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 4th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
This Compaq Presario R3000 was working fine till i test some LCD’s. Now it does not show picture on a good LCD can some one point me to the burned fuse or diode!
It works fine with an external Monitor
August 2nd, 2008 at 10:41 am
Please help. I do not know much about notebooks. Everytime I open my pictures and videos in my folder, RUNDLL window appears. “Error loading C:\Program Files\Windows Live\Photo Gallery\WLXPhotoviewer.dll The specied module could not be found.” I am using HP Pavilion entertainment PC, Windows Vista.
thanks!
August 2nd, 2008 at 9:44 am
My sons Toshiba a135 was sent in with bios access number needed got it back was fine then it froze up and had to be unplugged to turn off. Whe trying to turn it back on powers up but no video on screen. Tried second monitor while toggling f-5 and still got nothing also the hibernate button appears to be fine called the hot line and said out of warranty and would cost $40 to talk to tech. Any help would be appreciated school starts soon.
August 2nd, 2008 at 7:29 am
V3000 not display LCD screen but display Moniter ( LCD screen and cable not bad), Can you help me
July 31st, 2008 at 9:26 pm
“So, you can use the laptop when it’s plugged in and it works properly. There is no buzzing and the screen works properly too. But when you unplug the adapter and increase the screen brightness, the laptop starts buzzing and the screen goes off.”
That’s not completely it. No matter what, the left half of the screen is dim. However, without the charger, the screen will buzz at full brightness. I’ve tried to listen to the buzz, but it goes out too fast with the screen. I’m going to do what you said though, and hope for the best.
July 31st, 2008 at 7:49 am
So, you can use the laptop when it’s plugged in and it works properly. There is no buzzing and the screen works properly too. But when you unplug the adapter and increase the screen brightness, the laptop starts buzzing and the screen goes off.
That strange. For some reason I don’t think that this problem is related to the inverter board but I could be wrong. If the screen works fine from the adapter, I would assume the inverter works properly. Listen for the buzzing noise. Is it coming from the display panel or from under the keyboard? Maybe it’s coming from the motherboard?
Here’s my guess. It’s possible that there is a problem with the motherboard. Maybe it’s not providing enough power for the inverter board when running from the battery power and because of that one of the components on the motherboard or inverter board starts making the buzzing noise.
I guess the only way to find out what is wrong is replacing the inverter board. If you still have the same problem, apparently it’s the motherboard.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
cj2600,
Nope. I can turn the brightness as high as I want when I’m plugged in.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Rohit Kaushik,
If the buzzing noise coming from the display, most likely it’s bad inverter.
You mentioned that the light goes out when the laptop works from the battery. Will it go out when you are connected to the power adapter?
July 29th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
LK,
First of all, stop using the laptop. Unplug the power adapter, remove the battery.
It’s necessary to open up the laptop and take a closer look inside. Most likely you’ll find water inside and honestly, I’ll be surprised if the motherboard is still in working condition. If you don’t know how to disassemble the laptop, I would suggest taking it to the repair shop.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
cj2600,
Thanks from everyone for your constant support and help.
I figure that my problem is with the inverter because now, if I’m not connected to an outlet, and I turn my brightness up, the computer starts buzzing and the light goes out entirely. If I turn off the comp, take out the battery, and hold the power button for 20 seconds, the screen will return to normal. What do you think?