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:
Fixing notebook LCD screen with water damage.
Screen inverter replacement. Fixing laptop backlight problem
Laptop has bad video on the LCD screen. What is wrong?
Laptop screen shows strange colors. What could be wrong?
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September 2nd, 2006 at 11:16 pm
Hi Luke,
If you get the same lines on the internal LCD screen and the external monitor, then most likely the video card is bad. But I think that in this model the video card is integrated into the system board and you cannot reseat it. If the video card is bad, you’ll have to replace the system board. After a quick search, I found maintenance and service guide for Compaq Presario X6000. It’s a pdf file and might take some time to open it up. The manual will show how to remove the system board. Navigate to “Removal and Replacement Procedures” entry in the left pane and go to line 5.16 – system board. There you’ll find a part number for your system board; it depends on how much video memory you have. Man, I googled for these boards and they are expensive.
September 1st, 2006 at 9:08 pm
Wow, great site. Good to see someone helping people.
I was using my Compaq Presario x6000 tonight like normal, then all the sudden the screen is filled with thousands of vertical blue lines. On a white background they change to yellow.
I got in touch w/tech support, they had me do the external monitor test, which showed the lines on the external monitor. Based on what I’ve read above, that would mean my video card is bad?
Should I remove and reinsert the card to see if that will fix it or just go ahead and try to order another card?
I belive my notebook has a ATI Mobility Radeon x600.
Thanks for your time!
September 1st, 2006 at 12:23 pm
Heather:
I have a Satellite 3000 with similar problem to yours… external monitor works fine but LCD goes dark. In my case I notice the LCD image is fine for a while when I power up, but it goes dark or the whole system freezes, especially if I move or pick up the laptop a certain way.
To me this suggests a problem with a bad solder joint or connector. I’ve replaced the FL inverter, the motherboard and still does the same. The only thing I haven’t tried is replacing the graphics card.
So… I just bought a graphics card (part no. K000810990) and will post a message on here and let you know whether or not this fixes the problem when it arrives next week.
Tony
August 24th, 2006 at 7:23 pm
Hey Rich,
I would leave it the way it is. If you try to re-solder the memory slot, you can permanently damage the board. I know that professionals with right equipment can do that, but I would never try it myself. Just leave it as is.
If the laptop works with “cardboard engineering change”
August 24th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
I have a Thinkpad T30 that I got after the owner dropped it and broke the LCD. I replaced the LCD and I have learned that there is a problem where the front memory slot doesn’t work. I cannot be sure, but I think it hasn’t worked for some time. I have searched around and found that this is a common problem with this model, but that the “free Engineering change” from IBM is no longer available. I figured out that if I put a spacer (2 thicknesses of cardboard) between the memory module and the cover, the memory seems to work. Do you think this is a situation where I could make a permanant fix by resoldering the connections between the MB and the slot? If so. how and where should I apply the heat, assuming I use a heat gun.
Thanks
August 24th, 2006 at 2:43 am
I accidentally stepped on my laptop and now the colors are inverted (negative). For the rest it’s working fine. Reseating the connections did not help, it’s a Fujitsu P1120 with 8.9″ Toshiba screen.
I installed Powerstrip and can reverse the colors, which almost look normal now. However, colors stay inverted during video playback and I would rate the screen quality 70% of original.
Can you tell me which component(s) may have been damaged, how I can test this and perhaps even if it can be fixed?
Is it the inverter? I found refurbished inverters on the Web but want to be sure to make the right diagnosis.
Thanks!
August 21st, 2006 at 10:27 pm
Tarun,
I think you are right; it might be the BIOS related problem. Try to re-flash the BIOS. I don’t think that reloading OS is going to help a lot. Weird problem. I can assume, that it also might indicate a problem with the system board. Please let me know if you find the fix.
August 20th, 2006 at 11:15 pm
Andre,
I don’t know why FL inverters break. I think it’s just like any electrical device fails without any reason.
Are you sure that your backlight problem is related to a bad FL inverter? Have you checked if the lid close switch moves freely? Did you install a new inverter board or it was an aftermarket part?
It looks like Toshiba new about FL inverter board issue in this model for a while and even was replacing inverters on out of warranty laptops until May 4, 2006. Check out Toshiba laptop screen flicker settlement. I guess that original inverters for this model had a defect and Toshiba had to modify them somehow to prevent the backlight failure. May be your second FL inverter comes from a not modified batch? That’s just my guess.
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.