Dim screen on sony vaio pcv 6603

I have a Sony PCV 6603 All In One Computer. It is quite a number of years old but works fine other than the screen is very dim and virtually impoossible to read. It was working fine one day and as far as I know nothing happened to it.

Running Windows XP

If I connect to computer via Logmein there is no problem seeing the screen so I am guessing problems is with the screen, but as it is built into the computer can't change screen/monitor or find a way to add anexternal monitor.

Any help appreciated

 

Welcome to Major Geeks!

It sounds like either the backlight and/or the inverter board built into the screen has gone bad. Either will require a replacement of the entire screen assembly (likely $200-$350 depending on the cost of the part).

If the computer has an external VGA port, you may be able to hook an external monitor to it. If not (and you can't find a reasonably priced replacement screen + labor), I'd cut your losses and replace the PC since it is several years old.

Sorry for the bad news; however I hope this helps.

 

Ummm, no it won't. Backlight CCFLs and inverters can be replaced without replacing the entire screen assembly. It is done on notebooks and stand alone LCD monitors all the time. I see no reason an all-in-one would be different. Depending on the model and parts availability, parts typically cost between $50 and $150, with 1 -2 hours of labor maximum.

Are you sure of that model number? I cannot find PCV 6603 on Sony sites. I would be very surprised if there was not some sort of external monitor support.

 

PCV 6603 from searching is also known as this
http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/PCV-V1_G/specifications
No VGA port so it is not possible to hook up a different monitor. Most all in ones are like that.

 

Thanks for that. It seems you are right and most (if not all) AIOs don't have external monitor ports. I see HP is the same way, but I also note on HP's site that you can connect an external monitor via USB. And that Sony has USB too so you should be able to connect an external monitor via a USB graphics adapter.