Sep 27, 2004. Lenovo ThinkPad R50 drivers Download drivers Lenovo ThinkPad R50 (1830) for Windows Xp ThinkPad R50 Chipset driver Intel Chipset Support for. ThinkPad R50 Wi-Fi / Wireless Lan driver. Intel PRO 2200bg and 2915abg Mini PCI adapter wireless software for Windows 2000, XP. Windows 8.1 64bit. Windows Vista 32-bit. Windows Vista 64-bit. Windows XP Windows 8.1 32bit, 31 Oct 2013. Power management driver special package for Windows 2000/XP - ThinkPad General. Version.: 1.25.01. Version 1.25.01 - IBM Power Management driver special package for Windows 2000/XP.

Do you have a problem with the backlight on your laptop? If yes, you are not alone, that’s one of the most common laptop problems. In most cases the screen inverter is the culprit.

Here are some LCD screen backlight failure symptoms that could be related to a bad inverter board: – Laptop boots as usual but after some time the screen blacks out. You still can see an image on the screen but it’s very dim. You might even use a flashlight to see it better. Sometimes the backlight comes back for a while but then goes off again. In some cases you can turn the backlight on if you tap rapidly on the lid close switch. – The screen always stay black and the backlight never comes on but you still can make out an image on the LCD.

It’s dark, but the image is still there. -In some cases you might hear a buzzing noise coming from the area where the inverter board is located, it’s on the bottom part of the display assembly.

NOTE: if you cannot see an image on the screen (not even very dim image), most likely you have a different problem and there is nothing wrong with the screen inverter. Other related articles: Here’s an example of replacing the FL inverter board on an IBM ThinkPad T41 notebook. This guide will work fine for any other IBM notebook.

Replacing screen inverter on other notebooks like Dell, HP, Toshiba, etc will not be much different. First of all, unplug the AC adapter and remove the battery. In order to access the inverter board you’ll have to remove the LCD screen bezel.

On most laptops screws are hidden behind screw seals. In this case we have 5 screw seals on the front. Carefully remove the seals with a sharp object and glue them on the LCD bezel, in this case you will not lose them. Remove all screws and mark them somehow so you are not confused when you assemble the notebook back.

Some laptops also have screws on the side of the display. This notebook has 3 screws on each side. Remove screws seals and then remove screws. Start removing the LCD bezel with all fingers. Carefully wiggle the bezel to release plastic latches. Never use any sharp object during disassemble because you can accidentally damage the screen.

If latches are very tight you can use a guitar pick to unlock them. Insert the guitar pick between the LCD bezel and cover and carefully move it alone the side. This notebook allows you to replace the inverter board without removing the LCD bezel completely. Lift up the bottom part of the bezel and remove one screw securing the inverter board to the LCD cover.

This location is very common for the screen inverter. On most laptops you’ll find it under the display bezel below the screen. Carefully lift up the FL inverter and rotate it a little bit. Unplug cables on both sides. The left side of the inverter board connects to the video cable, the right side to the backlight bulb (CCFL tube) inside the LCD screen. Remove the inverter and replace it with a new one.

To find a new inverter board (and any other spare part too) for any IBM notebook you should use the FRU number from the part. Hi, I’d first off like to say many thanks to this laptoprepairguy as my NX5000 inverter died previously, and the instructions on this site helped me change it with complete success. I have had the second inverter for a period of about 6 months, the same problem has occurred. I reboot and it’s still black, but when I turn it off, take out the battery, press the power button, put the battery back in and boot up, it’s fine until the screen goes black again. Any suggestions? Is this still an inverter problem?

(by black i mean the inverter light turns off) Regards: Eric •. I have a Toshiba satellite 1135. It usually sits on the counter running through it’s photo screen saver. One minute it was on like normal the next minute “black”. I flipped the cover switch and it momentarly goes on for a second, but it was in a “red” cast – no other color and then black out again.

I plugged my regular screen into the laptop’s jack and the stand alone monitor worked fine. The laptop is 5 years old. Should I replace the back light as well? Or is the inverter the cause?

Thanks for any help you can give me. Hi, I was able to take apart my Inspiron 8500 laptop screen because of your websiteThanks. My problem it seems is not fixedMagnets where placed on top of my screen and since then the screen is black. I have about 1/16 inch of windows at the bottom of the screen but nothing elseI bought a used lcd and inverter hoping that this would solve the problem but it did not.I am now thinking it might be the back lightwhat do you think.??? When I hook my laptop into a regular monitor, I can see my desktop so I know that my hard drive has not been effected.Please advise if you canthanks for such a wonderful website!!!! Thank you in advance for all the time and effort you have put into this website.

My problems sound very similar to posts 8 and 43. But before I go and buy an inverter, I was hoping you could give me some specific insight.

The LCD monitor went out as I was in the middle of typing an email. After this happened, I could not see the screen (not even a faint image), however the computer was still running (as the audio still worked). I adjusted the angle of the screen-open to close-and noticed some flickering, but the screen did not come back, nor was I able to see a faint image of the desktop. I manually shut down the computer and restarted it after 5 minutes. The laptop started up normally. After about 20 minutes the sceen went out again. I repeated this process and the time to blackout was even shorter now.

The power cord connection (in the laptop) has recently become sensitive (and loose). This would cause the connection to break frequently and the laptop to switch to battery power. In the process, the screen would flicker as the transfer of power was made. Sometimes, this would happen multiple times consecutively, and consequently, the screen would flicker multiple times.

I don’t know if this has “abused” the inverter and it gave out or not even related, but it is the only problem I have had with the laptop till now. After I found these postings, I took off the screen faceplate, unplugged the right side of the converter (the left side was tight and I didn’t feel like breaking it just yet), cleaned the area, tried to adjust/settle the video cable and inverter better. Unfortunately, that didn’t fix the problem. The main reason I am posting is this: I plugged the laptop into an external monitor and booted it up. I wasn’t able to switch the video to the external monitor until the second start-up (in which case, the external monitor was the screen the laptop started running on). The moment I touched the keyboard on the laptop, the external monitor went black (as if I had disconnected it), although the laptop was still powered up.

This also seemed to be the case when using the laptop’s lcd monitor (it would go black as I touched the keyboard). I will defer to you, but would the external monitor “go black” if it was an inverter problem.

That is, is the inverted localized only to the laptop and would it affect an external video feed? I know this is a rather long post, but I wanted to be detailed. Thank you again for your response. Ryan L., The moment I touched the keyboard on the laptop, the external monitor went black (as if I had disconnected it), although the laptop was still powered up A failed inverter shouldn’t affect the external video output at all.

I think you have a different problem. The external / internal video goes black when you touch the keyboard so it’s possible that you have something loose (maybe video cable or video card) under the keyboard. Maybe some kind of gounding issue. It’s hard to guess until all connections are checked and reseated. Howard Lewis, I have installed a NEW inverter – which did not help. I’m beginning to think it may be the back light.

I can’t see any picture at all except on an external monitor. Any one agree OR disagree? When you have a bad backlight lamp, you still should see a very faint image on the laptop screen. You mentioned that there is no picture at all, so I don’t think this is a bad backlight lamp. You might have: 1.

Bad video cable (likely) 2. Bad LCD screen (likely) 3.

Bad graphics card (not likely because the external video works). There is another possibility if you can see the screen very dimly but no backlight. On my t20 I discovered it wasn’t the light nor was it the screen. It was the little button the screen pushes down when it is closed. (It’s up on the right hand side just below the battery light.) This turns off the backlight.

You might try using a needle nose tweezer to lift that button. If that turns the light on you’ve found your problem. If you take off the keyboard bezel you’ll find that the spring that is supposed to lift the button is bent too far down to do its job.

You need to either replace the bezel with one that has a tight spring, or do a little constructive bending to get the spring to push the button up enough to break the contact so the light will come on. I discovered this after replacing two inverters and a screen. It turns out they’re all good. calvin mcbell, There is another possibility if you can see the screen very dimly but no backlight. On my t20 I discovered it wasn’t the light nor was it the screen. It was the little button the screen pushes down when it is closed. (It’s up on the right hand side just below the battery light.) This turns off the backlight.

You are absolutely right. Before replacing the inverter board, I would check this little button (lid close switch) and make sure it’s not stuck inside. When the lid close switch gets stuck inside (maybe because it’s dirty), it cuts off power from the inverter board and it looks like you have a faulty screen inverter. The image is still on the screen, but it’s very very dim. Try tapping on the switch, make sure it moves freely. It might help fixing the backlight problem without replacing the inverter board. Thanks for your website, it might have saved me the money for buying a new laptop.

Just to share the experience, mine is a Compaq HP NX5000. In less than a year after I bought it, the backlight was out, HP replaced it with a new display under warranty. Now 9 months later the backlight flickers or goes out altogether (if the screen is wide opened, the flicker will stop and the screen stays on). I followed your instructions and opened the display, just pressed hard on the connectors on both ends of the inverter, turned the laptop back on, it has now been working for a couple of hours since then (the trick seems to have worked, as the flicker usually came soon after the laptop is turned on). Now if the problem recur I will try cleaning or reseating the connectors first, before replacing the inverter. Just some observations to share, if one can see faint content in the dimmed screen, most likely it is the inverter. If this situation is added with flickers which may come and go with the screen opened to an angle, it may be loose a connector at the inverter, most likely the one from the video card (opening and shutting the screen could have loosen it).

If the screen stays half dim or with red colour, it may be the backlight problem (due for replacement). If there is not even faint content in the dimmed screen (screen totally black), but you can see the picture with an external monitor, then the cable from the video card may have become loose. If you cannot see anything on the external monitor, then the video card probably has a problem. Thanks again for your website, at least now I know where the problem is and I most likely could fix it myself if it recurs. Rgds Herman •.

I have an HP dv1000. Inverter board was bad but when I replaced it, it only worked with the battery, not when plugged in. Got 2nd inverter board and replaced it today. It works with both battery or power cord BUT if laptop is powered up with the battery installed, the screen goes dim. Powered up with just the power cord, everything works fine, can run on AC or DC power. Just can’t have the battery installed when booting up. Is this an inverter problem, wiring problem, battery problem?

How does one inverter board work with just a battery and the next one can’t have the battery installed? Any ideas are appreciated. I had an issue that seemed like a classic inverter problem. The screen was still visible, just without a backlight, it worked with an external monitor, and when I pressed the screen closed button, it would flicker on for sometimes 5 seconds and sometimes an hour. Also, the top of the laptop is cracked (not the screen, but the plastic casing) just from general use.

I found a new inverter on ebay and put it in and had no change. Then, a day later, the screen lit up brightly with an audible “pop” and went dark (no backlight but still a dim LCD image) and hasn’t come on since.

My best guess is that there was a short somewhere in the backlight circuit that blew this inverter and might have blown the bulb too. So, my questions to the group are: 1) Does my diagnosis seem correct? 2) How difficult would this be to track down and fix myself without breaking something else (like the LCD)? And 3) Would I be better off just ponying up the $400 for a new display, which I’m sure I could install myself, since the current casing is cracked and the repair might be that much anyway? Jeff, The screen was still visible, just without a backlight, it worked with an external monitor, and when I pressed the screen closed button, it would flicker on for sometimes 5 seconds and sometimes an hour. Yep, looks like a classic inverter problem.

I think your diagnosis is (was) correct and I would replace the inverter board in this case too. Then, a day later, the screen lit up brightly with an audible “pop” and went dark (no backlight but still a dim LCD image) and hasn’t come on since. I’m not sure why the screen went dark. Did you use a correct inverter board?

How difficult would this be to track down and fix myself without breaking something else (like the LCD)? You’ll have to find another inverter board or find a test backlight lamp. It would appear that my inverter went out last night but, now that I’ve already gone ahead and purchased a new one and disassembled my laptop, I wanted to post here and ask for a ‘second opinion’. Here’s the situation: I’ve got an HP Pavilion ze5300 series laptop.

Last night, I was working on it doing some graphics work and the screen went dark. I could still see some of what was there, but it was extraordinarily dim (though, this morning, nothing is visible at all).

So, after some quick research via Google, I went on eBay and found what I thought I needed (a new inverter) and it should be shipping out tomorrow. Am I correct in thinking that is that the correct repair? If it’s not, is the cold-cathode flourescent bulb something I can fix on my own, or would it be better just to order a new screen and lid for ~$200.00? Thanks for the assistance! Jacin, I was working on it doing some graphics work and the screen went dark. I could still see some of what was there, but it was extraordinarily dim Most likely it’s just a bad inverter board and your diagnosis is correct.

If it’s not, is the cold-cathode fluorescent bulb something I can fix on my own, or would it be better just to order a new screen and lid for ~$200.00? If you can find a new screen and lid just for $200, I would go with that. Replacing the backlight lamp is not an easy repair. I have a Dell Inspiron 8500 that I dropped The upper half of the screen is fine! The lower half is lit, but is actually displaying the last line of the top half of the screen all the way to the bottom.

At first, I hooked up an external monitor and it was working full screen there, but eventually it turned blue, then green now won’t work at all. Think it is the video card which i understand is part of the mother board, or think it is the screen and the video card? I’ve been laid off work and need to find a solution fast and inexpensively of course! Thanks for any help you can be. Thanks for enlightening us technically challenged folk.

I tried changing my inverter and it worked fine for 3 hours or so, then it just wnet black again. I can get it to work again briefly by pressing the screen cable down next to where the inverter is and opening and closing the screen. There’s a knack to it. But even that’s stopped working.

What is wrong with the thing? I only need it to last me a few more months. Is it the screen cable? Do I go find out how to change that now? Thanks, Chaz. First of all, thanks for the previous help.

I got the inverter that I’d ordered, but despite assurances from the seller that it works on all HP and Compaq laptops with a 15 inch screen, it didn’t do anything to solve my problem. It also wasn’t the same model / part that I’d taken out, so I’m hoping THAT is what the issue was and ordered one that I’m absolutely certain is the same part number and everything.

I’ve powered up the screen with the old inverter, with the different inverter that was the wrong part number, and without any inverter at all and it’s all the same level of ‘dim’ so, in that regard, I’m still hoping that’s the issue. My question now is, if I get that new, correct inverter in there and that doesn’t solve the issue, what’s my next course of action? Jacin, Even though the screen is dim, I assume you still can make out an image on it, correct? If I get that new, correct inverter in there and that doesn’t solve the issue, what’s my next course of action?

Try reseating the video cable connector on the motherboard 2. Make sure the lid close switch isn’t stuck inside and moves freely. Try tapping on the lid close switch and see if the backlight flashes when you do that. You can do 1 and 2 before you buy a new inverter.

If installing a correct inverter doesn’t solve the issue either, then one of the following parts is bad: – backlight lamp inside the screen (more likely) – video harness (not very common but possible) – motherboard (less likely) •. Chris, The strange thing is, I can actually change the brightness of the black If you can change the brightness of the black then I assume it’s not an inverter problem. If I understand right, you have the following symptoms. The screen is blank but it’s not completely dark, you still can adjust the brightness of the backlight (inverter and backlight lamp are OK). There is NO video on the laptop LCD, not even a faint image. The laptop still works with an external monitor (probably the motherboard is OK).

Is it close enough? If yes, then the LCD doesn’t get data from the video card. First, I would try reseating the video cable on both ends – on the motherboard and on the LCD screen too. It might be just a lose connection.

If it doesn’t help, I would probably replace the video cable, it’s the less expensive part. If replacing the video cable doesn’t help either, you have either a bad LCD or a faulty video card (probably integrated into the system board). In this case you’ll have to guess witch one is bad. Ideally, you just connect a test LCD and this test helps a lot.

Unfortunately not everybody has a spare LCD at home. Rory, Could it be the bulb? If so, how & where do I find the bad bulb? Is it a replaceable item? Yes, it could the the bulb.

Unfortunately there is no simple answer because you might have a bad bulb, defective video cable or faulty motherboard. The only way to find out is installing a test screen or connecting a known good backlight bulb. For cases like this I always keep 2-3 different backlight bulbs I removed from broken screens, it makes my troubleshooting process much easier. Is it possible to replace the backlight bulb? Yes it is but I never done it myself.

The backlight bulb is buried deep inside the screen and replacing it is not an easy job. CJ, Thanks for the info. Looks like a job for a professional. Unfortunately, I don’t have any test parts. I am thinking the best, easiest & most practical fix for me is a brand new LCD screen.

I’ll keep the new inverter since the old inverter is 3 yrs old & used approx 4 hrs a day average. How easy is it to replace the keyboard? The most used letters have worn – no big deal but if I am going to replace the LCD I might as well replace the keyboard also. But, I don’t want to open a pandoras box and because of my inability, cause other problems. What’s your opinion? Thanks again for your speedy reply!

I have a HP ze5300 with this problem I am attempting to fix. The hardest part so far is removing the screws. (This is the most common stumbling block in most other types of repairs I’ve encountered.) I have three of the six out so far. The other three (along the top) I can’t get a grip on with my phllips. I have the screen on the table (keyboard up) as it is easier to remove screws with the screwdriver in the vertical position for better control.

I have my notebook on a flat, stable surface and with ample lighting for the dark-color laptop. I want to avoid stripping out the screws or getting metal bits on my screen. It’s possible they have been affected the most by weather (haat and cold) and so need something to help them out. Any suggestions? Is there a lubricant that can be safely applied to a notebook screw? Thomas Gregor, As Mike suggested check the BIOS power settings.

Check the lid close switch button. This button cuts off power from the inverter board (and backlight lamp) when the display is closed.

Make sure the lid close button is not stuck inside the laptop case. Sometimes the lid close button might get stuck inside the case and the inverter board will not get any power, as a result the LCD screen has no backlight. If a known good inverter board doesn’t help and there is nothing wrong with the lid close switch, you might have a problem with the backlight lamp, motherboard or video cable. It’s hard to say which part is failing, probably you have a bad backlight lamp but this is only a guess. have a compaq v2000 with a screen which does not light up nor does it show any dim images on it at any point whatsoever. It remains completely and totally black throughout the entire bootup process up to and following, windows xp desktop. Connecting to an external monitor shows the laptop is working.

I have ensured that the video cable into the motherboard is plugged in securely, and that the connectors in and out of the inverter are snug. Inverter or backlight? Any ideas is greatly appreciated. actually, i think it might be the motherboard itself.

I googled and someone had some (what) success with setting the video driver to “single monitor.” i fiddled with numerous combinations with the video driver and all of a sudden, a vibrant image came back on the screen! Upon turning off the laptop and coming back to it, the screen was blank and black again. I reloaded the driver but only had an image on the screen one more time. So, perhaps a faulty video circuit on the presario v2000 motherboard.

I googled v2000 and other folks weren’t having a happy experience with this motherboard either. Harreson, This is not a problem with the inverter board or the backlight lamp because when either of these parts fails you still should be able to make out a very faint image on the scree. Actually, i think it might be the motherboard itself.

Not sure about that. In the comment 112 you mentioned that the laptop works fine with the external monitor and it means that most likely the motherboard/video card operates properly.

Yes, it’s possible that you have a faulty motherboard, but it also could be a faulty video cable or even bad LCD screen. It’s hart to tell that is wrong until you test the laptop with a another LCD screen. Great information on your site. I have one question, I took my Dell C610 14.1″ display apart to remove and replace the inverter. I took the old inverter out and I cannot find a part number or anything.

How do I find the part number so that I can replace the inverter with a compatible one? I bought an inverter off of eBay and it says it’s for a Dell C610 and it has a part number that starts with LXN. It does not fit the little metal strip that my old one was screwed into. The “groove” on the metal strip does not fit with the “notch” on the inverter. Hi I have a IBM T40 with a problem which I am not sure what to think about or how to go about isolating. But the thing is the computer will boot fine, no dim sscreen or anything but after a few minutes it freezes, that is to say the mouse button will NOT move and no keyboard commands do anything either. Image on screen is fine but will flicker if I turn the laptop or move it or it goes totally black and if I move it again it may show an image again but everything frozen, this also may happen if I move the screen as if to close it.

Sometimes I get a hardcrash and a blue screen of death and it says the problem was caused by Ati2Dvag. If I leave the computer and turn it on later it will again boot until the same dance begins. Great site! A few weeks ago some beer was spilled into my Gateway MP8708.

I’ve since replaced the motherboard with great results except for the display being dim – an image is visible, but only with a flashlight. I went on to replace the inverter #AS023217020 with no improvement. Rather than fuss with soldering new backlights, I swapped out the 17″ LCD display (Samsung #LTN170x2-L02) for a new one – result was same dim LCD image. Should I be double- and triple-checking the wire connections for a proper seat, or am I missing something more fundamental? Perhaps the switch that turns off the backlight when the lid is closed? The image is there, just can’t get it to light up Please help!!

Ostap, If the beer was spilled only over the keyboard and it didn’t go inside the LCD screen, then most likely the old inverter/backlight lamp/LCD screen weren’t damaged and they are good. I don’t think that internal display parts can by damaged because of the beer spill on the keyboard. You said that after the motherboard replacement the image on the screen is visible. Do yo get the same result (visible image without backlight) with both old and new LCD/inverter board? Did you try different combinations as old inverter/new screen, new inverter/old screen, new inverter/new screen, etc?

If you tried it but still cannot light up the screen, then most likely the motherboard is not functioning properly or the video cable has been damaged and has to be replaced. Sorry, I cannot narrow down the problem. In this case you’ll have to guess.

Khahn, In most cases, when a laptop screen looses backlight but you still can make out a dim image on the screen, your problem is a faulty inverter board. From my experience, this is correct for most cases but not all of them. If you have replaced the inverter board but still experience the same issue, there could be many different reasons. It can be related to the lid close switch, defective video cable, bad motherboard, faulty backlight lamp or not properly working inverter board. Unfortunately, there is no way to find out what is wrong until you test the laptop with a known good backlight lamp and inverter board. No one can tell. You’ll have to test the laptop with good parts.

Hello, I orginally posted this under a different article and thought this one to be more appropriate for my problem. One of my users has an Inspiron 6000 that is used mainly with an external monitor. Recently she came to me because the screen on the laptop had this pink hue to it, but the display on the external monitor was fine. I started to research this and found that bad CCFL’s will cause this. However, later the same day it seems the CCFL went out all together because the screen on the laptop is very dim but you can still make out icons and wallpaper. However the external monitor display is still fine. There is no lid switch that I can see so I’m assuming it’s internal and moving the LCD display and closing/reopening does not change anything.

After reading through all the posts here I guess my question is, even though it had the pink hue which points to a CCFL issue, since it now is very dim do you think it is a CCFL issue or an inverter issue? Joaquin, It is hard to guess without testing the laptop with a known good backlight lamp but I would assume that this is a backlight related problem. Is it possible that both CCFL and inverter are failed at the same time?

Yes it’s possible but unlikely. You see, the laptop already had bad backlight lamp and it’s possible that the lamp just died on you. Just explain it to your customer and I think she will understand. Anyways, Inspiron 6000 inverters are not expensive and you can find a new one for about $25-30. Hi CJ2600, No I have not been inside the machine yet. The user came to me with the pink screen and I started researching and then an hour later they came back to my office saying the screen was black which we later determined was actually just really dim. My boss had me research what it would take to repair it which is what led me to your site.

To tell you the truth I was hoping it was an inverter because it seems those are easier to replace unlike a CCFL. I researched replacing CCFL’s and it requires going deep into the screen assembly and desoldering and resoldering the CCFL. Do you think this procedure is doable or am I just intimidated because it requires soldering? Or is it more headache than it’s worth and should I just try to find a replacement screen? Is replacing the whole screen going to fix my problem and is it easier than changing out the CCFL? Joaquin, Do you think this procedure is doable or am I just intimidated because it requires soldering?

Or is it more headache than it’s worth and should I just try to find a replacement screen? Is replacing the whole screen going to fix my problem and is it easier than changing out the CCFL? Replacing the backlight lamp is not an easy task, I have never tried it myself. I would probably try it on my own laptop but if you are doing it for your customer it’s a different story. What if you damage the screen?

What if you break the CCFL tube? Do you know what is going to happen? Yep, they will blame you.

And this job will turn into a nightmare. If you can get out by replacing the screen, just replace the screen.

If you search for “Inspiron 6000 screen”. You can find many offers, you can buy this screen for about $200. It is MUCH easier to replace the whole screen then changing the CCFL lamp. Thanks for the link by the way.

Lee Johnson, The Dell was dropped off a bed before this problem started. Could it be the backlight itself? If a known good inverter doesn’t fix the problem then probably you have a faulty backlight lamp. Unfortunately the only way to find out is testing the laptop with a good backlight lamp. Make sure the video cable is seated properly on both ends and makes a good contact with the motherboard/video card and the LCD screen. If this model has a discrete video card, make sure the video card itself is making a good contact with the motherboard. re: compaq v2000 no image whatsoever – comments 112/113 your suggestions in comment 114 have proven to be right on.

I was lucky to get my hands on a hp dv1000 screen. I put the dv1000 screen in the compaq v2000 and a nice clear image came up! I took both screens apart and swapped the video cable (even though they don’t quite the same and the cable routing is not the same) and the dv1000 cable worked with the v2000 screen and v2000 inverter.

The dv1000 screen stopped working with the v2000 cable. –>need new working v2000 lcd cable. Thx for your suggestions! They/you were very helpful! Keep up the great work! Hey again, sorry about the double post, just read through all of the previous comments. I re-checked all of the connections and the lid-button-thingy and it’s all fine.

The screen flickers red at the very start and then goes dim, and since I replaced the inverter (twice!) I guess that means the problem is in the light itself, but you guys don’t seem to reccomend trying to replace it. Still, what if the Dell guys just want to replace the whole screen? If they’re going to replace it anyway then who cares if I might damage it attempting to replace the backlight lamp? Or is there some other expensive thing that I’d need to watch out for? -Not intimidated by soldering. Thanks for all the help this site has given, it is very much appreciated! It sounds like I have a similar issue to Bobby.

I have an hp dv1207. My screen went dim about a week ago. I read up online and all symptoms pointed to an inverter problem – so I replaced the inverter.

Now, strangely, my screen comes up bright when my computer is first booted (this didn’t happen before). After about 5 seconds, the screen goes dim again. When I switch to an external monitor, my screen will flash up for a few seconds, then dim. The external monitor displays without a problem, so I know the computer is working. Could my new inverter possibly be defective??? It obviously did something to help (I’m assuming since the screen will light up now, even if only for a second) but doesn’t seem to have fixed the entire issue. Any advice you can offer is GREATLY appreciated.

Bobby – if you find anything out about your issue Thanks! Laptop Repair Guy, Thanks, first of all for the excellent site and detailed instructions.

I wanted to share with all my experiences with several IBM Thinkpad laptops we use in a “harsh environment” in which the dimly lit screen was visible in the background, but replacement of the inverter board did not fix the problem. The symptoms were very much like the bad inverter problems faced by many here, but the actual problem was that the microswitch which gets depressed when the laptop is closed (located in your second picture on the lower left of the laptop) gets stuck down. Using a very small screwdriver, I was able to pry up the microswitch and – Voila! – four working Thinkpads!

Had I tried this before disassembling the laptops and ordering parts through eBay, I would have saved a lot of time and money. Thanks again for a great site. I have a acer aspire 3618,and need some help trying to figure out if I am getting any voltage to the inverter,the LCd has the faint images and when connected to an external,everything works. I attached the LCD to another laptop inverter and ribbon,the LCD checked out fine.I have purchased three new inverters and all do the same thing,nothing,the backlight remains off. So with a radio shack voltage meter how do I test it to make sure that I am getting voltage to the inverter,so I can rule out the motherboard and or the inverter cable???Thanks James T •.

Sir, This website is really helpfull. I but I can still figure out my problem. I drop some water over my laptop keyboard, it was working fine but after 5 minutes the buttom part of the screen started to flicker, then it show a faded image, it came back and work fine. The it did it again exept this time is a white line about 1 inch and a 1/2 thick. It covers the WinXP start icon and when I drag the mouse thru the wihe line the Coursors diisapear. Yesterday the line was gray and this morning it was working fine. When this happens the rest of the screen looks fine except the 1 1/4 inch line that covers the windows bar.

I also hook my laptop to an external monitor and the image was good so i know is not the Video Card. Could it be the mother board or the screen inverter? Than you Sir •. James Trainer, need some help trying to figure out if I am getting any voltage to the inverter Not sure if I can help you here.

I do not test inverters with voltmeter, I just use a known good inverter. Here’s my guess.

Set voltmeter to test DC. Put the ground probe of the voltmeter on the laptop chassis and with “+” probe test each wire inside the harness coming to the inverter board. If there is voltage, probably nothing is wrong with the motherboard. If not, try replacing the harness.

This is just a guess. I have a hp pavilion dv1000. Originally the screen was dim and could see screen with a flashlight so i thought it was the inverter bought a new one off ebay replaced it.

Turned it on it worked fine for 10 mins all fine but once i closed the laptop and openeed it again same problem occurred the screen would go on for a second and go dim again. I waited 30 min for it to cool down i turned it on it works fine now again untill it gets hot like lets say 20 mins of using it and once u close or press the lid botton the scren stays dimmed untill you totally turn off the notbook leave it for it to cooldown.i dont know if it could be the inverter again or the LID botton that could be stuck and doesnt let a full power connection to be made. Cheryl, It’s hard to tell what is wrong until you. Sorry, I know that most likely you don’t have it so you’ll have to guess. If you replaced the inverter board two times already but still experiencing the same issue, most likely it’s not the inverter problem.

Could it be a faulty backlight? Yes, absolutely, but it also could be a faulty video cable or even motherboard. If I would have to guess, I would go with the backlight lamp.

It’s hard to troubleshoot these kind of failure without proper equipment. I am going to replace the backlight. It is in the mail.

For $14 we thought we would give it a try. Hubby has more faith in me than I do. I wonder though.

You mentioned the motherboard. May I ask a further question on that topic?

I am using an external monitor from my desktop right now and I see the picture great. Would I be able to use this monitor if the problem was the motherboard? Or are they 2 separate things.

Am having trouble with my battery and wondering if it is the motherboard. Hence my question. THank you again. Cheryl, You mentioned the motherboard.

May I ask a further question on that topic? I am using an external monitor from my desktop right now and I see the picture great.

Would I be able to use this monitor if the problem was the motherboard? In most cases, if you can get video on the external monitor, there is nothing wrong with the motherboard or video card.

I am having trouble with my battery and wondering if it is the motherboard. There is no simple answer to this question. What kind of problem you are experiencing with the battery? Usually, to find out witch one is causing the problem the battery or the motherboard you’ll have to test the laptop with another good working battery. Hi, Thank you for your help. I did go ahead and replace the backlight. I was very careful and guess what It didn’t work.

SO just to quickly review, I replaced the backlight, and the inverter, I am at a loss. Still get an image on the screen but very, very dim. I am viewing the screen on an external monitor. The company selling the inverter is sure it was a working one. (But found out it was harvested).

But I think I will go ahead and resolder the light just to make sure. I don’t know, I am grasping at straws. On the battery, I haven’t found the pattern in the problem, but here is the background.

The battery life was gettig quite short, but the laptop was purchased in 2003. SO just thought it was the battery life. We started having powerjack problems and the battery would only work for minutes at a time.

I chalked it up to being an old battery. I went the route of having it refilled. Now the Battery LED light may come on for a sec. But goes out immediately.

The computer will not run on the battery at all. Originally the power meter in windows had 0% charged and showed the batteries ID information, also it said it was online and charging. BUT when looking at the power meter without the battery installed. IT gives basic information of a Bat1 Battery and says it is online and charging. I tried refreshing it by going into safe mode and unplugging the Adapter. THe computer shuts right off.

It doesn’t seem to recognize the battery is there to draw from. After doing that the first time, I left the Laptop plugged in, No charging light, and the next day we were at 47% according to windows power meter. Since then it is down to 46% and holding, the Laptop still will not run on the battery and I can’t seem to get it to charge anymore even by going in to the safemode. ALSO, the show power meter on taskbar check box was checked, but it was not showing.

Simply unchecked, clicked apply and rechecked and applied and it did appear. But still can not use the battery. Lastly, I get a very short flash of lights when trying to start the laptop on the battery. Almost unnoticable. If you have any ideas, I would greatly appreciate it.

Sorry for my long winded explanation. Thanks again. Your disassembly instructions are GREAT. I came across your website after searching for a resolution for my wife’s R50. Similar problem to what alot of others have; no backlight. The image is there on the LCD, but it’s dark (that would be the definition of no backlight!) External monitor works fine. So I bought a new inverter card and replaced it.

It was a drop ship from IBM, so I’m fairly sure it’s good. And the LCD still has no backlight. I have not had a chance to check the output voltage, but I’m going to /assume/ it’s OK. One thing to note, when I turned on the computer after replacing the inverter, I heard a hissing from the bottom left of the screen. It sounded like a gas charging (or discharging). Any thoughts? What would the next step be?

Do I replace the backlight? Any recommendations on where to get that? PS: The same computer has similar battery problem as Cheryl; I’ve written it off to the short discharge cycle my wife was doing. She would only use it on battery for 30 to 60 minutes at a time.

Cheryl, I replaced the backlight, and the inverter, I am at a loss. Still get an image on the screen but very, very dim.

Make sure the LCD lid close switch is not stuck inside the case, it should move freely. If parts you installed into the laptop were good, then the next logical step would be replacing the video cable and finally the motherboard (or video card if it’s a separate module). I don’t know what else to blame. I left the Laptop plugged in, No charging light, and the next day we were at 47% according to windows power meter. Since then it is down to 46% and holding, the Laptop still will not run on the battery Not sure if refilling the battery is a good way to go, never done it before myself.

Unfortunately you cannot tell if refilling the battery worked well, at least I don’t know a good way of testing the battery beside charging it in another working laptop. You’ll have to test your laptop with another KNOWN GOOD working battery. If it fails too, you have a problem with the motherboard. Hello: I’ve been tinkering with laptops for only a short time now so my cousin gave me a dead one (HP ze5375) which no one would fix even with an expensive extended warranty. It turned out to be the notorious power connector problem.

I bought another motherboard on eBay and I am in the process of putting it back together slowly but my main concern is the note in the service manual that after replacing the motherboard I must reprogram the EEPROM on the motherboard for the new display. Is this going to be a problem? I can”t find any info on the HP website that the manual refers to as the Partnership Web site.

Richard Lewandowski, my cousin gave me a dead one (HP ze5375) which no one would fix even with an expensive extended warranty What do you mean they cannot fix it even with extended warranty. If the laptop is still covered by the warranty, they should fix it. If they cannot fix, they should replace the laptop.

This is the main purpose of the warranty. The note in the service manual that after replacing the motherboard I must reprogram the EEPROM on the motherboard for the new display.

Is this going to be a problem? Most likely you cannot find this utility on the HP website because it’s available only for authorized repair centers. You purchased another motherboard from eBay and probably this is a used motherboard.

There is a good chance that you don’t have to reprogram the motherboard because it had been programmed already and it will work as is. hany, I think I know what you are talking about because I have the same problem with one of my laptops, it’s a Toshiba Satellite 3005.

Unfortunately I didn’t have time to find out what is causing the problem but I think it’s related to the backlight lamp. From my experience, when you have a faulty inverter board the backlight either work or not. But in my case the backlight works all the time but the screen kinda flickers, changing the brightness and I think it happens because the backlight lamp is failing (it’s located inside the LCD screen). Pedro, Did you remove the CPU during the disassembly process?

If you did, make sure the CPU is properly seated inside the socket and the socket is locked. Check the memory, it may not making a good contact with the memory slot. Reconnect the memory module. To start any laptop with video you need only three main parts: motherboard (I assume the video card is integrated into the motherboard), processor and memory.

If these parts are not defective, you should be able to get video. If there is no video, either you have bad parts or there is some kind of connection issue between these parts.

Hi there, it is me, Cheryl. Seeming to have a never ending story with the lcd problems. After replacing the video cable and checking out the lid close switch which could actually be the problem I did some research and found out that for the HP series zd7000 there is what HP calls a Global alert or ADT. It concerns video problems (I think it is due to the GPU or something on the motherboards that has consistently gone bad on the zd7000.) They are replacing them the motherboard free of charge My laptop is out of warranty, but they are still replacing it free of charge.

I am hoping that this will fix the problem If anyone has questions Chat with them (HP) and mention the ADT ID # 1760. Some web forums mention a global alert from april of 2006 around the 20th. Not sure if you need all that informaiton. Hi, A couple weeks ago, the screen of my Dell Inspiron E1505 started appearing pinkish and flickered. After a day or two, the screen went to black and I could barely see the image.

I use the laptop with external monitors so I knew the system was working fine otherwise. Based on the symptoms, I deduced that it was the backlight. From what I’ve read, it’s really difficult to replace just the backlight (at least on Dells). I couldn’t afford to be without the laptop for even a day so I bit the bullet and bought a new screen (w inverter attached) online. I followed Dell’s instructions to replace the screen, which meant literally taking half the laptop apart (is that necessary?) Anyway, it worked fine for about a month and then the screen went black, just like before but without the pink stage. I called the company that sold me the screen and they suspected it might be the inverter and sent me a new one.

They suggested I first put it on my old screen and to try reinstalling that. I did and it started up fine but within minutes the screen was pinkish and then went to black. This seems to confirm that the first screen indeed had a backlight problem. I took the laptop apart again and reinstalled the newer screen with the new inverter. That worked, which seems to indicate that the second screen’s inverter was the culprit. My only issue now is that the screen seems dim.

I use the brightness control but that doesn’t really make any difference. When I try, the screen flickers for a second like it’s adjusting but the brightness maybe varies 5% from the top to the bottom setting. Though I’m happy to have the screen working again, I’m considering trying to install the original inverter (I had to get a little rough to get it off the original screen) or trying another one. Could the inverter be causing the brightness problem? The tiny pink wire that connects the inverter to the screen has a tiny wear mark on it so I can see a little bit of darkness of the wire inside. The wire’s not exposed but perhaps it was pinched before.

Possibly the culprit? Also, in your experience, can I use method on this page or is there something particular about the Dells where you have to take them all apart?

Doesn’t seem like it in retrospect but, my first time in, I didn’t want to take any chances. Any perspective on the whole experience would be greatly appreciated. Hi, Last week, my Dell 6000’s screen went dim all of a sudden.

After some Google research, I found this website and decided that the problem was the LCD Inverter. The screen was very dim, though I could still make out some images and an external monitor worked perfectly.

I found one on eBay and ordered it. Once it arrived, I installed it which took about 15 minutes. I turned the computer on and everything worked fine again. So, I put the computer back together and turned it on. The screen was dim again. I turned it off and turned it back on.

The laptop then worked perfectly again, with a bright screen. But, I heard a high pitched squeal coming from the bottom of the monitor. I determined, through more Google research, that it was the inverter again.

I’m not sure if I simply installed it incorrectly, which seems unlikely since it does work, or if there is something wrong with the power source. The battery on this laptop is quite old and does not hold a charge for longer than an hour anymore. There are constantly orange blinking lights, which signifies this, according to more Google research. Is there any way to subdue the squealing noise without buying another new inverter, or is the problem a bulb? I have been running my laptop on the dimmest setting, since the highest setting makes the squealing noise.

Actually, I just raised the setting, and the screen is now dim again. I saved this post to a text document (barely seeing what I was doing) and restarted the computer. Now, it’s working again on the dimmest setting. Regards, ~Scott Internapse.com •. I have a HP Pavilion ze5300 with a power jack that has come loose. I’ve been able to use the laptop by toggling the cable a little whenever I get a power message, but it is getting worse. Is this something that I can repair myself?

I have been quoted about $200 for labor and parts, but online I see that this part is just under $4.00. My biggest concern is opening up the laptop without breaking anything. Is there a resource where I can get instructions on taking apart my specific laptop? Laptop Repair, I have some of the same symptoms as people mention on here and still haven’t been able to pinpoint my problem. Any help would be appreciated. Here are the symptoms and what I’ve done so far.

My LCD on my IBM went black one day while it was booting. The color was always great until the last day so there were no symptoms of a fading bulb. It happened all of the sudden. I can still see everything on the screen with a flashlight but it’s not bright. I can hook it up to an external monitor use the computer fine that way so I think the graphics card is ok. I then bought a new inverter card from IBM thinking it would be a quick and easy fix that were the problem.

I swapped them out, made sure the connections were good, and still the same problem. I can see everything, but it’s not bright. Then I ordered a new bulb and attempted to replace my bulb on my own.

I soldered the new bulb to the leads and tested it with the new inverter. It never lit up. So I thought I damaged the bulb when I tried to repair it. Then I thought it could be a setting in windows.

So I went into the display properties and noticed that my LCD monitor was shut off. I turned it on, applied settings, hit ok and then switched to the LCD output and still had the same result. It had picture but just very dull. Adjusting the brightness didn’t do anything either. I then bought a used replacement LCD on Ebay and hooked it up with the new and old inverter card, new one first, then had the same problem even with that monitor. Picture but not bright! I think the inverter card should be ok because it’s new, the LEDs light up, and all the connections are good.

I think it’s unlikely that my old LCD, new bulb and used LCD are all bad. One of those bulbs should have lit up with the new inverter card. Could it be something with the graphics card?

Display Driver? I did a fresh install of the recovery CDs containing windows 2000 pro.

It restores the system to the factory settings. I still get the same output.

What is going on here? Thank you, Kyle •. Kyle, I can still see everything on the screen with a flashlight but it’s not bright. I can hook it up to an external monitor use the computer fine that waybought a new inverterordered a new bulbbought a used replacement LCD Looks like you’ve replaced everything that could be related to this problem. Here’s one more thing you can try. Did you check the lid close switch? It’s a small button located close to the left hinge.

This button turns off the backlight when the display is closed. It’s possible that the lid close switch got stuck inside the case and because of that the power never gets to the backlight lamp. Make sure the lid close switch moves freely, without any problem. Try tapping on the lid close switch when the laptop is running and see if it makes any difference. I have replaced the FL inverter board3rd time now1st time worked for 4 monthssecondlasted 1 day, I thought I had an out of box failure, but still the same symptoms.

Here’s what happens: Toshiba M45on boot up, you can see the Toshiba logoafter 30 seconds or more, the screen goes “blank” but you can see a very faint image. I tap the cover switch, or hit FN-F5 a few times, the screen comes on, then goes blank again. Ocaisionally, it will stay on for a few hours. I was going to reload the machime for Sh!t’s and giggles, but when I boot from the XP cd rom, it does the same thingsso the problem is not related to the OS.

I’m guessing it’s either the screen, system board, or the cablesoh, and by the way, I can hook up an external monitor, and it works fine. mike, I have replaced the FL inverter board3rd time now1st time worked for 4 monthssecondlasted 1 day, I thought I had an out of box failure, but still the same symptoms. Here’s what happens: Toshiba M45on boot up, you can see the Toshiba logoafter 30 seconds or more, the screen goes “blank” but you can see a very faint image.

Probably you have a problem with the backlight lamp (CCFL). This lamp is located inside the LCD screen. The backlight lamp itself is not expensive but it’s hard to because you’ll have to open up the LCD screen.

Unfortunately, the only way to test the laptop is connecting another working backlight lamp and see if it works fine. If the test lamp works fine, the backlight lamp inside your screen is bad and has to be replaced. If the test lamp fails the same way as the original one, there could be a problem with the motherboard or the video cable.

But I don’t think this problem is related to the video cable. My IBM T42 screen is no longer bright, i thought it was the inverter, so i bought one off ebay, it didn’t work, the seller sent me another one, and this time i ordered a CCFL backlight too, i finished soldering it with the old connectors, and tested it, it still did not work, so two backlights(mine + brand new), 3 inverters(mine + 2 used/they said it was working), and still no success, im suspecting the inverter again, and planning to buy it from a different seller. I connected the Laptop to my PC monitor using the VGA cables, and it works pefectly. Could ANY body help me out b4 i lose my patients and throw the laptop away, it’s taken 1 month just for parts to arrive! Finally, could someone suggest a diagnostics, could it be the mobo, video, video cable, or another inverter?

Thanks, will be refreshing this page steadily! Okay, my husband has now purchased and replaced two backlight inverters for our HP Pavillion dv1000. He was able to install them thanks to your excellent photos and instructions. The first one lasted exactly 3 weeks and then went out. The guy we got it from (ebay) made good and sent us another one.

Husband installed that one and everything worked fine. Just went out yesterday.exactly 3 weeks again! What the????? Any ideas what might cause this? Since they both worked for exactly 3 weeks I can’t believe it is the inverter. What do you think??? Hi, thanks for your informative repair pages.

Before I replace the backlight unit resp. The inverter I want to find out, if the inverter fails or if the fault lies _before_ the inverter. I poured by accident a glass of wine into my Thinkpad R40 and it went off. Afdter cleaning and drying overnight it started up the next morning but the backlight stayed off. I dont assume that the wine got into the inverter, it just soaked the keyboard. So I think there may be some instance which commands the inverter to power up. Can I measure anywhere on the mainboard if the inverter gets this signal?

Thank you, Richard •. My Ibm Thinkpad t41 never usually gives any problems i guess its because i dont use it much the display is somewhat fudged when i put it on charging, but it becomes alright when it runs on batteries its just that it runs for like 20 min max on batteries please help me out.and by saying it becomes fudged u mean the fact that the black areas on the lcd in the gg page for exams shows variants of red / blue etc ok here are the specs: 256mb ram 40 gb disk space wi-fi lan and 2 touchpads!!! (one orange circle) PLEASE HELP ME OUT!!!

Help, the display is somewhat fudged when i put it on charging, but it becomes alright when it runs on batteries Try reducing the screen brightness when the AC adapter is plugged. Will it become somewhat normal? On my ThinkPad T42 I use Fn+Home to increase the brightness and Fn+End to decrease it. On your ThinkPad it’s probably the same. I’m thinking maybe the backlight is going bad and reducing the brightness will prolong the screen life. By saying it becomes fudged u mean the fact that the black areas on the lcd in the gg page for exams shows variants of red / blue etc Do you know if the same video defect appears on the external screen?

Did you test your laptop with an external monitor? I took the laptop apart and put in a new inverter put it all back together only to still have the same problem.

After an exhausted search on line I boiled it down to the CC-FL bulb. I started looking into bulb providers and on one site it gave the exact description of my problem. I also found directions to remove and replace the bulb which by the way is extremely fragile due it it’s dimensions. Now I did this removal process but was not so fortunate in taking the minute screws out that hold the frame work of the LCD screen. The screw stripped and I had to take my dremmel tool to it to grind down the head of the screw.

It is now secured by packing tape. I also broke the bulb in it place as I tried to remove it because the frame work was not completely removed (my mistake) I ordered 2 bulbs at $9.95 apiece and I was on to a tantalizing repair mode.

I had to put on a new set of leads that had to be soldered and capped to protect the ends. That was not to bad. Then onto replacing it in the reflective sleeve.

Did that, onto putting it all back together. Turn it on and nothing not light no screen!! Took it apart again removed the bulb and turned it on and the bulb lit up. Turned it off removed all power supply Put the bulb back in turned it on and It lit up but no windows or startup screen just back-lit glass screen wit a slightly blue screen. Shut off, removed power, turned the screen over to find one of the LCD connections on the supply video ribbon was not securely in place there by completing the circuit. Snapped it in turned it on and OH BOY we got video.

To those of you who are willing to by a whole new screen for $150.00-$350.00 or more you can save your self some dough and do it yourself with a little patience and determination. I hope this helps someone. I have a Toshiba Satellite P35 which is well out of warranty. Over a year ago, it began developing 1-px-wide vertical lines of solid colors (screen failure). Over this period of time, a second problem began to arise, so sometimes, when I adjusted the screen angle or opened it initially, the screen would flicker a few times to black, and then come back on. The problem intensified over time and ultimately, about 2 months ago, the screen went out and stayed completely black. Following the advice here and on other websites, I ordered a replacement screen first.

It installed fine, but unfortunately it was still completely dark. Under inspection with a flashlight, however I saw that all the colorful lines at least were gone.

Then I ordered a replacement inverter and installed that and like magic, I have a brand new, beautiful working screen. I have cause for concern though, because the screen has begun once again to show a flickering anomaly when changing the angle of the screen. I would rather not have to replace the inverter again but it seems that either I have bad luck with inverters or there is something which is causing them to burn out. I wouldn’t think it’s anything to do with the screen housing itself. I could only guess that there might be some problem with the power cable or that maybe the power supply is not sending the right output to the inverter.

Any suggestions? I am still awaiting the replacement inverter but i have found something interesting. If I reseat the video cable and dont touch the laptop, the screen will stay on for a very long time, days even. If I move the screen it will sometimes go dim again. Sometimes I can move it all over the place and it will work but sometimes it will go off. If I dont touch it then it will work.

I hope I explained that well but its really weird. What could it be? I have replaced the video cable already cause thats what I would think that would be. Maybe the new inverter will work but I thought I would ask about this first. Thanks again. This is the best site for addressing this problem. My Thinkpad T42 started giving a red hue on the LCD when first turned on.

After a few days it went black, coming on for a few minutes and then back to DIM. As with others, the desktop is barely visible. I got an inverter on eBay for $10. When I put it in the LCD acted perfect for about 15 hours. Next reboot it went red/pink and then off again.

Back to square one. External monitor use is fine. Pushing the lid switch and releasing results in good backlighting for a fraction of a second and then black again. Next step is to replace backlight but used (tested) replacement LCDs on ebay are $100 and the only backlights I can find are ~$100.

So, will replace whole display. I am also having problem with laptopscreen. It was showiing coloured vertical lines for last 3 months.

External monitor work perfectly ok. The colour etc. Of this vertical lines corresponds to what is seen in the monitor.

Suddenly yesterday the screen started working after a system restart and it worked fine until i switched of the computer after 3 hours. During this 3 hours I changed the position of the Laptop as well as Screen.But it worked OK without any problem.

But again today the screen is not working. Any Idea what is the problem •. Toshiba P30, 2005. Just started showing display problem.

Display has pale blue washout hue and you can see vertical pattern all the way across but you can still see everything without distorsion except colors a bit smudged and slightly shifted. When I push top of screen at its max open position, it temporarily goes away. Makes me think something is loose, like video card pin losing contact. Brighness is not really affected although screen is appears little dimmer when the blue veil is there. External monitor works fine.

Anybody know what to do? Should I take apart and reseat video cable to motherboard and to panel? James Clarke, I am trying to diagnose an inverter problem on a 15.4? Dell Inspiron 6000 Laptop.

The screen switches off at full brightness but works fine on anything below full. So when using the laptop with the charger in i get a black screen without just a slighty dimmer one.

I think on some Dell laptops you can adjust the screen brightness for both battery and AC modes in the BIOS. Enter the BIOS setup menu and lower the LCD screen brightness for the AC mode, so it’s the same as for the battery mode. Hopefully it will fix your problem for a while. Martha, I have an HP Pavillion xz295. The computer boots up and i can see a faint image it is so dim it looks as if it is black. Is this still a problem with the inverter?

This problem is related either to the inverter board (most likely) or you have bad backlight lamp inside the screen (less likely). I would try replacing the inverter board first. You’ll have to use inverter designed for your laptop. Could I use a inverter from another laptop? Yes, you can if this is the same or similar model.

You can find the HP part number on the inverter board. Find the part number and then google it. I have an IBM thinkpad T42.

I have a problem exactly like discribed for a bad Screen Inverter. After a short while ( 5 to 40 min) the screen goes very dim as discribed.

No lines no buzzing. This while on battery, when plugged in screen goes dim within a few secs to mins. Works fine with external monitor. I can restore sceen for a short while by toggleing though the ext monitor function (Fn + F7).

I did get a new inverter (FRU 26P8464) from bestcompu.com on ebay. It does the the exactly same thing. They will replace or refund. Could it be another problem? David Goldman, After a short while ( 5 to 40 min) the screen goes very dim as describedWorks fine with external monitor.

I can restore screen for a short while by toggling though the ext monitor function (Fn + F7). I did get a new inverter (FRU 26P8464) on ebay.

It does the the exactly same thing. Could it be another problem? It’s possible that you got a defective inverter.

If after replacing the inverter again you still have the same problem, most likely it’s related to the backlight lamp (CCFL), apparently it’s getting old. The backlight lamp is located inside the LCD screen, on the bottom. It’s possible to replace the backlight lamp at home, as I described in, but it’s not easy and there is a chance that you can damage the LCD screen. The best way to go is replacing the whole LCD screen. If you have nothing to lose, then you can try replacing the backlight lamp, you can find it online for $10-15.

Hi, I have an HP dv6157ea notebook. Some days back the display started flickering and after a day or two it went totally dim. It seems that the backlight is turned off as I can still faintly see my desktop if there is enough light focused on it. I took it to a local computer repair centre who say that its a motherboard problem and the entire motherboard needs to be replaced! However, when I connected an external monitor, it works fine. So I’m sure its not a motherboard issue. I’m pretty sure that its something to do with the magnetic display lid switch as I have tried replacing the inverter.

Any ideas on how can I find the switch in the laptop and replace it? David G, I have lowered the screen brightness with the function keys (Fn + [home or down]), to 5 bars of 7.

For a few days now the screen works normally, with not one outage. Can I consider it fixed? What was (is?) the probable problem? Here’s my guess.

If you are getting the same problem with another inverter board, most likely it’s not related to the inverter. Apparently, the backlight lamp is getting old but it still works when you lower the voltage (reduce the screen brightness).

I just tried reducing the screen brightness from 7 bars to 5 bars on my ThinkPad T42 and looks OK, it’s still usable. Enigmaniac, I have an HP dv6157ea notebook. Some days back the display started flickering and after a day or two it went totally dim. It seems that the backlight is turned off as I can still faintly see my desktop if there is enough light focused on it.

This problem could be related to: 1. Screen inverter. Backlight lamp (CCFL lump) inside the LCD screen. I’m pretty sure that its something to do with the magnetic display lid switch as I have tried replacing the inverter. I think the magnetic lid switch would be the last think to blame.

I’ve never seen a failed magnetic switch. Maybe I’m lucky. I took it to a local computer repair centre who say that its a motherboard problem and the entire motherboard needs to be replaced! You should ask the technician how he came to that conclusion. If he tested your laptop with another known good LCD screen and inverter, most likely he’s right.

Also, this problem could be related to the video cable. Any ideas on how can I find the switch in the laptop and replace it? If you have a magnetic lid close switch, you have to have a magnet somewhere inside the LCD panel. This magnet activates the switch when the display is closed. Find a small metal screwdriver and move it slowly along the LCD screen bezel. The screwdriver will be attracted by the magnet. Now when you know where the magnet is located, close the display and find the location of the magnetic switch.

Try reducing the LCD screen brightness as David did in the comment 279. I guess you have a different key combination for a HP laptop. On my HP Pavilion zv5000 I use Fn+F7 to reduce the screen brightness and Fn+F8 to increase the brightness. The only reliable way to narrow down the problem is installing another inverter and LCD screen. Talk to your technician and ask what he did.

If he tried that already, you may try replacing the video cable. If replacing LCD, inverter and video cable will not help, apparently you need a new motherboard. Guys, I had the same problem with my laptop as well and had a working temporary solution (still gives me a problem sometimes) I had an IBM x20 with screen problem. Bought a new inverter and new screen and just doesn’t show any picture at all after I replace it. Apparently there are some setting or option that determine if your computer recognize your screen properly after you fiddle with it residing in its own proprietary or shared ram. Whichever one it is you need to take your charger off and take out your battery as well.

Then leave your computer for about 30 seconds before turning your computer back on to make sure the charge in memory has been cleared /depleted. This solution works fine for me and now I had my x20 shining like new again. The screen still blink sometimes maybe indicating that I need to get a new inverter board.

I actually still using my old inverter because it is not dead yet. The replacement is already waiting besides me. Unless your cable breaks (you can check it visually) or your connector very loose (no idea how to make certain) then you don’t need a new cable. Just reseat the cable properly then clear your memory using the step above and it should solve your problem. It may take several attemps though Good luck ps: That’s why you pay for professional to fix your computer, saves you a lot of hassle plus you have someone to blame if it doesn’t work.hahaha •.

Enigmaniac, The reason I think the motherboard is working okay is because I’ve connected an external monitor and it works fine. Can the motherboard be faulty even if the external monitor is working okay? Yes, it’s possible. I’ve seen that before.

In the comment 280 you said: It seems that the backlight is turned off as I can still faintly see my desktop if there is enough light focused on itHowever, when I connected an external monitor, it works fine. So I’m sure its not a motherboard issue.

The image is still on the laptop screen but it’s very dark (no backlight), right? That means that the LCD screen is getting data signal from the motherboard / video card but the backlight lamp is not getting power. Take a look at this picture. What could be wrong? The backlight lamp is bad. The inverter board is bad and it will not provide power for the backlight lamp. The video cable is defective and because of that the inverter/backlight is not getting any power.

There is something wrong with the motherboard and it will not provide power for the inverter/backlight. Even though the external monitor works fine, the problem still could be related to the motherboard. netshark993, i have a compaq presario 2100 i have tried replacing the inverter still dim screeni get a picture when looking very closly what could be the problem?

In most cases replacing the inverter board would fix this problem but not all the time. In some cases this problem could be related to the backlight lamp (CCFL bulb), the video cable, or even the motherboard. The next troubleshooting step would be testing the laptop with another working LCD screen or at least another working backlight lamp, as I explained in. If you don’t have any spare parts, you’ll have to guess. Stonekold, I have a HP DV5217CL, and I know it is either the inverter or the backilight. For the longest time it has had a pinkish hue to the screen, especially with the battery only powering the pc.

I found the Inverter but not the backlight. Can any help me on that? I think a pinkish hue on the screen indicated a problem with the backlight bulb, I doubt that replacing the inverter board will help. Please correct if I’m wrong. It’s not easy to replace the backlight bulb because it’s buried deep inside the LCD screen.

You can damage the screen during the disassembly process, so do it only as a last resort. I guess you can buy a new backlight bulb on ebay, it’s only $10. Hi, my (IBM ThinkPad T43) laptop’s suffering from the pink hue and the subsequent dark screen (i can make out the windows and text, but just barely). I’ve since connected my laptop to a monitor. But, i really want to get this fixed, soon.

I’m assuming it’s a backlight issue (CCFL), and am not super skilled with dissemblingDoes anyone have any idea how much it’d cost for me to bring my laptop to a store and get someone to install it for me? It’s still under warranty, but I spilled some juice in it about a year ago — don’t think the issue is with the spill though — b/c it is still under warranty, should it be cheaper to send it in for someone at Lenovo/IBM to install it for me? I can sometimes force the display back on by pressing at the screen on/off button, but it takes a while. I think i may have to resort to keeping my computer on all night in order to keep the screen on. Hi, listen i got a problem with my laptop, when i turn it on the image comes completly white, i guess it’s not a software problem ‘ause i can still listen to the windows starting up, the most wird thing is the fact that if i plug in an external monitor the image is seen on that one and if i swithc between this monitor and the laptop monitor then the image on the lap comes up!, but if i try to change the screen resolution if goes white again, do you have any idea of what could be causing this?? I woul really appreciate your comments, thankx •. Hi, I am using HP DV5000 series laptop, it has been used for more than 2 years.

Today, I got a problem with its backlight. Whenever I try to increase the backlight’s brightness, the screen will be blackout. However, I need to do something for the screen to readjust its setting, for example changing the screen’s resolution, the screen will light up again with the pop up window asking do you confirm with this resolution you have selected, this happens for a few seconds. At this moment, I need to reduces the brightness in order to prevent it from blackout, readjusted to the minimum brightness. Now, the screen back to the normal while the backlight seems blinking frequently, until a moment, it stopped.So, can I actually maximize the brightness at this stage? I am worried if I do then the screen will be blackout again! So what is this problem actually?

Thanks lot for you feedback n helps •. I’m using a HP DV500 series and for the most part it runs really well. Recently I had a problem with the backlight/inverter and had all the classic symptoms.

I replaced the inverter but unfortunately when I went to turn my laptop back on I still had a dim image displayed. However the next day when I went to boot up my laptop to hook it up to an external monitor it was fine and the backlight was working. The only thing thats wrong with it now is sometimes if I move the monitor part it will go back to being a dim screen and I have to move the monitor back and forth repeatedly for it to light up again. I’ve talked to a few people (friends of mine who work with computers) and I’ve gotten suggestions ranging from loose wiring to a bad video card to my CCFL going out. I was just wondering if anyone has had similar problems or any suggestions on how to fix it.

Phil, I have an IBM Thinkpad R51 and my screen was black with a picture very faint. I just replaced the inverter my screen goes color for 1 sec and then back to black. I can see some picture but I need a flash light or be in direct light to see it. It does work with external monitor. It’s possible that your new inverter board is defective.

There is a problem with the backlight lamp. The backlight lamp (CCFL) is located inside the LCD screen and it’s hard to replace. You’ll find an example in this post:. It’s way easier to replace the whole screen, but it’s way expensive too.

Hi, I’m experiencing lack of backlight on a Compaq Presario B1800, except for a moment after power-up and whenever the lid close switch has just been released. I can make the backlight stay on longer if I turn down the brightness, but having the power adapter connected makes it go out much quicker. I purchased a refurbished inverter from PCHub, but I’m experiencing the same problem, though perhaps it stays on a little longer and I can turn the brightness up a notch. When the backlight does light, everything looks as it should. My question is: do these symptoms indicate that both inverters are faulty, or could it be the backlight itself? Thank you for this excellent resource! Colin, There did appear to be a light on the cracked screen, I can see a faint image of whatever I am doing on the new screen.

If your cracked screen lights up, it means the inverter boards works fine. So, you’ve replaced the LCD screen and now it will not light up but you can see a faint image, right? Could be connection related issue. Make sure the new LCD screen is properly connected to the video cable. It’s possible your new LCD screen has a defective backlight lamp inside. Try installing the old cracked screen and test it again.

If the old screen lights up, apparently your new screen is defective. I posted some suggestions for troubleshooting problems with a new screen here: •. Robert Hansen, I have a Dell 5160 inspiron laptop. Just recently, noticed that when the power supply is connected, the screen does not come to full brightness anymore.

The screen is always partially dimmed as if it were on battery power. Is this a hardware or software issue? Most likely software settings. Make sure the brightness is set to 100% for the AC mode. I believe on some (maybe all) Dell laptops you can change the screen brightness settings in the BIOS setup menu. Also, try changing the brightness with Fn+Up Arrow (to increase) and Fn+Down Arrow (to decrease) keys. Hold down the Fn key and tap a few times on the Up Arrow key.

Gerard, I seem to have the exact same problem. I also have a R50P, the screent was reddish on the sides for a while and turned black on a sunny afternoon. Now, I orderd this LCD Inverter from IBM Belgium (just called the techcenter, costed me €22, tax and shipping included) and it worked fine for 10 minutes. My screen got red again on the side and it started flickering for a couple of seconds and black again. It is without any doubt that the backlight failed but replacing this is a bit out of my league And I’m out of waranty since August. What to do I know it’s time for a new laptop but I would rather save some cash. Jasper Pollet, I also have a R50P, the screen was reddish on the sides for a while and turned black on a sunny afternoonI ordered this LCD Inverterit worked fine for 10 minutes.

My screen got red again on the side and it started flickering for a couple of seconds and black again. Apparently, you have the same problem as Gerard Verbeek – failed backlight lamp.

If you cannot replace the backlight lamp, you’ll have to replace the whole LCD screen. Maybe you can find a technician who can replace the backlight lamp for you. Hi All, I am having trouble with my Thinkpad T42 LCD screen. The problem almost perfectly fits the symptoms of a bad inverter (backlight is off, but an unlit image is still formed on the screen; backlight comes on briefly if I open and close the lid).

However, I replaced the inverter, and the problem was not resolved. There is one other symptom (I think): when I open and close the lid, and the backlight turns on briefly, the color on the screen is wrong (the white-point is off, and everything has a red tinge). Does this suggest any other cause for my problem than the inverter? What other problem fits these symptoms (especially that the backlight turns on briefly when opening the lid)?

This doesn’t seem to me like a problem with the CFL bulb, but maybe I’m wrong. Thanks for your help and insight!!! I got the same problem guys but i don’t think it’s a bad inverter, but it may have led me to the correct direction. My backlight bulb fails to light up, but that doesn’t mean the bulb is bad, because sometimes it does light up. My screen goes very very dim, then i have to slightly close the computer lip. To decrease the angle, then it will light up, then i increase the angle and it’s gone. Sort of a chance by chance thing.

Im figuring it’s bad connections or loose connections, so I’m going to take off the lid and check it out. Congrats on the site – really well put together. My problem.Customer has a Thinkpad X61 about 5 months old. Unfortunately she stood on the laptop and broke the LCD.

New LCD was purchased and installed. On power up, the lcd was working altho some of the indicator lights on the inverter were not. Decided to also replace the inverter and LCD cable to cover all bases.

Parts were ordered. In the meantime, out of the blue the backlight stopped working. Installed new parts on receipt. Everything in the LCD panel is now replaced. Indicator lights now work but still no backlight. Also determined that no voltage from the inverter so I am suspicious of the lid closing “switch”. Appears that this may be a hall effect device attached to the LCD cable and operated by a magnet in the bottom of the bezel (I THINK!).

Also noted that the laptop does not go into sleep mode when the lid is closed. Have checked the obvious like secure plugs and also disconnected BIOS battery thinking that BIOS may have gotten confused during surgery. I have run out of any ideas – any help on the matter would be very gratefully accepted. Hi, I have replaced the backlight and it was working perfectly until I bumped something while placing the stainless steel cover on the back. Now I don;t get an power out of the inverter (and I have tried multiple inverters).

I reckon I must have blown a fuse somewhere. I did see a fuse map that someone posted but honestly can’t understand where I am supposed to be looking. Has anyone got a detailed fuse map for a Thinkpad T41 or at least a better explanation of where I should be looking for the fuse. What kind of fuses is it by the way, is it easy to source and replace? Ben, I have a Dell laptop and the screen doesn’t come on at all, the machine works fine if I hook it up to a monitor so I think the inverter may be my problem. Any Input would be great. I assume it’s not related to software settings.

Enter the BIOS setup menu (using video on external monitor) and check the setting, make sure the laptop LCD is not disabled (if there are settings like that). Take a closer look at the laptop LCD.

Can you see a very faint image? If yes, most likely it’s bad inverter. Look at the screen very closely, the image could be very very dark. If there is NO image at all, probably it’s not a problem with the inverter. Could be bad cable or bad LCD. Help with Thinkpad T41. Have an IBM Thinkpad T41 that has a disk problem.

The laptop randomly just goes dead. Its not a power source issue, but seems to be a problem with the disk drive. With constant medium pressure on the keyboard, directly above where the disk drive sits, the laptop will run without a problem, while a bit awkward to use (lol). However, remove the pressure, and the system stops instantly. I’ve reseated the drive a couple of times, without any luck.

Am trying to determine if there’s some known issue, or how best to diagnose / resolve. This is an older refurbished unit. Thanks for any help. i have a compaq laptop with a 15.4 brightview lscreen that has a glich or something going on with only the bottom third of the screen. If i put pressure on the lower left hand side of the screen it will look ok till i let it go. It seems to be getting worse.

I have opened it up and checked all the wires and i checked the screen for damage. All seems well and i have never dropped the computer. Do i need a new screen? Ill appriate any and all help and info you come up with. I am so glad to have found the root cause of my problem. I still need some further help before i go and open up the LCD to get the FR number to buy a new inverter.

My laptop LCD works fine on battery power (Its much less bright than ii used to be and compared to my husbands T43. But at least i can use the laptop for the 30-40 min it works on full charge! The minute I plug in the AC power it flickers and turn off but I can see the image is there. Is this still an inverter problem? I know the process seems simple with the pics and all but is there any special care I need to take to ensure I do not mess something else up when i replace the inverter? Is it possible to use the same FR number and buy an inverter card before i open up my laptop?

Aashtee, My laptop LCD works fine on battery power (Its much less bright than i used to be and compared to my husbands T43. But at least i can use the laptop for the 30-40 min it works on full charge! The minute I plug in the AC power it flickers and turn off but I can see the image is there.

Is this still an inverter problem? It’s hard to tell until you test the laptop with another working inverter board. Could be either bad inverter or failing backlight lamp. Here’s something to try. Enter the power management utility and lower LCD brightness for the AC mode, make it the same as for the battery mode.

It’s possible after that you’ll be able to use your laptop with AC adapter too. I know the process seems simple with the pics and all but is there any special care I need to take to ensure I do not mess something else up when i replace the inverter? Be careful with the LCD mask, it’s made of fragile plastic. Do not forget to remove the battery. And do not hurry. Is it possible to use the same FR number and buy an inverter card before i open up my laptop? You should check the FRU part number on your inverter and buy the same.

I Have Dell laptop INSPIRON 6400 for last 3 years and recently I have problem with monitor. No image on it only vertical lanes, back light working ok so screen looked to be white. I connected external monitor and laptop works ok, so I replace screen and that didn’t fix problem then I replace video cable and still no joy, at this stage I’m running out of ideas, didn’t try replace inverter back light working ok so I don’t its inerter can inverter effect image on lcd? Any chance you can help me my warranty expired, please help Val •. I have a toshiba satellite a135-s4467. Its 2 years old and my display went dim.

I replaced the fl inverter today, and the computer was running great. However, i thought i should mention that when i replaced the inverter, it was buzzing a bit. I was fearful at first but then the buzzing stopped. My joy was short lived though, after approx 3 hours or so, the screen went dim again. That i had before. Display visible with a flashlight. Was wondering if i received a bad inverter, or is something else causing the inverter to go bad.

This computer obviously is out of warranty and i’m in no situation right now to purchase a new one. So i was trying to fix the problem myself. Can anyone tell me if something else can cause the inverter to go bad •. I have a problem I’ve replace it but it seems no only partially work!

I orders a hp dv1000 LCD inverter and it fixed the dim problem. But when I unplug my laptop and run of the battery its all dim again. I thought it might be a defective product from the manufacturer, so I ordered another one and its still the same thing. Its really weird Plugged into the wall, electricity, it works fine Running off the battery its back to dim barley seen screen.

Please advise. I also would like to know how I can tighten my screen cause unlike other laptops the hp dv 1000 dosent have a simple screw that I can just tighten Thank you •. Before I pitch this thing: I have an hp dv1720us. The inverter went out once and hp repaired under warranty.

It seemed to go out again – classic description – at bootup see logo then goes dim. I ordered replacement, put in, worked for 24 hours then stopped. Same scenario. I ordered replacement and no go. What is interesting is that connector to the left, facing machine, the one with 4 or 5 little connections – if I “wiggle’ it, or just barely attach, the display comes on but then goes again – almost like it’s a short or something but I can’t figure how to troubleshoot it. I’m just about going to give up and sell it for parts on ebay as I don’t want to spend money on it.

If there are any words of wisdom, please let me know. Thanks in advance.

Mo, I have a problem I’ve replace it but it seems no only partially work! I orders a hp dv1000 LCD inverter and it fixed the dim problem.

But when I unplug my laptop and run of the battery its all dim again Plugged into the wall, electricity, it works fine Running off the battery its back to dim barley seen screen. Is it dim like there is no backlight at all, or dim like the backlight works but it’s not bright enough? Did you check the laptop power settings (usually found in control panel)?

Maybe the screen brightness is set to minimum for the battery mode? frank, Its a Compaq v5000 the screen went black and all you can see is lines running up and down if i move the screen it will get brighter and some thing could be seen at times but only for a second. Could it be the inverter of the screen If the screen is black but you can see the lines, it’s not the inverter.

When inverter fails, you barely can see anything. You’ll have to test the laptop with an external monitor and check the external video. If the external monitor works fine, most likely you have either bad LCD screen or defective video cable. For some reason I think your problem is related to the cable, but I could be wrong. If both the internal LCD and external monitor display same lines, most likely your problem is related to the video card.

I guess in your laptop the video card is integrated into the motherboard, so it’s a bad motherboard. First of all, test the external video output. It will help to narrow down the problem. Brian, What is interesting is that connector to the left, facing machine, the one with 4 or 5 little connections – if I “wiggle’ it, or just barely attach, the display comes on but then goes again – almost like it’s a short or something but I can’t figure how to troubleshoot it. From the description it sounds like there could be a problem with the cable, not the inverter. You’ve replace the inverter two times, but still experiencing the same problem.

At the same time you cam make it work if you wiggle the cable? Sounds like a bad cable to me.

I have had recurring problems with my laptop screen. 6 months ago the screen went dark (but picture still dimly visible) and I was told the problem was the cable, it was replaced and I was good to go. For 6 months. The screen went out again (still dimly visible), the inverter was replaced, and the screen worked for a day. When the screen went dark again (still dimly visible), I took it back to the computer shop – they kept it for a week, then told me that the video card was bad, it would be very expensive to replace, and I would have to replace the whole motherboard.

He then suggested just connecting the laptop to an external monitor. But another tech I happened to run into, said that if the external monitor works, the video card is fine, and the original tech must have put in a defective inverter or missed a cable problem.

Before I take it back to the original technician, does the opinion of the 2nd tech make sense? Any help greatly appreciated. Hi there I am the owner of T41.

When I touch left or right bottom part of ma LCD the bulbs go blind and I barely can sse the windows desktop. I can see what is going on. When i touch the upper part of my lcd and move it up and down nothing bad happens. When I touch near the inwerter and start moving the lid I hear buzzing sounds from the inverter place and then the lcd becomes dark, bust still it is possible to see the desktop. My friend says it the lcd cable but from the above posts it seems to me it is the inverter. What do you think? And one more thing.

I could work without any interference yesterday when moving the lcd lid. It only happens when I move the lid. 394cj2600 Says: January 26th, 2009 at 11:17 pm Brian, What is interesting is that connector to the left, facing machine, the one with 4 or 5 little connections – if I “wiggle’ it, or just barely attach, the display comes on but then goes again – almost like it’s a short or something but I can’t figure how to troubleshoot it.

From the description it sounds like there could be a problem with the cable, not the inverter. You’ve replace the inverter two times, but still experiencing the same problem. At the same time you cam make it work if you wiggle the cable? Sounds like a bad cable to me. *************** Can I purchase this cable somewhere?

I’m not sure how to google that. Judy, But another tech I happened to run into, said that if the external monitor works, the video card is fine, and the original tech must have put in a defective inverter or missed a cable problem.

Before I take it back to the original technician, does the opinion of the 2nd tech make sense? From my experience, if the external monitor works MOST LIKELY there is nothing wrong with the video card. The inverter was replaced, and the screen worked for a day. When the screen went dark again (still dimly visible) It’s possible the inverter board was defective and has to be replaced again. radiator, I am the owner of T41. When I touch left or right bottom part of ma LCD the bulbs go blind and I barely can see the windows desktop.

I can see what is going on. When i touch the upper part of my lcd and move it up and down nothing bad happens. When I touch near the inverter and start moving the lid I hear buzzing sounds from the inverter place and then the lcd becomes dark, bust still it is possible to see the desktop. My friend says it the lcd cable but from the above posts it seems to me it is the inverter. What do you think? It’s hard to tell what’s going on with your laptop. Could be bad connection, defective cables, some kind of grounding issue, etc I think it’s necessary to remove the screen bezel and find out which part you have to move or touch in order to kill the backlight.

If the backlight goes off when you move the cable, it’s either bad connection between the cable and inverter or the cable is defective. John Dougherty, What if plugging an external monitor into the VGA port works fine – does that still mean the inverter board might be bad? Testing a laptop with an external monitor tells you nothing about inverter. If the external monitor works fine, it means that most likely the motherboard/video card work properly. If the laptop screen is extremely dim but you still can see the image, most likely it’s related to the inverter but also could be bad backlight lamp, defective video cable and even faulty motherboard. Can you see any image on the laptop screen at all? By the way, I tried searching for the manual but when I search for an HP Pavilion dv1720us, I’m getting no results.

Are you sure your wrote the laptop model correctly? It is dv1712us. I found the cable – ddct1alc100 and found on ebay. I will likely order one. I know I tried two inverter boards but the symptoms are so classic for what you describe.

One of the items comes with both cable and inverter board so i may purchase that one to be sure. I’ll let you know what happens. Thanks for your help! I am posting this here hoping to get advice from those folks who disassembled Lenovo displays. I had to replace the broken bottom cover of my X60s and now the LEDs at the bottom of the screen are dead.

(These are green status indicators for battery/AC, hard drive, wireless, caps lock, etc.) The laptop works fine otherwise. Since I did not open the display, I suspect that I damaged one of the cables that power the LEDs.

The images here suggest that the LEDs sit on the inverter board. Are they powered by the same ribbon cable as the rest of the display? Or is it one of the wires hidden in the hinges? Finally, could it be a software issue? Windows found some ‘new hardware’ when I turned it on, so a lost driver is possible. Do the LEDs have their own driver? It is dv1712us.

I found the cable – ddct1alc100 and found on ebay. I will likely order one. I know I tried two inverter boards but the symptoms are so classic for what you describe. One of the items comes with both cable and inverter board so i may purchase that one to be sure. I’ll let you know what happens. UPDATE: Got the new cable with the inverter and am typing on the laptop NOW!

So, it worked. As an experiment, I tried one of the other inverters with the new cable and it DIDN’T work – so, who knows. The new cable with it’s inverter seems to be working so I’m happy.

The only minor thing is cosmetic – I can’t seem to get the plastic housing that sits just over the inverter to snap back in place – I don’t know if it’s a little ‘thicker’ or something but I’m not messing with it any more and I’m happy to have my little laptop back. Thanks again for all your help and love the website. I have HP dv5000t (15′) have display issue where I can see DIM image on the screen but the VGA out to external monitor works great. So based on the reviews, I thought it could be inverter board or the Lamp. So First I replace inverter board $15 from ebay (most common problem and also easy to replace). But didnot solve my problem, still same dim image on the scrren. Can anyone suggests, replacing CCFL lamp would solve my display problem?

If yes than what kind of lamp should i be buying, as i cannot get good info for my laptop anywhere. Any suggestion would be a gr8 help. I have a Hp Dv2000. The problem is weird every time I boot my laptop the screen is dim[I can see the Hp logo]. After hitting the Fn F4 a few times the screen comes back on OR if I close the lid and open again after 3 mins the screen is on. The laptop then works fine for 2.5 hrs or so.

Then suddenly the screen starts getting dim and the back light goes off. The screen starts working again after a few hours of using the external monitor. -happens on both power and battery. -external monitor works fine. -lid switch works fine[have tested by disconnecting it] -have tested the ram I don’t know if the problem is the invertors or some voltage problem on the mother board. I have a very similar situation as comment #415: 1.

Screen seemed a bit pink at start-up for a few weeks, but hardly noticable. Start up Thinkpad T43 and screen is blank. Notice desktop is visible, just barely – seems like a backlight issue.

Connect external monitor, activate “presentation on projector and thinkpad 800×600” display profile, i.e. Mirrored display on LCD and external monitor. Surprisingly, the main monitor now works (at 800×600). What’s the deal? Last major thing I did was a full Matlab R2008b installation just before shutting down.

michael, i just followed your instructions on how to take apart a toshiba a105 laptop screen to replace my inverter. I just got done replacing it (with a board from the ebay site that you suggested) and i rebooted my laptop it flickered a little bit and it stop being pink. But after a few minutes i heard a hissing noise and the screen all of a sudden died on me again being completely dim or complete darkness with some windows being visible if i use a light on it. Could be defective inverter board. You have a faulty backlight lamp. If that’s the case, you’ll have to replace the LCD screen. You can try replacing the lamp but it’s not easy at all and only for people with experience.

My Advent 7108 goes dark after a couple of seconds, but if I look really carefully I can still see the graphics, cursor moving etc and the atatched monitor works fine. If I toggle between the monitor and the laptop screen the picture comes back for a couple of seconds.

I see a high voltage on the output of the Darfon inverter for a couple of seconds (not not long enough to get a stable reading on my DVM). Classic inverter problem you may say, but exactly the same thing happens with the replacement inverter. Have I just been unlucky and the repalcmeent unit (sold as tested and working) has exactly the same issue as the original?

I don’t see how it can be the screen since the inverter cannot sustain an output voltage with the screen unplugged. Am I being unreasonable to expect the supplier to send a replacement or refund? Thanks in advance Robert •.

Robert Folkes, My Advent 7108 goes dark after a couple of seconds, but if I look really carefully I can still see the graphics, cursor moving etc and the atatched monitor works fine. If I toggle between the monitor and the laptop screen the picture comes back for a couple of seconds. I see a high voltage on the output of the Darfon inverter for a couple of seconds. It’s either bad inverter or faulty backlight lamp. I see a high voltage on the output of the Darfon inverter for a couple of seconds (not not long enough to get a stable reading on my DVM). I doubt that you can test the inverter board with a regular voltmeter. I’ve been looking for a good reliable method to test inverters with a voltmeter for a long time and haven’t found one yet.

As soon as you attach the voltmeter to the inverter board, it shocks the system and the laptop stops working properly until you restart it. That was my experience with testing inverters.

The only reliable way is installing a known good inverter board or attaching a known good backlight lamp. Classic inverter problem you may say, but exactly the same thing happens with the replacement inverter. That means you have a problem with the backlight lamp inside the screen. Also, there could be a problem with the motherboard or video cable but it’s not common. My guess, it’s either defective inverter or bad backlight.

I don’t see how it can be the screen since the inverter cannot sustain an output voltage with the screen unplugged. That’s right, it works correctly only when it’s loaded – the backlight lamp is attached. Am I being unreasonable to expect the supplier to send a replacement or refund? Try replacing the inverter again. If you still experience the same problem, move to the backlight lamp.

Alan, I have replaced the LCD (twice) and the inverter (3 times!) on my IBM R51 – screen’s black but working -I can see a faint image. So I guess the motherboard power to the ibnverter’s the problem – is that diagnosable or fixable? First of all, check the lid close switch – a small button located close to one of the display hinges.

Make sure the button moved freely and is not stuck inside the case. Can you make the backlight flash if you tap on the lid close switch? If tapping on the switch doesn’t help, apparently there is a problem with the motherboard. Also, you may have a defective video cable. I don’t know what else could be wrong. It’s either bad cable or motherboard. I have an HP Pavilion DV1000.

It sounds like a faulty FL inverter after reading this page. The backlight turns off a second after releasing the ‘closed lid’ button. It works, but never for more than a second.

It used to stay on for 5 min then turn off. It makes that ‘buzzing’ sound and seems to get quite warm in the area of the wiring on the left side of the inverter. I accidentally pulled the colored wires out of the white plug and need the pin set. What is the order? Thanks Green Black White Red Blue? zmasterflex, Kept getting BSOD error.

Screen shut off sometimes. I reinstalled XP, now the screen just freezes randomly. I tried using a different monitor but it doesn’t help. Any suggestions? Most likely it’s either memory or hard drive related problem and one of them is failing.

If you have two memory modules installed, try removing them one by one. Start the laptop with only one memory module installed. You can run Memtest86+ and test memory.

Make sure the test makes a few passes. Does it give you any errors? Listen for the hard drive sounds when the laptop boots up. Can you hear any grinding or clicking sounds?

You can use Hitachi’s drive fitness test to test the hard drive. Does it fail?

I linked to both utilities in Resources on the right side. I ordered a Sharp LCD replacement for my Fujitsu laptop (it got cracked), and asked the seller if it was a Sharp LA02 (my model), which they confirmed, so I bought it. I plugged in what looked like the identical part into the laptop and got no light, nothing, not even the faint image. It was a Sharp LA03. When I called to complain they said it was the same thing and that the manufacturer was not shipping 02’s any more.

So as a test I tried the old screen, which used to work even though cracked. Now that doesn’t come at all on either, not even faintly. Based on your comments, it doesn’t sound like the inverter, which is what the company who sold me the screen is saying. I can return it and get my money back, but I would rather get it working and be done with it (if they are correct in fact about the LA03 being compatible). Hi, I think your web page is awsome!

I have a Dell Inspiron E1505 the screen is not as dark as what is talked about in these messages but it is dim and very hard to read in the day time but easier at night. If I move the screen back and forth the light will come back on but then goes back off in about 10 seconds but again you can move the screen and the same thing comes back on then goes back off. Everything eles seems to be fine what could the problem be? I have tried the Fn key and that doesn’t help.

Thank you so much for you time and May God Bless You for all the help you give •. will, I replaced the inverter on my Qosmio F25 laptop and the screen is still black, although I can still see faint images in the black. Online comments led me to believe it was an inverter problem.

Is replacing the lamp the next solution or, as one blog suggested, the ID in the inverter EEPROM needs to be updated? I’ve fixed many Toshiba laptops but never had to “updated the ID in the inverter EEPROM”. To be honest, I don’t even know how to do that. The inverter board and backlight lamp failure symptoms are very similar.

The screen light goes off but you still can see a very faint image. If replacing the inverter doesn’t help, most likely it’s bad backligth lamp. Here’s how you can without replacing the whole screen. Tim Williams, I had a similar problem after the screen went dark but in which you could still see the picture. I’ve replaced both the inverter and the LCD panel, still no difference.

The inverter is the exact same item. Could it be both are bad? Or could it be both CCFLs are bad on both LCDs?

Could there be yet another culprit I’m not aware of that would make the CCFL not ignite? If you replaced the inverter and backlight with known good parts but still experience the same issue, apparently it’s either bad motherboard (most likely) or defective video cable (less likely). I have a similar problem whereby the screen goes very dim a few seconds after being turned on, so I presume it’s the inverter. However, sometimes before going dim it flickers in horizontal blocks the full width of the screen – some dark, some less dark and some full brightness (and slightly grainy image quality, although it’s hard to tell because usually immediately it then all goes very dark). Henry Tempo 6n2 Manual Lawn here. Have you heard of this?

Could this also be caused by a faulty inverter? I’ve ruled out a bad connection because waggling the screen makes no difference. On my 2.5 year old Toshiba Satellite A135, I replaced the inverter but that wasn’t the problem for my computer. My backlight had obviously failed as I could see the images on the laptop screen using a flashlight.

But replacing the inverter using the info on this site gave me the confidence to handle replacing the screen myself. Got a new LCD screen today for $99 from lcdsforless and that fixed the problem (thank goodness). So I don’t have to buy a new laptop and deal with transferring data at least for now. The backlight lamp apparently failed on the old screen, and I wasn’t interested in peforming surgery on the old LCD screen to replace the lamp. SO glad to have it working correctly as a laptop tethered to a regular display monitor isn’t very portable. And it is nice to have a very bright screen again – in comparison to this new screen (and backlight) I can now see how dim the other one had become before it failed. Can a laptop (in my case, Dell Inspiron 1501) have different inverters parts that are not interchangeable or compatible?

I just purchased one on ebay, and when I installed it, My screen still did not light up (See previous posting. So I contacted the seller to arrange for an even exchange, thinking my new one was doabut the seller says because the part number of the inverter I bought was different than the original one in the machine, I must have purchased the wrong one (they look very similar).

So, my question is.can there be multiple inverters for the same laptop model that are not interchangeable? REPLY to Sharon: Laptop LCD backlight mostly consists of 4 different parts: Laptop inverter, laptop LCD lamp (CCFL), inverter cable and toggle switch. Failure of any of the component will give similar symptoms. There is no other way to find out what might be wrong as long as you don’t use tester equipment. Possible causes of lamp failure is laptop age, continued usage of LCD. Inverter failure is mostly due to variation in power source to LCD or laptop. Sometimes physical breakage and pressure impact also causes backlight failures.

Toggle switch issues are very common with HP and Compaq laptops. Toggle switch is On Off switch which turns light off on laptop LCD when laptop bezel is closed.

Inverter cable is a bus which runs from motherboard to inverter. Function of inverter cable is to run power from motherboard to inverter. Possible cause of failure is hard impact of pressure or breakage on laptop as cable is situated inner side of laptop and normally does not tear out with age. In worst cases Bad Motherboard and bad LCD cable ( flex cable ) can also cause backlight failure.

Well, my post from June 15th was maybe a bit premature. I replaced the inverter (in my Mom’s laptop) due to the black screen. You could just barely make out an image if you got the right angle of light on the screen. The laptop worked great for two weeks. Just got an email that it’s back to the same problem with a dark screen. I ordered the replacement inverter from lcdparts.net using their link posted in this article. Could I have maybe gotten a bad inverter?

Or does this sound like the inverter is not actually the problem? I have an HP NC6400, that was dropped and the LCD physically cracked. I took the opportunity to upgrade the screen from 1280×768 to a 1440×900, I installed the new panel, turned it on, the backlight came on fine, but, no video. A query to the supplier generated a question that threw my off balance, “Did you talk to HP asking them if inverter is compatible to new resolution?”. It would be my judgment that, if the backlight works, then the inverter is “compatible”, since the external VGA functions its my guess that the signal cable was also damaged in the fall, am I off base here or does the supplier have a relevant question?

Here is a strange one. I have an older Thinkpad T21.

For some reason it keeps burning out LCD Inverters. I’m on my third one. When I first replace it, the display works for a while. Within a few weeks I notice a delay from when I power up the laptop until the screen lights up. Om Shanti Oshana Song Kattu Mooliyo Mp3 Download more.

This delay keeps getting longer and longer until eventually it stops working all together. It starts at just a few seconds and over time becaomes a few minutes. Eventually, the screen just stays black. Each time I replace the inverter the process starts all over again.

Once the screen lights up, it is rock solid. I can rock the lid back and forth with no flickering or anything like that so I don’t think there is a wiring problem. This may seem ovbious, but make sure that the switch which is pressed down when closing the laptop cover is not being held down by any obsticle. I say this because that is what happened to me.

I laptop became a brick for a week or so until i decided to replace the invertor from another broken laptop only to figure out that the clips which keep the screen closed were broken and lodged in the switch which prevented the backlight from working. I am glad i didnt have to pay money for something i didn’t need yet spend time figureing out the little problem. About the only things that can cause inverters to fail are the power supply (as in, the power supply voltage to the inverter is too high, or has “spikes” on it which harm the inverter, etc.)and the CF light tube.

I would suspect the light tube, to be honest, before I would suspect the power supply problems. Oh, one other thing I just thought of: have you checked the inverter(s) to see if the input fuse is “blown”? You would check them with an ohmmeter; if the fuse is good, it should read less than one ohm. If bad, it will read a very high resistance, or at least, more than a few ohms. Some of these fuses are made with a chemical process, rather than being just a thin wire in a package. The chemical fuses tend to fail gradually if they are run near their maximum rating.

If you have a situation where, say, an aging CF light is drawing a lot more power than it should, causing the inverter to work hard, it is possible that the chemical fuse could gradually age and develop enough resistance to eventually fail, gradually decreasing and then finally cutting off power to the inverter. These fuses are usually small, rectangular packages which look very much like an SMT capacitor. Look for tiny letter markings stating the rating in amps and volts, such as: 4A 27V. Or something similar. The inverter draws a lot of power (that is why it runs down the battery so quickly!), which means the components are under a lot of strain, which invites failures. The inverter in my laptop has recently failed; it has a 4 amp chemical fuse on the power in line! It is “blown”, but there are other problems, so I will just buy one on ebay, where they are MUCH cheaper, rather than try to fix the inverter when I don’t have a schematic or part numbers.

Hi, I have a very peculiar problem, I have a dell inspirion 6000 machine. When I start my computer, I have a completely blank LCD screen THEN I checked by connecting an external monitor – everything starts fine from BIOS to Loading Windows XP Os. The LCD monitor still remains blank.

I have a dual boot OS, Ubuntu, when I start loading the Ubuntu – i cannot see anything in the LCD screen but the moment the password prompts comes up on ubuntu- My LCD screen works fine and have no problem. Any thoughts what may be the potential problem or any way to resolve this issue. Thanks in advance for any suggestion •.

hi, i have problem with my laptop, should be screen inverter problem. I have a question here, if screen inverter failed,will it affect the adapter too? Because my screen was black out and seems to be very dim i tap rapidly on the lid close switch to cause the lights on. But den after few days, my adapter was spoiled. But den i change a new adapter, it seems to be function again with no more dim screen, after a few days. The sick back again.

I was wondering will it affect the adapter when sceen inverter failed? U may reply to my email. Thank you very much =) •.

I too have a Dell inspiron 6000. Recently my lcd screen started acting up. After startup the LCD screen would blank out (the light would go totally dim), but the image was still there.

I could see it fine when i hooked up an external monitor. When I hit Fn 8 and switch back and forth between the LCD and the external monitor, it would sometimes cause the LCD to light up again. I started researching and found out about possible inverter problems.

I just received my inverter in the mail today and installed it in the computer. ALAS, i still have the same problem. After startup, the light blacked out, though the image was still visible. If I put it on standby or hibernate and restarted it, the LCD monitor would come back on again temporarily, but the light would black out again. So, could it be I got a bad inverter? But assuming it was a good inverter board, should I try the backlight now?

It’s disappointing because of all the work to get the screen apart – and now it doesn’t work. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Rick, A problem like that could be related to: 1. Inverter failure. You are getting the same failure even with a new inverter board. Is it possible that you got a bad inverter?

Yes, it’s possible. Backlight lamp failure. When you are getting the same failure with a new inverter, most likely it’s related to the backlight lamp.

Could be motherboard failure, but it’s not very common. If you think that replacing the inverter is a lot of work, try replacing the backlight lamp which is located inside the LCD screen. Take a look at the, and.

Do not go this route. It’s not easy at all.

If you suspect the backlight failure, I would suggest replacing the entire LCD screen. They are not very expensive. Like many of us do, I’ve done plenty of hunting but have some up with nothing conclusive enough to include using the Dell support forums. Thus my present entreaty here after being impressed with both user contributions and jaw droppingly’ detailed technical tutorials. Thank you all for that.

I’d like to know how to confirm whether or not the inverter board and or the entire LCD assembly I have from a Dell Inspirion 1100 note book will be compatible as replacement part/s for a Dell Latitude c800. I have not yet disassembled the C800 to confirm actual part numbers and OEM of them, and do not plan to at this point, but I do have part numbers for the Inspirion 1100 as follows. While I am not willing to gamble causing damage to display adapter or motherboard(both which are working fine)by trial and error (replacing the inverter or just connecting the entire C800 display unit to see if it will work I am hopeful that someone with advanced technical knowledge might be able to tell me that I’ll be able to use these part to trouble shoot and use as replacements to correct the display problems I’m having with the C800 nowbe it inverter, LCD Display and or Backlight lamp. Inspirion 1100 Inverter Board: LP141XB-A1C2 LP141XB-A1M3 6632L-0017A YPNL-N011A LCD Panel: LG Phillips LP141X8 14.1 XGA Wire Assy: CN-09L1775-12961-3AB-MB26 Rev. A00 China Connector end: BDW00 14″ VGA DC025040900 D.C.

03/10/11 HIGH TEK (M8) Rev: 1.0 •. Richard, Are you sure the noise is coming from the screen and not from the inverter board?

It’s hard to tell. Could be bad inverter or backlight lamp. I tried taking the metal casing around the screen off to get to it but the screws are so small that I cannot get enough force to turn. You have to use a really small screwdriver but I wouldn’t recommend taking apart the LCD just for fun. There is not much you can do inside except replacing the backlight lamp.

It’s not easy. Take a look at this. I seem to be having this problem with the screen inverter.

I can see the image with a flashlight but not by itself. It started working again earlier but after I shut it down and started it up again a while later, I had the same problem. The only thing that is confusing me is that it also keeps turning itself off, could the inverter be causing this to happen? I have a dell inspiron 1501 and have ran the diagnostic tests and it says “LCD inverter failed”. I don’t want to replace it then find out there is a bigger problem.

Replacing the inverter card in my ThinkPad T42 did not solve my blank LCD screen problem. Replacing the entire LCD panel did solve the problem. My “blank screen” had symptoms similar to the first two listed at the beginning of this web page. But it was the LCD panel itself, and not the inverter that was the culprit. My “blank screen” was triggered by the LCD brightness setting–the higher the LCD brightness, the sooner the screen would blink off.

Rich Lang, Replacing the inverter card in my ThinkPad T42 did not solve my blank LCD screen problem. Replacing the entire LCD panel did solve the problem. My “blank screen” had symptoms similar to the first two listed at the beginning of this web page. But it was the LCD panel itself, and not the inverter that was the culprit. Apparently you had a faulty backlight lamp inside the screen.

The backlight lamp and inverter have very similar failure symptoms. If you have no test equipment, you’ll have to guess which one is causing the problem. I do disagree with the statement in the main body above, “This notebook allows you to replace the inverter board without removing the LCD bezel completely.” Attempting to change the inverter card without completely removing the bezel (a) will make it very difficult to unplug the inverter card because you don’t have room to work on it AND (b) you risk distorting the plastic edge of the bezel where it remains attached to the cover, with the result that the bezel does not fit perfectly to the cover when you try to put it back together again (happened to me). I’ve done it many times before and it worked for my just fine. The screen bezel is pretty flexible and if you work slowly everything should be OK. Colin C, Replaced the screen inverter; didn’t fix. However, noticed stimulating magnet of lid close switch gets screen to flash on temporarily?

Do I just need to clean/replace the lid close switch? From my experience, magnetic switches do not fail very often. Is it possible that you have a faulty switch? Is it likely?

Most likely you have a bad backlight lamp inside the LCD screen. If you don’t want to buy a new screen without confirming the backlight failure, you can buy a new backlight lamp and test the laptop as I explained in this post: 1. Find a test backlight lamp. Confirm the backlight lamp failure in your LCD screen. Buy a new screen and replace it.

I was reading all site (you have a really good one!!) and I find some more information about my problem (but i have no idea how to fix it, yet) I’ll try to be more specific using u’r own pictures My problem is in the conector number 3 of this picture: and looking this picture: i can see a few colors cooming from the video cable: pin 7: blue, pin 6: green, pin 5: yellow pin 4: orange pin 3: red pin 2:? My question is: is the same order in most cases? I understand it is my own risk, so can i try this order in the inverter of my HP compac 6720s? Thanks for your time and for this site 😉 •. Hi, I have this strange problem with a Sony Vaio Laptop. The screen is very dark when computer’s running.

You can still see it though if you try really really hard. The weird thing is when I close the lid (to the point the magnetic sensor goes off I guess), the screen suddenly gets much brighter and I can see things on the screen just like normal. But if I open the lid again, the screen goes back to black. I tried external monitors with both VGA and S-Video ports, none of them worked. Which makes me wonder maybe it’s the video card or the motherboard?

What do you think? Sam, I have this strange problem with a Sony Vaio Laptop. The screen is very dark when computer’s running.

You can still see it though if you try really really hard. The weird thing is when I close the lid (to the point the magnetic sensor goes off I guess), the screen suddenly gets much brighter and I can see things on the screen just like normal. But if I open the lid again, the screen goes back to black. This is a very weird problem. So, the screen actually lights up when you CLOSE the display, correct? Really strange.

Maybe the magnetic sensor is not working properly. That’s my guess. Find a small piece of magnet and try activating the switch while the screen is open, kinda make the laptop “think” that the display is close. Can you light up the screen when the switch is activated? Sorry I didn’t make it clear in the first post. When the LCD lights up, it only stays on for a second no matter how you move the lid.

Anyhow, I have tried many different things including my magnetic screw driver on the sensor. It only responds to those two touch pad buttons. I’m not sure if it is magnetic sensor any more. The two touch pad buttons do look like metal. Here’s what I’m thinking. The sensor sends out a signal that the lid is closing, the computer gets the signal, and for some reason, it lights up the screen for a second before it shuts down the screen. Is that normal?

Does that mean backlight and inverter are working fine? Thanks for your time, Sam •. dean, i have a toshiba lap top 17″ screen it only shows half of the screen now.i have hooked it up to a pc monitor and i had no video problems. In the middle of the screen i have color lines runnung up and down and on the left side it has black and white streaks running up and down.but the right side of the screen is ok.so does it sound like i have to replace my inverter or my lcd screen This description sounds like a problem with the LCD screen. You’ll have to replace the screen. There is nothing wrong with the inverter. You still can see a part of the screen and it’s bright, it means the inverter works properly.

nick, i have an acer aspire 1520 laptop. I dont think there is anything wrong with the screen its like a light goes out, sometimes the light comes on at the windows screen for a few seconds but other times the light stays on It’s hard to tell what is going on without testing the laptop. Take a closer look at the screen when the light goes out?

Can you still see a faint image on the screen? If yes, most likely you have a failing inverter board. If a new inverter doesn’t fix it, it could be bad backlight lamp inside the LCD screen. Bill, The LCD no longer lights up but stays black. With a flashlight I can just barely see the display. I replaced the LCD inverter per your instructions and that did not fix the problem. I just finished replacing the backlight and that did not fix the problem either.

Any idea what else could be the problem? I assume that parts you installed are good. Take a look at the lid close button if you have it on your laptop. It’s a small button located somewhere close to one of the hinges. Make sure the lid close button moves freely.

Sometimes, the button might get stuck inside the case the laptop “thinks” that the display is closed even though it’s opened. Try tapping on the lid close button.

November 2nd: The LCD no longer lights up but stays black. With a flashlight I can just barely see the display. I replaced the LCD inverter per your instructions and that did not fix the problem.

I just finished replacing the backlight and that did not fix the problem either. Any idea what else could be the problem? I assume that parts you installed are good. Take a look at the lid close button if you have it on your laptop. It’s a small button located somewhere close to one of the hinges.

Make sure the lid close button moves freely. Sometimes, the button might get stuck inside the case the laptop “thinks” that the display is closed even though it’s opened. Try tapping on the lid close button. November 5th: When I press the lid close button the laptop goes into sleep mode, so I don’t think the button is “sticking”.

I do remember that when I first started having the LCD display problem, pressing on the lid close button would cause the screen to light up and function normally for up to a couple of hours. However, that only worked for a day or so, and now pressing the lid close button has no affect on the LCD lighting.

Wagner, I have a Dell XPS out of warranty. The screen sometimes changes the color black for red. It is not changed 100% but 80%. I already tried a connection with another screen and it worked well.

Do I have to replace the screen or is it a problem with this inverter? This is not related to the inverter. The screen is still bright (even though shows wrong colors), so the inverter and backligth lamp work properly. This could be: 1. Bad connection between the video cable and motherboard or LCD screen.

Try reconnecting the video cable on both ends. Bad video cable. Maybe there is a shorted wire inside the video harness.

Try replacing the video cable. LCD screen failure. Replace the LCD screen.

Bill, When I press the lid close button the laptop goes into sleep mode, so I don’t think the button is “sticking”. Yep, sounds like the lid close switch button works properly. I do remember that when I first started having the LCD display problem, pressing on the lid close button would cause the screen to light up and function normally for up to a couple of hours. Usually, this indicates a problem with the inverter board or backlight lamp. It’s hard to tell what is causing the problem.

I guess it’s possible that your new inverter board or backlight is not good. I’ve seen is happening before. If you know that inverter and backlight are good 100% then you have a problem with the motherboard.

Apparently, it’s not providing power to the inverter/backlight (just a guess). Sorry, I cannot give you a better answer without testing the laptop with known good parts. Johnerything, Screen goes DIM but you can still see everything.

Move the screen back and forth rapidly brings it back but now even that doesn’t work. If you can fix the problem by moving the screen, most likely it’s either bad connection or faulty video cable. Check connections between the video cable and LCD screen, inverter board. Reseat them just in case. If you have the lid close button, make sure it moves freely. Try tapping on the button and see if it light up the screen. Try replacing the video cable, it could be bad.

It’s not a common failure, but possible. trav3ller, The service report said the inverter board had been faulty and was replaced. My laptop had different sypmtoms though, the screen was actually a dull grey/white so it looks like the backlight was working ok but no image appeared.

Your description doesn’t sound like a problem with the inverter board at all. If you can see the screen, even though there is no image on it, the inverter is working properly. It’s possible that your technician ordered a new inverter board “as a precaution” (that’s how you get parts for test ) but fixed your laptop by reseating the video cable connection. Great article – thanks. Have an HP Pavilion DV6000. Initially showed the classic failed inverter symptoms.

Replaced the inverter and the backlight worked, but there was a noticeable flicker. Tried checking for driver settings etc.

But there did not appear to be any issues. After approximately one hour the backlight went out. Contacted the inverter supplier and, after verifying that they had provided the correct one, they sent out another inverter. Hooked up the new inverter and same result – backlight works but has a noticeable flicker.

Contacted the supplier for suggestions on troubleshooting but their only solution was to return the inverters for a refund. Any suggestions besides looking for a new supplier? I have a Toshiba M105-s3041 (14.1 screen) laptop that has LCD Problems. A month ago the screen started flickering and eventually went out later that day.

You can see the faint image on the black LCD of the laptop. I replaced the inverter board myself and had these results. LCD screen came on but flickered (like a phloresent bulb warming up). After 10 minutes, the LCD came up to full brightness. But then started flickering again, got the pinkish hue (hue comes in and out), and LCD went black 30 minutes later. I have the laptop hooked up to an external monitor and that image is fine. If I toggle through to the multi-monitor mode (Fn+F5) the laptop LCD will come back on again, but still with flickering, pinkish hue (in and out), and eventually goes black.

The external monitor is fine, and you can still see the faint image on the black LCD of the laptop. There is not an external shut off button for the laptop lcd screen on this model. Pressing anywhere, flexing, or flipping the bezel OR the laptop base shows no effect on the laptop LCD.

Is there anything else I can check on the LCD that could be causing the flickering? I looked at your great backlight lamp replacement guide. I have some light experience with electronic repair, but lamp replacement may be a touchy repair. I can replace to a new LCD screen for under a hundred. Your thoughts?

Many thanks for all your help! Al Bee, A month ago the screen started flickering and eventually went out later that day.

You can see the faint image on the black LCD of the laptop. I replaced the inverter board myself and had these results. LCD screen came on but flickered (like a phloresent bulb warming up). After 10 minutes, the LCD came up to full brightness.

But then started flickering again, got the pinkish hue (hue comes in and out), and LCD went black 30 minutes later. Sounds like a problem with the backlight lamp. I assume that your new inverter was good. The pinkish hue is one of the symptoms of failing backlight lamp.

I looked at your great backlight lamp replacement guide. I have some light experience with electronic repair, but lamp replacement may be a touchy repair. I can replace to a new LCD screen for under a hundred. It’s not easy to replace the backlight lamp. I would suggest replacing the entire LCD screen.