Laptop Screen Issue

[Monkeykitten]

HOWDY FOLKS, I'm having an issue with my laptop and I want to try to see if I can fix it before I invest in new electronics.

So yesterday I closed my laptop (an older Compaq Presario V2000 that I bought in 2006, runs on Windows XP) while it was on so it would go into sleep mode and left my apartment for a few hours. Came back, flipped it open, and noticed the screen image wasn't coming back. Upon closer inspection, I noticed I could see some parts of the screen (mostly the brightest white parts) and I was still able to interact with things enough to save what I was working on in SAI. I shut my laptop down and let it rest for a while, which solved nothing. I started it back up and was still only able to see the brightest parts. I managed to hook it up to the monitor on our desktop so I could save my important data. Seems the laptop is working fine other than the screen. I've tried messing with the contrast (in case that had glitched out somehow) and the quick lock button with no results.

Is there anything I can do for this?

 

[CaptainCool]

well since it works on a regular PC display i suppose that the screen is broken =/ there isnt much you can do yourself in this case and replacing the display might even be more expensive than buying a new laptop...
you could use it on a regular screen now though but it wouldnt be very portable then anymore

 

[Monkeykitten]

well since it works on a regular PC display i suppose that the screen is broken =/ there isnt much you can do yourself in this case and replacing the display might even be more expensive than buying a new laptop...
you could use it on a regular screen now though but it wouldnt be very portable then anymore

Dang yo. I am so curious as to how this happened, as I'd never had issues with the screen before, but it may just be old age. I am sure a replacement screen for something this old would be harder to find, too, but then again I don't know much about laptop parts. I know that Compaqs are kind of weird about using parts that aren't made by them, or so a friend of mine who builds computers told me. I'd probably have to buy parts through them (and didn't they get bought out by some other company? I don't know my computer brand history very well) and they'd probably mark it way up and blargh. Money.

 

[CaptainCool]

Dang yo. I am so curious as to how this happened, as I'd never had issues with the screen before, but it may just be old age. I am sure a replacement screen for something this old would be harder to find, too, but then again I don't know much about laptop parts. I know that Compaqs are kind of weird about using parts that aren't made by them, or so a friend of mine who builds computers told me. I'd probably have to buy parts through them (and didn't they get bought out by some other company? I don't know my computer brand history very well) and they'd probably mark it way up and blargh. Money.

im not 100% sure if its broken or not but since you didnt do anything other than putting it to sleep mode for a few hours and since its out of its warranty period now its pretty likely that its broken.
you might try to reinstall the drivers for the graphics card but i kinda doubt that there is much you can do at this point

 

[Monkeykitten]

im not 100% sure if its broken or not but since you didnt do anything other than putting it to sleep mode for a few hours and since its out of its warranty period now its pretty likely that its broken.
you might try to reinstall the drivers for the graphics card but i kinda doubt that there is much you can do at this point

Hmm possibly, I will put that on my list of things to try. O:

 

[ToeClaws]

Sounds like the backlight has burned out. LCD's are not self-illuminated; they have a reflective backing which is lit by ultra compact florescent lights (or by LEDs in some newer laptops). Eventually, these lights burn out. When they do, the LCD still displays the image, but without light passing through it, you can only faintly make out parts of it via the ambient light in the room.

You can see about getting a replacement screen for it - ebay is generally a good source for older parts like that, just make sure you get it from a well-ranked supplier. If you're not technically inclined to install such a thing, you'll also want to arrange to have the screen installed. Typical sized LCDs range from about $100 to $200 on ebay, installation by a professional depends on their hourly rates.

 

[Monkeykitten]

Sounds like the backlight has burned out. LCD's are not self-illuminated; they have a reflective backing which is lit by ultra compact florescent lights (or by LEDs in some newer laptops). Eventually, these lights burn out. When they do, the LCD still displays the image, but without light passing through it, you can only faintly make out parts of it via the ambient light in the room.

You can see about getting a replacement screen for it - ebay is generally a good source for older parts like that, just make sure you get it from a well-ranked supplier. If you're not technically inclined to install such a thing, you'll also want to arrange to have the screen installed. Typical sized LCDs range from about $100 to $200 on ebay, installation by a professional depends on their hourly rates.

Ah the backlight, that's what my boyfriend was guessing. Seems like it's pretty likely based on your info there. Thanks much for the response!

 

[Runefox]

There isn't any need to buy a whole replacement LCD - Just the backlight. It might also be the inverter, so it's best to buy the whole kit. They're a lot less expensive than buying a screen.

 

[ToeClaws]

There isn't any need to buy a whole replacement LCD - Just the backlight. It might also be the inverter, so it's best to buy the whole kit. They're a lot less expensive than buying a screen.

^-- This. If you punch in the correct info when you do your search for it, you may be able to find just the backlight and/or inverter. They're not as common as the whole screen assembly, but if you can get them, Rune is right - it'll be considerably cheaper.

 

[hitokage]

The inverter failing is more common, and if you have limited funds it should be tried first. The inverter is also the easier of the two to replace.

The one other possibility is the microswitch that controls things when the screen is closed.