Laptop has black screen

I have a laptop that has power, but screen remains black. External display also remains black. I can't see if it's actually starting. Is there a way to attach it (or just it's HD) to a desktop to try to diagnose it?

 

Hi, sdmur,
IMO, this will not be a problem with the hard drive, if there is no image on an external monitor i'm afraid it sounds more like the graphics card has died on the motherboard,have you tried shining a torch on the screen to see if there is any sign of post as your booting,asking as it might be backlight issue,but very doubtful though especially if nothing is showing on external monitor, as for hard drive if it is just a case of wanting to retrieve files then it is possible to to attach drive to another machine as slave,or you could buy an external HDD caddy that is compatible with your drive. As for the laptop it's either put into repair shop for a newboard or graphics card installed. Depending on age of machine it may be better to start looking at a replacement.
iain.t :major

 

Attach a 2.5" laptop hard drive to another computer using something like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...de_sata_to_usb_adapter-_-12-232-002-_-Product

 

i bought a much cheaper one here
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2329310&CatId=3770
but it only works if you have a desktop. Yours (plodr) would work better for someone with a laptop or no ide in their desktop
*EQL*

 

just got brought up in another thread about faulty RAM slots causing boot problems (and graphic problems)...
try booting with only 1 (known good RAM module) in slot 1, then in slot 2..
see if that helps???
its a far shot, but fairly easy to try..
*EQL*

 

I agree with everything mentioned by plodr and EQL, and I too would be hugely surprised if this was anything to do with your hard drive.

Things to try:
1. Try outputting the laptop to a monitor via the VGA port, if it has one.
2. Try booting with just 1 RAM module, and repeating for each slot as EQL suggested.
3. Hold down a bunch of keys when it boots and keep them held for 30 seconds. Do you get some annoying panicked beep sounds?
4. Try tilting the lcd screen to different angles after powering the laptop on - any picture?
5. Try pressing the case of the laptop from the bottom or top in different areas and see if you get any picture. This is to determine if the graphics chip is making a poor connection so try several different areas.

Here's a list of everything I can think that would describe what you're experiencing:
1. Bad lcd screen - shine flashlight at it to check for cracks; turn the light on in your room so it's pitch dark, put your face right in front of the lcd screen and turn the comp on - do you see any flicker of anything?
2. Bad lcd screen cable - the cable that runs from the mobo to the lcd screen bends under the laptop hinge, and flexes a lot. On one occasion I've seen one of the wires had snapped in two from flexing, and another it had been trapped in the hinge and was cut. In one of those two situations I had to remove the material tape to discover the damage.
3. Bad power button/connection - is the power button actually having any noticeable effect?
4. Bad graphics card - picking a laptop up with one hand flexes the motherboard, and the graphics chips are notorious for losing a solder join for some of the pins under this stress. Typically you'll see graphical glitches before a total black screen, and also moving the laptop around displays Something.
5. Bad RAM as mentioned
6. Bad RAM slot as mentioned - good thinking EQL!
7. Bad BIOS - the backlight of the lcd screen should at least flicker on if this was the case.
8. Bad motherboard