually soldered in.

If it does generate a picture and the laptop is usable connected to the external monitor, then probably the internal connector to the LCD panel broke or popped off, or the electronics driving the panel died. If you're mechanically inclined, you can take apart the laptop to check the connector (along the bottom of the screen). If the connector is attached and the cable looks fine, then you may need a screen swap to get it working again. (Don't do it like the guy in the video. Unplug it and remove the battery before taking it apart.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIjFlmNR8aQ
http://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm_pdf/e431_hmm_en_0c10928_01.pdf

If you think you need a screen swap, you probably should take it to a computer repair store rather than try to do it yourself. While you can swap the screen yourself like the guy in the video, a repair store would be able to test the screen on a different laptop to determine if the problem is screen or something else. I only posted the video because if it is a loose connector, that's an easy fix.

If the cable is broken or frayed, you should be able to order one via the part number in the manual I linked.