How to troubleshoot and fix laptop video problems
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?
Entry Filed under: Laptop Tips and Tricks
792 Responses to “How to troubleshoot and fix laptop video problems”
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Pages: « 80 … 69 68 67 66 65 [64] 63 62 61 60 59 … 1 » Show All
March 26th, 2008 at 8:02 am
I have a Sony Vaio PCG_FRV27 and the graphics chip on it is shot.Where could I find a replacement and do you have a how to segment for replacing the chip like you do for the dc jack repair or could you possibly create one.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:33 pm
TKNY,
Do you have any important information on this laptop? Make a backup. Try reimaging the hard drive back to factory defaults using software recovery discs. It’s possible that you have a software related problem and reimaging the hard drive will take care of your problem.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
whenever i try to play a music cd or a dvd, it doesn’t play well, in the sense whereby it jumps….it begins to break and the voices are mumbled…..
I was told that i may have too many programs, but i dont think so, as i don’t have any extra featues, just the basic microsoft xp…any ideas people?
March 19th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Angela,
Did you test the laptop with an external monitor? If the same happens with external video, you may have a software related issue. Back up all personal files and reimage the hard drive using recovery discs.
March 19th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Dave,
Could be either bad invert or bad LCD screen. I would try replacing the inverter board first, it’s way cheaper and there is a good chance to fix the laptop.
March 19th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Hi,
I have sony notebook but the thing is the screen display goes on and off, but not totally blank. The background display stays but all the program icons, start up toolbar goes off what i mean is that it disappears after a 30 seconds or so and then it appears again. Is there anybody can help me solve this. Please! What do you think, is it a hardware or software failure?
March 18th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I have a Dell 2200 laptop with a screen problem. It is total black. External monitor works fine. When I toggle between monitors, I can get a brief, faint image to appear on the laptop screen. No other movement, tapping etc. produces an image on the screen. Does this sound like inverter or LCD issue?
March 12th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Nancy,
You’ll have to check external video. How about video on the external monitor, is is the same?
March 11th, 2008 at 8:01 am
When we startup our Acer laptop, the colors are wierd!! The background color is hot pink & blue, and the graphics are grainy. We had it in the trunk of our car overnight in cold weather! Help!!!!
March 8th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Sidney,
Do you have this problem right from the startup? When you turn on the laptop you get a logo first, is it displayed two times too?
Test video output on an external monitor? How about the external video, it’s normal?