Solved! Lenovo IdeaPad 500 Display Issues

[thomas3]

Hi there, so my IdeaPad 500 15ISK has been giving me quite some troubles lately. Essentially the current issue is that the screen remains black when turning on, though I can hear the hard drive spinning and the num lock light turns on, though this only lasts a few (5-ish?) seconds before turning off again. When I connect to an external display via HDMI the laptop displays to the external and only recognizes this display. I'll outline the whole arc of this issue over the last month later, but this is the current state.

I'm not really sure how I've managed to solve the issues before, the first time around I just did a sweep of updates and it did the trick, the second time I reinstalled the intel display driver, and the third time I pretty much just waited a week or so and when I turned it on again it worked. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated, I really don't want to have to buy a new laptop for something that is just a software issue, like I suspect it is.

About a month ago I tried turning the laptop on during a flight and the screen showed the Lenovo logo and went black (as in, displaying a black screen--the back light on the display was still on, like how a secondary display appears before unlocking windows). This I solved using an external monitor and then installing some windows updates. Sure enough two weeks later the issue was back, same symptoms--Lenovo loading screen but no follow up. Reinstalled the display driver and moved on with my life. Third time around I just waited and it worked again. This time around though things aren't working, I tried to reinstall the driver and I tried windows updates, after this all I can hope for is to reinstall windows, right? Anyrate, enough ramblings, hopefully I've given enough information here to make this at least semi-diagnosable

 

[webworkings]

If it keeps coming back, and the external monitor works just fine, then you likely have a problem with the cable that connects your display or the display itself.

While it possible it is a driver, it is less likely.

To find out if it is the display or cable then you are going to have to open it up and check them. Check the cable for a loose connection at either end (motherboard and display) and also check it for bends, pinched sections, tears, burns, etc. Any of these can make it work and then not work at random times. If need be, replace it.

Should that not resolve it, then you likely need to replace the display.

Now if you don't feel comfortable doing all this yourself, I would suggest taking it to a local tech. Or if under warranty, contact the manufacturer.