My laptop turns on, but the screen is blank

[tofurkey]

Please help me

Earlier in the day I was playing Warcraft III when suddenly my screen froze. I hard reset my computer as I couldn't seem to do anything else, but when I turned it back on, the screen remained blank despite the rest of the computer being on. Even the backlight on the screen was on.

I had no idea what was wrong and looked up solutions, and most people seemed to have a problem with their motherboards in this situation. However, one person suggested checking my RAM, and when I switched my RAM sticks around, miraculously my computer came back to life. I was under the impression that everything was okay, until...

About an hour ago I was watching a video on youtube when my screen went black this time. No frozen screen, just black with backlight. So I restarted my computer again, and now it won't "miraculously" come back. I tried fiddling with the RAM again with no success.

One thing I thought was funny though is that occassionally when I turn on the computer to check it, it actually loads even though the screen is blank. I hear the Vista loading chime, and I even managed to log into my user account.

This has only started happening today, and I have a lot of important stuff on that computer, including a half-finished paper that I need to turn in on Monday, so the faster I can figure out what the fuck is going on, the happier I will be as a whole.

Does anyone have any ideas of what's happening or what I can possibly do to remedy this situation?

 

[pathbinder]

This happened to me quite a lot and I found out that my problem is my graphics card. When I removed it and used the built-in one, the screen displayed properly; and when I put it back, it's black again(and everything loads, just no display, like yours). Try checking your graphics card.

 

[tofurkey]

This happened to me quite a lot and I found out that my problem is my graphics card. When I removed it and used the built-in one, the screen displayed properly; and when I put it back, it's black again(and everything loads, just no display, like yours). Try checking your graphics card.

to be completely honest i have no idea where my graphics card is on this laptop and it's not even detailed in the manual

i got a tip from another site that said try removing your RAM and running the computer, and if it doesn't beep then it's a mobo problem.

It didn't beep. Can anyone verify this?

 

[aphadeon]

Strange. If it loads, than it might be a speaker problem.
What you're looking at is one of 3 things.
1.) Bad Refresh Rate
2.) Unsupported Resolution
3.) F$#K#DUP@FXCard.
So. Try booting to safe mode, F8 right after bios screen, before windows load screen. If you can't see it, press the down arrow on the keyboard (once) and then Enter twice.
If that doesn't work, look for a battery inside the service hatch. Pull that and look for a reset jumper or button. And naturally, while you're in there, pull all the RAM out, find the cleanest one and reseat it in the bracket closest to the motherboard. If you have access, clean the connection on the RAM chip with Alcohol.
If that doesn't work, a lot of motherboards have a clip-on switch cover just below the screen (where the power button and lights are). Google for how to remove this, and check the screen plug while you're at it. Should have a bunch of wires, probably about 16, in a rectangular plug, on the left-hand side of the unit.
If that doesn't work, there should be rubber covers (disguised as bumpers) around the side of the screen itself. Upon peeling these away, you'll discover they are screw covers. Remove the screws and you can remove/inspect/replace the screen itself.

Hope this helps, best of luck to you. I build and rebuild laptops in my spare time

 

[Kelevra]

And of course if all else fails you could always get a hold of the company who made it. A buddy of mine had the same problem, I simply told him to call Tech Support for his computer. Next day it was working fine (and he didn't even have to send it in).

 

[Gulch666]

what theory said about the switch cover removal to look for the video cable connection, a lot of laptops have the plug under the keyboard, so you may need to take that out as well, which is one of the more simple parts of a laptop to remove, usually 3-4 screws and it lips up, but lift it slowly as the keyboard connection ribbon is usually pretty short and you wouldnt want to jerk any solder connections loose. just verify that the video connection is secure and try turning it back on and no need to reassemble it until you either write that off as the cause or figure out its not the cause.

you did get lucky on one thing, the backlight works, cause that can be kind of a bitch to replace if youve never done it before. in most cases id reccomend replacing the whole screen rather than trying to replace the light itself. its very very fragile, you cant touch it with your fingers (the oils make it burn out quickly) and theyre harder to find in most cases than just going on ebay and picking up a whole svreen for like 30-50 bucks (bulbs usually run around 10-20, but you would probably want to buy 2 or so just in case something bad happens)

anyway, best of luck to you, hopefully its something simple like a loose connection