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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September 2nd, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Did you ask them if they tested your laptop with another LCD screen (or inverter) or they just guessed that your inverter was working fine?
No, if your external display is working fine it means the motherboard is working fine.
If you purchased a new LCD screen from a reliable source and properly connected it to the laptop, but still experience the same problem (dim image/no backlight), I would assume it’s not a LCD problem.
Could be bad inverter, bad video cable and even motherboard problem. I cannot tell you witch one is causing the problem without testing your laptop using known good parts.
I would talk to a technician who troubleshooted your laptop in first place and asked him how he tested the inverter board with LCD screen.
September 2nd, 2008 at 8:25 am
I have a Sony VGN S- 150 screen was bad. I replaced it. I still have no screen image on it is it possiable the back lite or inverta is bad?
August 28th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
I have an HP dv5215us laptop and I’m having trouble seeing anything on my lcd screen without a flashlight. When I took my laptop into a service center they claimed that my screen inverter is working fine and my lcd screen was defective. I had replaced the lcd screen, put in a completely brand new screen and I’m still getting the same dim black screen. When I connected an external display, I can see everything just fine, doesn’t that mean it’s an lcd error? Thanks
August 27th, 2008 at 4:45 am
my lap top screens shows like electrical waves (trembeling) when connected to the ac charger, it goes on and off, it does not do it while on battery operation.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
aniruddha,
Did you test external video? If video on the external monitor works well and this problem appears only on the laptop LCD, your problem could be related to the following:
1. Loose connection between the video cable and LCD screen. You’ll have to reconnect the cable.
2. Defective video cable and it has to be replaced.
3. Bad LCD screen.
August 26th, 2008 at 12:30 am
Hi i hve IBM R61 laptop the problem is that sometime display is comming properly..but if i touches to LCD ..display get vanished..could you please advice what will be the problem .Is the problem with display cable ?
August 25th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
sammy,
I covered the white screen problem in more details in this post: Laptop LCD screen turned completely white. It’s possible there is connection issue between the video cable and LCD screen. Reconnecting the video cable may help.
August 20th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
i have a satellite 4030CDT the screen is totally white without display when i try to shake it it will display on half of the screen and later fades out please i want you to help me fix this pro thanks and God bless.
August 15th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Genius!
Quickest fix I have ever read or executed.
My wife is very happy
August 10th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I think I can figure out my laptop problem. I’ve tested both external video connector and also video cable in the back of LCD, they both work great, except the system board (with onboard video) is bad or the video card is bad. I will have video card replace for now.