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LCD Troubleshooting guide?

T

Ted

Flightless Bird
Is there a complete [and free] troubleshooting guide on the Internet
anywhere for diagnosing LCD problems?

I'm trying to diagnose a problem on my laptop (Acer 5630).

The screen is blank. I can see a dim image when I shine a flashlight
on the screen but switching to an external monitor is also blank.

Would one or more of backlight, chip or interverter problem, perhaps,
cause a dim image on the LCD but no external display?

Thanks,
Ted
 
B

BillW50

Flightless Bird
In
news:8525a6fa-5425-4193-8929-054101243537@g19g2000yqc.googlegroups.com,
Ted typed on Sun, 8 Aug 2010 12:12:06 -0700 (PDT):
> Is there a complete [and free] troubleshooting guide on the Internet
> anywhere for diagnosing LCD problems?
>
> I'm trying to diagnose a problem on my laptop (Acer 5630).
>
> The screen is blank. I can see a dim image when I shine a flashlight
> on the screen but switching to an external monitor is also blank.
>
> Would one or more of backlight, chip or interverter problem, perhaps,
> cause a dim image on the LCD but no external display?
>
> Thanks,
> Ted

External display? You mean on an external monitor it is blank too? Boy
that would be really bad if true. If not, see below.

If it only appears dark on the internal display, it is about a 49%
chance it is the inverter. And a 49% chance it is the florescent tube.
The other 2% would be the cable or the motherboard itself.
Troubleshooting whether it is the inverter or the lamp is pretty tough
without expensive equipment. And it is much cheaper to pick one or the
other and to try it. Inverters are generally easy to replace and used
ones are generally cheap. So that is probably your first try.

Lamps can be very hard to replace on the other hand. And most shops
replace the whole LCD panel complete with the lamp inside instead. This
is really costly. Although you can get used LCD screens much cheaper.
Although you don't know how much longer the lamp will last.

So there you go. If there is a troubleshooting guide out there, it is
all pretty easy as I just stated. The trick is guessing the right part
first.

--
Bill
Gateway MX6124 ('06 era) 1 of 3 - Windows XP SP2
 
T

Ted

Flightless Bird
On Aug 8, 3:51 pm, "BillW50" <Bill...@aol.kom> wrote:
> Innews:8525a6fa-5425-4193-8929-054101243537@g19g2000yqc.googlegroups.com,
> Ted typed on Sun, 8 Aug 2010 12:12:06 -0700 (PDT):
>
> > Is there a complete [and free] troubleshooting guide on the Internet
> > anywhere for diagnosing LCD problems?
>
> > I'm trying to diagnose a problem on my laptop (Acer 5630).
>
> > The screen is blank. I can see a dim image when I shine a flashlight
> > on the screen but switching to an external monitor is also blank.
>
> > Would one or more of backlight, chip or interverter problem, perhaps,
> > cause a dim image on the LCD but no external display?
>
> > Thanks,
> > Ted
>
> External display? You mean on an external monitor it is blank too? Boy
> that would be really bad if true. If not, see below.
>
> If it only appears dark on the internal display, it is about a 49%
> chance it is the inverter. And a 49% chance it is the florescent tube.
> The other 2% would be the cable or the motherboard itself.
> Troubleshooting whether it is the inverter or the lamp is pretty tough
> without expensive equipment. And it is much cheaper to pick one or the
> other and to try it. Inverters are generally easy to replace and used
> ones are generally cheap. So that is probably your first try.
>
> Lamps can be very hard to replace on the other hand. And most shops
> replace the whole LCD panel complete with the lamp inside instead. This
> is really costly. Although you can get used LCD screens much cheaper.
> Although you don't know how much longer the lamp will last.
>
> So there you go. If there is a troubleshooting guide out there, it is
> all pretty easy as I just stated. The trick is guessing the right part
> first.
>
> --
> Bill
> Gateway MX6124 ('06 era) 1 of 3 - Windows XP SP2

Thanks for the help...
Yes I do mean an external monitor. It's blank, too. But it's odd (to
me) that there's a dim image on the LCD as seen with a flashlight, so
the video chip must to be working, which is why I'd expect an external
monitor to work. (I tested the monitor and cable on another computer--
they're okay) I'll change the inverter. If that works, fine. If not,
I'll try the backlight lamp. If that doesn't work, I'll probably give
it
up.

Thanks,
Ted
 
B

BillW50

Flightless Bird
In
news:39814a34-60f4-4e72-8ec9-9a23d5017363@z28g2000yqh.googlegroups.com,
Ted typed on Sun, 8 Aug 2010 14:47:43 -0700 (PDT):
> On Aug 8, 3:51 pm, "BillW50" <Bill...@aol.kom> wrote:
>> Innews:8525a6fa-5425-4193-8929-054101243537@g19g2000yqc.googlegroups.com,
>> Ted typed on Sun, 8 Aug 2010 12:12:06 -0700 (PDT):
>>
>>> Is there a complete [and free] troubleshooting guide on the Internet
>>> anywhere for diagnosing LCD problems?
>>
>>> I'm trying to diagnose a problem on my laptop (Acer 5630).
>>
>>> The screen is blank. I can see a dim image when I shine a flashlight
>>> on the screen but switching to an external monitor is also blank.
>>
>>> Would one or more of backlight, chip or interverter problem,
>>> perhaps, cause a dim image on the LCD but no external display?
>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Ted
>>
>> External display? You mean on an external monitor it is blank too?
>> Boy that would be really bad if true. If not, see below.
>>
>> If it only appears dark on the internal display, it is about a 49%
>> chance it is the inverter. And a 49% chance it is the florescent
>> tube. The other 2% would be the cable or the motherboard itself.
>> Troubleshooting whether it is the inverter or the lamp is pretty
>> tough without expensive equipment. And it is much cheaper to pick
>> one or the other and to try it. Inverters are generally easy to
>> replace and used ones are generally cheap. So that is probably your
>> first try.
>>
>> Lamps can be very hard to replace on the other hand. And most shops
>> replace the whole LCD panel complete with the lamp inside instead.
>> This is really costly. Although you can get used LCD screens much
>> cheaper. Although you don't know how much longer the lamp will last.
>>
>> So there you go. If there is a troubleshooting guide out there, it is
>> all pretty easy as I just stated. The trick is guessing the right
>> part first.
>
> Thanks for the help...
> Yes I do mean an external monitor. It's blank, too. But it's odd (to
> me) that there's a dim image on the LCD as seen with a flashlight, so
> the video chip must to be working, which is why I'd expect an external
> monitor to work. (I tested the monitor and cable on another computer--
> they're okay) I'll change the inverter. If that works, fine. If not,
> I'll try the backlight lamp. If that doesn't work, I'll probably give
> it
> up.
>
> Thanks,
> Ted

An inverter and the lamp within the laptop should have no way any effect
on an external monitor. Can you see a display on the external too, but
it is just really dark?

--
Bill
Gateway MX6124 ('06 era) 1 of 3 - Windows XP SP2
 
S

Sjouke Burry

Flightless Bird
Ted wrote:
> On Aug 8, 3:51 pm, "BillW50" <Bill...@aol.kom> wrote:
>> Innews:8525a6fa-5425-4193-8929-054101243537@g19g2000yqc.googlegroups.com,
>> Ted typed on Sun, 8 Aug 2010 12:12:06 -0700 (PDT):
>>
>>> Is there a complete [and free] troubleshooting guide on the Internet
>>> anywhere for diagnosing LCD problems?
>>> I'm trying to diagnose a problem on my laptop (Acer 5630).
>>> The screen is blank. I can see a dim image when I shine a flashlight
>>> on the screen but switching to an external monitor is also blank.
>>> Would one or more of backlight, chip or interverter problem, perhaps,
>>> cause a dim image on the LCD but no external display?
>>> Thanks,
>>> Ted
>> External display? You mean on an external monitor it is blank too? Boy
>> that would be really bad if true. If not, see below.
>>
>> If it only appears dark on the internal display, it is about a 49%
>> chance it is the inverter. And a 49% chance it is the florescent tube.
>> The other 2% would be the cable or the motherboard itself.
>> Troubleshooting whether it is the inverter or the lamp is pretty tough
>> without expensive equipment. And it is much cheaper to pick one or the
>> other and to try it. Inverters are generally easy to replace and used
>> ones are generally cheap. So that is probably your first try.
>>
>> Lamps can be very hard to replace on the other hand. And most shops
>> replace the whole LCD panel complete with the lamp inside instead. This
>> is really costly. Although you can get used LCD screens much cheaper.
>> Although you don't know how much longer the lamp will last.
>>
>> So there you go. If there is a troubleshooting guide out there, it is
>> all pretty easy as I just stated. The trick is guessing the right part
>> first.
>>
>> --
>> Bill
>> Gateway MX6124 ('06 era) 1 of 3 - Windows XP SP2
>
> Thanks for the help...
> Yes I do mean an external monitor. It's blank, too. But it's odd (to
> me) that there's a dim image on the LCD as seen with a flashlight, so
> the video chip must to be working, which is why I'd expect an external
> monitor to work. (I tested the monitor and cable on another computer--
> they're okay) I'll change the inverter. If that works, fine. If not,
> I'll try the backlight lamp. If that doesn't work, I'll probably give
> it
> up.
>
> Thanks,
> Ted
It means that the lightsource inside is broken, or the little power-
supply feeding that lightsource, the supply is most likely.
The supply might be found on ebay.
 
T

Ted

Flightless Bird
On Aug 8, 6:04 pm, "BillW50" <Bill...@aol.kom> wrote:
> Innews:39814a34-60f4-4e72-8ec9-9a23d5017363@z28g2000yqh.googlegroups.com,
> Ted typed on Sun, 8 Aug 2010 14:47:43 -0700 (PDT):
>
>
>
> > On Aug 8, 3:51 pm, "BillW50" <Bill...@aol.kom> wrote:
> >> Innews:8525a6fa-5425-4193-8929-054101243537@g19g2000yqc.googlegroups.com,
> >> Ted typed on Sun, 8 Aug 2010 12:12:06 -0700 (PDT):
>
> >>> Is there a complete [and free] troubleshooting guide on the Internet
> >>> anywhere for diagnosing LCD problems?
>
> >>> I'm trying to diagnose a problem on my laptop (Acer 5630).
>
> >>> The screen is blank. I can see a dim image when I shine a flashlight
> >>> on the screen but switching to an external monitor is also blank.
>
> >>> Would one or more of backlight, chip or interverter problem,
> >>> perhaps, cause a dim image on the LCD but no external display?
>
> >>> Thanks,
> >>> Ted
>
> >> External display? You mean on an external monitor it is blank too?
> >> Boy that would be really bad if true. If not, see below.
>
> >> If it only appears dark on the internal display, it is about a 49%
> >> chance it is the inverter. And a 49% chance it is the florescent
> >> tube. The other 2% would be the cable or the motherboard itself.
> >> Troubleshooting whether it is the inverter or the lamp is pretty
> >> tough without expensive equipment. And it is much cheaper to pick
> >> one or the other and to try it. Inverters are generally easy to
> >> replace and used ones are generally cheap. So that is probably your
> >> first try.
>
> >> Lamps can be very hard to replace on the other hand. And most shops
> >> replace the whole LCD panel complete with the lamp inside instead.
> >> This is really costly. Although you can get used LCD screens much
> >> cheaper. Although you don't know how much longer the lamp will last.
>
> >> So there you go. If there is a troubleshooting guide out there, it is
> >> all pretty easy as I just stated. The trick is guessing the right
> >> part first.
>
> > Thanks for the help...
> > Yes I do mean an external monitor. It's blank, too. But it's odd (to
> > me) that there's a dim image on the LCD as seen with a flashlight, so
> > the video chip must to be working, which is why I'd expect an external
> > monitor to work. (I tested the monitor and cable on another computer--
> > they're okay) I'll change the inverter. If that works, fine. If not,
> > I'll try the backlight lamp. If that doesn't work, I'll probably give
> > it
> > up.
>
> > Thanks,
> > Ted
>
> An inverter and the lamp within the laptop should have no way any effect
> on an external monitor. Can you see a display on the external too, but
> it is just really dark?
>
> --
> Bill
> Gateway MX6124 ('06 era) 1 of 3 - Windows XP SP2

No. The power led was blinking, so I assumed it had no signal, at all.
Maybe the connector is bad. If there's an image on the LCD, there
ought to be one on a properly connected external monitor, right?
 
B

BillW50

Flightless Bird
In
news:76ab3a55-da5b-4bee-882a-524e7bd8a25f@l6g2000yqb.googlegroups.com,
Ted typed on Sun, 8 Aug 2010 16:11:07 -0700 (PDT):
> On Aug 8, 6:04 pm, "BillW50" <Bill...@aol.kom> wrote:
>> Innews:39814a34-60f4-4e72-8ec9-9a23d5017363@z28g2000yqh.googlegroups.com,
>> Ted typed on Sun, 8 Aug 2010 14:47:43 -0700 (PDT):
>>
>>
>>
>>> On Aug 8, 3:51 pm, "BillW50" <Bill...@aol.kom> wrote:
>>>> Innews:8525a6fa-5425-4193-8929-054101243537@g19g2000yqc.googlegroups.com,
>>>> Ted typed on Sun, 8 Aug 2010 12:12:06 -0700 (PDT):
>>
>>>>> Is there a complete [and free] troubleshooting guide on the
>>>>> Internet anywhere for diagnosing LCD problems?
>>
>>>>> I'm trying to diagnose a problem on my laptop (Acer 5630).
>>
>>>>> The screen is blank. I can see a dim image when I shine a
>>>>> flashlight on the screen but switching to an external monitor is
>>>>> also blank.
>>
>>>>> Would one or more of backlight, chip or interverter problem,
>>>>> perhaps, cause a dim image on the LCD but no external display?
>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> Ted
>>
>>>> External display? You mean on an external monitor it is blank too?
>>>> Boy that would be really bad if true. If not, see below.
>>
>>>> If it only appears dark on the internal display, it is about a 49%
>>>> chance it is the inverter. And a 49% chance it is the florescent
>>>> tube. The other 2% would be the cable or the motherboard itself.
>>>> Troubleshooting whether it is the inverter or the lamp is pretty
>>>> tough without expensive equipment. And it is much cheaper to pick
>>>> one or the other and to try it. Inverters are generally easy to
>>>> replace and used ones are generally cheap. So that is probably your
>>>> first try.
>>
>>>> Lamps can be very hard to replace on the other hand. And most shops
>>>> replace the whole LCD panel complete with the lamp inside instead.
>>>> This is really costly. Although you can get used LCD screens much
>>>> cheaper. Although you don't know how much longer the lamp will
>>>> last.
>>
>>>> So there you go. If there is a troubleshooting guide out there, it
>>>> is all pretty easy as I just stated. The trick is guessing the
>>>> right part first.
>>
>>> Thanks for the help...
>>> Yes I do mean an external monitor. It's blank, too. But it's odd (to
>>> me) that there's a dim image on the LCD as seen with a flashlight,
>>> so the video chip must to be working, which is why I'd expect an
>>> external monitor to work. (I tested the monitor and cable on
>>> another computer-- they're okay) I'll change the inverter. If that
>>> works, fine. If not, I'll try the backlight lamp. If that doesn't
>>> work, I'll probably give it
>>> up.
>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Ted
>>
>> An inverter and the lamp within the laptop should have no way any
>> effect on an external monitor. Can you see a display on the external
>> too, but it is just really dark?
>
> No. The power led was blinking, so I assumed it had no signal, at all.
> Maybe the connector is bad. If there's an image on the LCD, there
> ought to be one on a properly connected external monitor, right?

Yes! Although laptops doesn't display an image on the external monitor
when you hook them up by default. Some BIOS setups you can toggle the
display to an external monitor. But if there is no option, then Windows
must load and there is a hotkey to toggle the displays. Usually a Fn key
plus one of the function keys. The other way is through the display
properties.

--
Bill
Gateway MX6124 ('06 era) 1 of 3 - Windows XP SP2
 
T

tc

Flightless Bird
Normally, there is a key on your keyboard to switch between the 2.

Terry
"Ted" <tedbogart@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:76ab3a55-da5b-4bee-882a-524e7bd8a25f@l6g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
On Aug 8, 6:04 pm, "BillW50" <Bill...@aol.kom> wrote:
> Innews:39814a34-60f4-4e72-8ec9-9a23d5017363@z28g2000yqh.googlegroups.com,
> Ted typed on Sun, 8 Aug 2010 14:47:43 -0700 (PDT):
>
>
>
> > On Aug 8, 3:51 pm, "BillW50" <Bill...@aol.kom> wrote:
> >> Innews:8525a6fa-5425-4193-8929-054101243537@g19g2000yqc.googlegroups.com,
> >> Ted typed on Sun, 8 Aug 2010 12:12:06 -0700 (PDT):
>
> >>> Is there a complete [and free] troubleshooting guide on the Internet
> >>> anywhere for diagnosing LCD problems?
>
> >>> I'm trying to diagnose a problem on my laptop (Acer 5630).
>
> >>> The screen is blank. I can see a dim image when I shine a flashlight
> >>> on the screen but switching to an external monitor is also blank.
>
> >>> Would one or more of backlight, chip or interverter problem,
> >>> perhaps, cause a dim image on the LCD but no external display?
>
> >>> Thanks,
> >>> Ted
>
> >> External display? You mean on an external monitor it is blank too?
> >> Boy that would be really bad if true. If not, see below.
>
> >> If it only appears dark on the internal display, it is about a 49%
> >> chance it is the inverter. And a 49% chance it is the florescent
> >> tube. The other 2% would be the cable or the motherboard itself.
> >> Troubleshooting whether it is the inverter or the lamp is pretty
> >> tough without expensive equipment. And it is much cheaper to pick
> >> one or the other and to try it. Inverters are generally easy to
> >> replace and used ones are generally cheap. So that is probably your
> >> first try.
>
> >> Lamps can be very hard to replace on the other hand. And most shops
> >> replace the whole LCD panel complete with the lamp inside instead.
> >> This is really costly. Although you can get used LCD screens much
> >> cheaper. Although you don't know how much longer the lamp will last.
>
> >> So there you go. If there is a troubleshooting guide out there, it is
> >> all pretty easy as I just stated. The trick is guessing the right
> >> part first.
>
> > Thanks for the help...
> > Yes I do mean an external monitor. It's blank, too. But it's odd (to
> > me) that there's a dim image on the LCD as seen with a flashlight, so
> > the video chip must to be working, which is why I'd expect an external
> > monitor to work. (I tested the monitor and cable on another computer--
> > they're okay) I'll change the inverter. If that works, fine. If not,
> > I'll try the backlight lamp. If that doesn't work, I'll probably give
> > it
> > up.
>
> > Thanks,
> > Ted
>
> An inverter and the lamp within the laptop should have no way any effect
> on an external monitor. Can you see a display on the external too, but
> it is just really dark?
>
> --
> Bill
> Gateway MX6124 ('06 era) 1 of 3 - Windows XP SP2

No. The power led was blinking, so I assumed it had no signal, at all.
Maybe the connector is bad. If there's an image on the LCD, there
ought to be one on a properly connected external monitor, right?
 
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