Laptop Screen

Roger the dodge · 13 Sep 2009 at 11:01

My sons Laptop is a hp pavilion entertainment pc
running Vista
its about a year and a half old i think..
problem is you switch on and it starts up .. no strange sounds, beeps or clicks.
the screen is totally blank (black)
and i don't mean dos black i mean, as in not turned on black.
i have connected a separate monitor --- nothing
i connected my Samsung Q1 tablet sync connecter -- nothing
i now think it a breakage rather than software problem
any suggestions would be helpful

xb8browney · 13 Sep 2009 at 11:04

Well if you have plugged in an external monitor and it doesn't work it rules out the screen being a problem. More likely the problem is internal/hardware based.

digi7al · 13 Sep 2009 at 11:13

Sounds like a GPU problem to me.

Roger the dodge · 13 Sep 2009 at 11:14

Ok thanks for that ..
sounds cheaper already

Seeing as i can't see the screen, would the best option be to reload Vista
or take out hdd, back back it up to my comp. and then reload vista..

digi7al · 13 Sep 2009 at 11:17

if it is just the gpu, once replaced your installation may just require graphics drivers to be uninstalled/installed

mollymoo · 13 Sep 2009 at 11:17

Had a similiar/ same problem. If its doing nothing at all then it will be the mobo which unfortunately can be costly.
Does the power light come on ?

Roger the dodge · 13 Sep 2009 at 11:19

power light does come on... everything runs as normalexept no screen

mollymoo · 13 Sep 2009 at 11:23

Yeah try the drivers hopefully it will work, if not then once again will need a mobo as its integrated graphics, is it still under warranty?

Roger the dodge · 13 Sep 2009 at 11:31

I don't think it is still under warranty
but as the duty bound dad i will spend the afternoon sorting it out, one way or other..
thank you all for your input i will be back lol (to let you know )

digi7al · 13 Sep 2009 at 11:38

Ebay is your friend in this instance i believe, but it may be easier contacting the manufacturer as laptops can be fiddly, good luck.

alex24 · 13 Sep 2009 at 11:49

what is the model? A lot of these machines have had the gpu die, supposedly related to a manufacturing defect. Just had a laptop do this a few months out of warranty - a dv9655ea. The symptoms were identical to what you describe, the faulty gpu was a nvidia 8400gs. Contacted the reseller with reference to the sales of goods act and products lasting a reasonable amount of time. They have sent the machine for repair free of charge and i am currently waiting for it to return. This wasnt the first one they've done either, it's a common problem. HP wanted 270 quid for the same job.

digi7al · 13 Sep 2009 at 12:01

I had the same problem on my laptop, same gpu same laptop albeit under the compaq name

xb8browney · 13 Sep 2009 at 20:11

Roger the dodge said:
Ok thanks for that ..
sounds cheaper already
Seeing as i can't see the screen, would the best option be to reload Vista
or take out hdd, back back it up to my comp. and then reload vista..

Cheap? I can't see how if your getting NO display at all I mean BIOS then your looking at a dead GPU and most are integrated so it wont be easy to replace and in which case a new laptop is on the cards. I hope it's dedicated GPU that can be changed though. What is the model and make?

JonJ678 · 13 Sep 2009 at 20:19

When you say an external monitor, you did wait for vista to boot all the way up, make its noises then try the keyboard command to turn on the monitor?

Take it to a brightly lit area and try to make out anything on the screen. If the backlight has gone (which is common) you'll just about be able to see the screen. If you can't see anything at all I'm joining the above people in saying that the gpu has given up, and I wish you luck getting it repaired at a reasonable price.