Laptop won't boot and has blank display until VGA is plugged in?

[KestrelProdigal]

My girlfriend called me this morning saying that her laptop had died, so I went through the normal steps (unplug battery etc.) and nothing worked.

So when I got it I decided to see if anything was coming up at all so I plugged in a vga monitor (thinking that the screen could be the issue) and then the system booted! Not only that but the laptop screen and the monitor came on, and then unplugged the vga monitor and it worked like there was no issue.

Now comes the weird part, I shut down and powered back up and.. nothing. I then thought it was a fluke that it started before so I plugged the vga in and everything worked again. I am really confused! The only thing I can think of is thats its a bios issue? Has anybody seen this before or have any suggestions?

 

[toomanyairmiles]

That's bizzare, I'd check to see if you're on the latest version of the bios first (always a good idea).

This has happened with my laptop when I've set it to use an external monitor and not shut the machine down correctly if the machine has a function button to cycle the display output i'd start there and if that doesn't work check the graphics properties carefully and/or reinstall the graphics drivers.

Hope that helps...

 

[KestrelProdigal]

Thanks for the quick reply! I will check and update the bios if necessary as well as the drivers and report back.

 

[KestrelProdigal]

Bios was up to date, flashed it again just in case it was that but still did not fix the problem. Installed up to date display driver and that did nothing either. I also tried the function button while pressing the monitor button and it made no difference when turning it on without the vga still blank.

This is so weird.. do you think its at all possible that its a virus?

 

[toomanyairmiles]

Have you tried reinstalling the operating system? It's very unlikely to be a virus and a clean install of the OS should eliminate any potential software issues, if the problems remain after that then it's hardware.

Thinking about it, download ubuntu and boot from a burn of the ubntu cd - that should tell you if its hardware or software without the pain of a windows reinstall.

 

[khubani]

Try pressing Fn and F8 while both monitors are connected. If that doesn't work, right click on desktop, goto properties, settings, and check the double monitor feature.

 

[KestrelProdigal]

Yea the function F4 (on HP) works and switches between monitors, but I can not even see a thing on either monitor if the vga is not plugged in. When I switch it on with the vga screen plugged in then it boots and I can see it on both monitors I can then unplug the vga and it will work until I shut down.

 

[sophiazh]

Hi KestrellProdiga,

Hope you are well. Have you been able to solve the problem? I met the same problem now and would like to know how you finally solved it. Thanks a lot.

Best,
Sophia

My girlfriend called me this morning saying that her laptop had died, so I went through the normal steps (unplug battery etc.) and nothing worked.

So when I got it I decided to see if anything was coming up at all so I plugged in a vga monitor (thinking that the screen could be the issue) and then the system booted! Not only that but the laptop screen and the monitor came on, and then unplugged the vga monitor and it worked like there was no issue.

Now comes the weird part, I shut down and powered back up and.. nothing. I then thought it was a fluke that it started before so I plugged the vga in and everything worked again. I am really confused! The only thing I can think of is thats its a bios issue? Has anybody seen this before or have any suggestions?

 

[amelia93]

I don't keep Steam active all the time and though I do have some games on it, I can't remember the last time I played one of them. So, it's essentially missing my data.