Here are some tips and tricks for troubleshooting and fixing laptop video problems. Video issues are very common within portable computers and with the following tips you should be able to detect and eliminate basic laptop video problems.
Laptop LCD screen has a faint image.
Look at the LCD screen very closely and check if you can see a faint image on the screen. It’s possible that the LCD lid close switch stuck in the “closed” position and the backlight stays off even when you open the LCD screen or turn on the laptop. The switch turns off the backlight when you close the LCD display to save the laptop battery power. Check the LCD lid close switch. Usually it is a small plastic pin located close to the LCD hinges. Try to tap on the switch a few times to turn on the backlight. If after tapping on the LCD lid close switch the backlight stays on, you fixed the problem.
It is also possible that after tapping on the LCD lid close switch the backlight works fine, you see a normal video on the screen for some time and then the backlight turns itself off again. In this case I would blame the FL inverter board. Try to reseat cables on both end of the FL inverter to make a better contact between the cables and the FL inverter board. If it doesn’t help I would try to replace the FL inverter board.
Laptop LCD screen is solid white color.
Most likely it is just a bad connection between the LCD display and the system board. I would try reseating the video cable connector on the back of the LCD screen first and check if it fixes the problem. After that I would try reseating the video cable connector on the system board. I would also try reseating cables if there is no video on the LCD screen at all.
The video on the LCD screen is garbled.
Try to connect the LCD screen to an external monitor. If the external video is fine, you have a problem with the LCD screen or the LCD video cable. You can try to fix the problem by reseating the video cable on the back of the LCD and on the system board.
If you see the same garbled video output on the external monitor most likely it is not the LCD screen problem. In this case the system board (with onboard video) is bad or the video card is bad.
I understand that these tips will not cover all video problems with portable computers. If you have a different problem, you are welcome to leave a comment and I will try to help you if I can. 
Are you looking for a new LCD screen for you laptop? Try searching here.
Here’s a notebook display assembly diagram and tips for finding spare notebook parts.
Related articles:
How I took apart and repaired my notebook LCD screen with water damage
Screen inverter replacement. Fixing laptop backlight problem
Laptop has bad video on the LCD screen. What is wrong?
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August 20th, 2006 at 10:54 pm
Dan DiStasio,
These lines appear even before the laptop boots to Windows? These lines look like lines on the example 2 here? If yes, then most likely that’s the screen problem.
August 20th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
Simon w,
I think that guys from Geeksquad are right; it looks like a motherboard problem.
August 20th, 2006 at 10:27 am
i have recieved a laptop which is ibm 600e
ok lests ee its problem
no ibm screen at startup on lcd but yes there is display on external monitor
using fn +f? does bring the ibm logo on lcd and the laptop starts to boot well when windows 2000 is booting the ccfl goes off
tried the thing for aleast 20 times but ccfl goes of at the same point
everytine boot up no lcd display
have to use fn + f? to bring on display
okay used the fn +f? key and pressed f1 went in to bios checked the lcd test and then left it on for two hours
ccfl and the in verter satys on no problems
the self test in the bios uses all modes display to check it
i had another lcd of a brand new r51 laptop ofcource the lcd was broken by accdentially keeping a pencil bon the keyboard but the ccfl is u cansay month old ony
plugged the ccfl into the inverter
same problem
well i think this is purely bios problem
i mean question 1:- why does it pass all tests in bios tests and the 2 hour test the ccfl passed
question 2
when i go to the bios and say that it should display on both then save the setting and exit
it only shows in the external monitor
well i feel its the bios
ill try something tommorw loke take another hdd and load wiin 98
which originally it was supposed to be handling
by the way win 2000 is load ed
lets see
August 19th, 2006 at 12:23 pm
I’d like to know how do a FL inverter brakes. I’ve just changed mine and after few weeks the problem came back. Is there some another problem inside my notebook that is damaging the inverter? What should I do? I have a toshiba satellite 1800 207s.
August 14th, 2006 at 12:04 pm
My Inspiron 9300 with a wide screen display 17″ suddenly had tow vertical lines appear and never go away. they seem to delineate a conventional screen size as they are each roughly 2″ from the left and right edge of the screen. They are no more than a pixel or so wide—like threads –but the do over everything including the bottom task bar. Is my screen givign out? is it video connected?
August 12th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
I have an HP Pavilion ZV5000 and the s video out quit working. I tried to buy an adapter to go off of the VGA output ands into the TV, but this will only work (with weird colors) as the laptop boots, but then quits. I took this to Geeksquad and they said they’d have to ship it in and that I’d probably need a new motherboard….any advice?
August 7th, 2006 at 10:16 pm
Malia,
By connecting another LCD screen and having the same problem, you proofed that it’s not the backlight bulb problem (if the spare LCD screen is good of course).
Sometimes, when the FL inverter is bad, it’s very hard to see any image on the screen. Usually you can see only a very faint Toshiba logo in the middle or a faint Intel logo in the lower right corner, and after that everything is very dark.
I think that you have very good chances to fix the problem if you replace the FL inverter. Just in case I would reseat the video cable on the system board and the cable that entering the inverter before buying parts.
August 7th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
Cynthia,
So did they fix the problem or they didn’t? There is no way for me to say if the laptop has been physically damaged without looking at it. I do not really understand what they mean by Tab separation. Does it mean that the video cable connector wasn’t seated properly?
Sometimes you can get vertical lines on the screen because the LCD screen is bad.
How can you determine that the laptop was dropped if there are no cracks on the case???
August 6th, 2006 at 11:06 am
Hi!
I have a satellite P25 S607 in which the monitor is very dark. External monitor works fine. I actually switched the lcd screen with another laptop and it still looks the same.
When I push the lid close swith I can see a change in the light, but when it is not pushed it is very dark. I do not see a faint image even if I look very hard.
I think it is the FL converter, but not sure. What do you think?
Thank you!!!
August 5th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Help! Sent my Toshiba a75 s2292 into be repaired was told that the blue line and blue ribbon going up and down my lcd was from Tab separation. I can not find any information on this. Recently it was repaired for overheating and also the motherboard was replaced.
The claim from the repair facility is it must of been in a padded case and then dropped (Padded case because there aren’t any cracks or marks on the computer case). this computer was not dropped by me at anytime. Am I being taken for a ride ?