Laptop Screen Going Blank - Hardware or Software Related?

[easysurfer]

I posted on the what I bought recently on Amazon thread about me buying a video cable for my laptop thinking that the cable needs to get replaced as the laptop screen was cutting out and going dark. Thought I'd carry that topic here since it isn't really an Amazon topic except for the purchase.

I'd tilt the laptop lid back and forth and the screen would go out now and then.

The laptop I have Linux installed. Today, I installed a newer distro on the laptop. But when trying to duplicate the screen cutting out, so far, that did not happen.

Now I'm scratching my head wondering could the issue be software related and not hardware?

To rule out (at least I thought so) software the other day, I booted the laptop via a bootable CD and still had the screen cut out on me. But now, I wouldn't bet my life savings weather hardware or software as root cause.

 

[RunningBum]

I had that problem with an old Gateway laptop. I forget how I decided that it was something with the hinge mechanism, pinching a cable once in awhile perhaps. It clearly had a bit of a hitch in it. I ordered the hinge part, but decided I was due a new laptop anyway and found one at the right price. I still use the old laptop as a Plex video server. I don't move it from my study and rarely even open the lid, and haven't seen the problem reoccur, but I still think there's a hardware problem with the hinge.

Whether that's your problem, I don't know but it sounds like the same issue. Does the lid open and close as smoothly as it used to?

Make sure you keep an up to date backup in case it goes out completely one day.

 

[target2019]

If you search for your specific model, you'll find others with the same problem. Most of the laptop problems like OP are more likely to be the internal cable. If you find a disassembly video, you'll see how the problem is occuring.

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

Some laptops have a backlight "tube" and should that go out the screen goes dark as well.

If you shine a bright light at the screen you might be able to see the display if it is a back light problem and the screen seems dark.

 

[easysurfer]

The other day when the laptop screen was going out, I'd tilt the screen just slightly (about a half-inch to inch forward) and the screen would go out. It would come back on when I reclined the screen. Sometimes, only when reclined almost flat back.

Yesterday, I could move the screen back and forth the full range of motion and the screen didn't go out. A difference is I did switch out the hard drive as I was installing a different linux distro and wanted to keep the old one for the time being on a separate drive.

I will swap the drives back and test again later. Probably shouldn't make a difference, but worth trying anyhow.

My hardware theory is when I changed the fan about a year ago, to get to the fan, I had to temporarily remove the video cable. Because of that the sticky tape that held the connector in place lost some of the stickiness and as a result the connection isn't secure. Just my theory.

My software theory is that by must moving the screen forward slightly the power management software thinks I'm closing the lid so screen goes out and laptop sleeps. But I don't think this is the case as from what I see, the laptop doesn't sleep and continues processing (like if I was in the middle of a download, the download doesn't stop).

 

[statsman]

Be grateful all yours does is blank out the screen, then return when the screen is moved. When pivoting the screen even slightly when on battery power, my laptop will power off instantly. As long as I have the AC adapter connected, this doesn't happen. So much for having an non-portable laptop.

 

[easysurfer]

Be grateful all yours does is blank out the screen, then return when the screen is moved. When pivoting the screen even slightly when on battery power, my laptop will power off instantly. As long as I have the AC adapter connected, this doesn't happen. So much for having an non-portable laptop.

But as long as you don't pivot the screen, your laptop runs fine even with the battery? If so, sounds like you have even a more mysterious laptop than me .

 

[statsman]

But as long as you don't pivot the screen, your laptop runs fine even with the battery? If so, sounds like you have even a more mysterious laptop than me .

Probably not as mysterious. My guess is a wire is shorting from the battery when the screen is pivoted. The wiring from the AC adapter appears to be fine.

 

[easysurfer]

Probably not as mysterious. My guess is a wire is shorting from the battery when the screen is pivoted. The wiring from the AC adapter appears to be fine.

Ah .. that makes sense.

 

[easysurfer]

Okay .. I did some more testing with my laptop screen ... pivoting the screen back and forth and for grins, with the old HDD that contained the older software from the other day when the screen was on the fritz.

I couldn't duplicate the screen cutting out on me. Not saying that I did anything to fix the issue, but at least for now, the symptoms don't show up.

I'll have to take a page from one of the car shops I used to take my car to. Best thing is to wait and wait until the symptoms get worse and are more consistent .
In the meantime, when the video cable arrives (it is already on the way from China ... was only about $7), I'll just set aside for safe keeping until the symptoms come back and get worse. I have not doubt symptoms will come back another day.

 

[easysurfer]

Fixed my laptop by changing the video cable.

Screen started cutting out again whenever I pivoted the screen. Had to roll up my sleeves and take the laptop apart, including the bezel for the screen.

Wasn't that bad. The most difficult thing was figuring where a couple of screws were to remove the screen bezel.

Saved me about $300 as I was already laptop shopping. But now, no need to.

Quite proud of myself .

 

[Jerry1]

Great news! I had a similar problem and took in it to get it repaired. They said they couldn't find anything wrong, but some how taking it apart and then reassembling it fixed it. Cost about $80 - all labor. Probably just a loose connection.

I've never worked on a laptop beyond adding memory and swapping out a hard drive. Both simple and no real disassembly. Swapping out the cable was real computer work. Good going.

 

[easysurfer]

Great news! I had a similar problem and took in it to get it repaired. They said they couldn't find anything wrong, but some how taking it apart and then reassembling it fixed it. Cost about $80 - all labor. Probably just a loose connection.

I've never worked on a laptop beyond adding memory and swapping out a hard drive. Both simple and no real disassembly. Swapping out the cable was real computer work. Good going.

I do not like working on laptops. A couple of my laptops have died on the table in the past just me trying to figure out how to put things back together. My current laptop has a good maintenance guide available as a PDF so is self-serviceable if you have the patience.

My thought is probably when I changed the CPU and and heatsink about a couple years ago, maybe I didn't tuck the cable back in properly causing a crimp. Not sure. But the important thing is now the laptop seems to work fine. Plus, I found a use for my old Blockbuster video card .

 

[Winemaker]

My 'puter started crashing regularly two weeks ago, and I contacted Dell last Monday the 22nd. After checking a few things via their control, a few new drivers were installed, but no avail. They sent me a box overnight, I packed it Wednesday morning and gave it to local Office Max. Pickup was at 4:30 pm, Dell notified me of their receipt Thursday with an email at 4:19 pm. Yesterday, at 1:00 pm, my unit came back with a new logic board according to their enclosed letter. They had shipped it the night before at 6:00 pm. Very well pleased with Dell's service.

 

[Jerry1]

Was it under warranty, or is that their normal repair turn around time? If it wasn’t under warranty, what was the cost of shipping? Asking because I’ve had a company on the west coast build a few machines for me. They are great, but when I had a problem, the speed of turn around was not good. Being without your main computer for more that a week sucks.

 

[target2019]

I would think Dell can diagnose replace components rather quickly with the tool mentioned by Winemaker. They can probe and find faults you didn't know you had.

For a smaller builder, I'm sure they need to be cautious, expecting user errors maybe when tweaking settings.

I've pretty much settled on Dell, and have had no problems in-office over 25 years. But there are problems which develop, and I saw a few when I toiled out in the street.

 

[Jerry1]

The thing I like about the builder I use is that they use quiet components. My current build is a fanless model. Except for a little clicking from the second (data) drive, it’s silent. I don’t think their work takes time, but expedited shipping is very expensive and they don’t cover that out of warranty. In warranty they cover shipping, but it’s like second day air. Well there and back, that’s at least four days and the way the shipper counts days it’s mor like five. Then a day or two to work on it and you’re without a machine for awhile.

I only had to ship it back once. Any other things, they walked me through on the phone. There’s only been a couple issues over the three builds they’ve done for me.

 

[easysurfer]

The thing I like about the builder I use is that they use quiet components. My current build is a fanless model. Except for a little clicking from the second (data) drive, it’s silent. I don’t think their work takes time, but expedited shipping is very expensive and they don’t cover that out of warranty. In warranty they cover shipping, but it’s like second day air. Well there and back, that’s at least four days and the way the shipper counts days it’s mor like five. Then a day or two to work on it and you’re without a machine for awhile.

I only had to ship it back once. Any other things, they walked me through on the phone. There’s only been a couple issues over the three builds they’ve done for me.

The quiet components are interesting. In fact, the reason why I worked on the my current laptop in the first place was because of noise. It's a used Thinkpad T420s and they are known for having a fan that runs at full speed constantly once the CPU gets a bit warm. Think of that as like a steady tea kettle whistling. Maybe not that loud as a tea kettle, but enough to give me a headache. So, I ended up replacing the OEM cpu fan with a generic one that now is pretty much totally silent.

My current desktop (a used Dell) has a quiet fan. I have the tower sitting on the side of the desk an that adds some white noise to the loud clicking (which I like) of my mechanical keyboard.

 

[Winemaker]

Was it under warranty, or is that their normal repair turn around time? If it wasn’t under warranty, what was the cost of shipping? Asking because I’ve had a company on the west coast build a few machines for me. They are great, but when I had a problem, the speed of turn around was not good. Being without your main computer for more that a week sucks.

I purchased the unit in December 2016, and is under warranty until December 2020. The warranty actually was supposed to have personal "to your door" service, but the tech on the phone said that the truck would have to be an 18 wheeler to carry all the parts needed/required for everyone. I never paid a nickel for this repair, but I'm sure I paid something for a warranty.