Resolved Laptop Black Screen.

I have a Dell Studio 1737 in with a black screen.

I was asked to have a look at it - the symptoms were laptop won't power up. I took it to the bench, plugged it into the mains and it came on no problem.

Then it started updating AVG and doing some vista updates when all of a sudden the screen just went black. I wasn't doing anything to it - it was just sitting on the bench doing its updates. Now it won't power up at all.. Nothing - No POST - Not even an attempt at booting up.

Anyone seen anything like this before?

 

Hi Evan. Yes, I've taken the battery out. It came on again for about 2 mins and then went black again. The laptop is still running now (with no battery in) but no screen. Tried moving the screen back and fore in case it was a bad wire but that made no difference. The LEDs are now lit up and the multimedia sensors appear to be functioning as they light up and go dim again when I run my finger over them.
I'm starting to think that its maybe the graphics system overheating.
I think I'll try an external monitor next and see how that goes.

 

BTW, I've just googled dell studio 1737 black screen and it doesn't look good....

 

Agreed. And if the external monitor does work, then that points to the notebook monitor's inverter and/or backlight. This assumes the monitor uses traditional CCFL (flourescent tube) backlighting and not the newer LED backlighting.

Shine a flashlight into the screen and look real close. If you can see a very faint image of your Windows Desktop, that confirms it's the inverter and/or backlight. Those can be replaced. Parts are typically $50 to $150, depending on availability and labor for someone who's done this often (like a reputable repair shop) is 1 hour - 2 tops. Some shops charge a flat rate so call around - unless you needed an excuse to buy that new computer you wanted.

Of if you are brave, have the right tools and a steady hand, you can replace Dell Studio 1737 inverter yourself.

 

Connected up an external monitor but no joy. Its looking more and more like the graphics chip...

 

Yeah Evan. I'm also wondering whether the fall it had caused any of this.

About 2 months ago, I had this laptop in for replacing the lid. basically what had happened was that someone had borrowed it from my client and it had fallen and landed on the hinge and smashed the hinge. I got a lid for it and replaced it as the laptop was otherwise working ok. It was working for my client after the repair for a few weeks until the screen went black. I wonder if the two events are connected....

 

Just to make sure, note you cannot just connect an external monitor and have a display. You must signal the notebook to use the external monitor typically by using a Fn + Fx key combination where x is one of the numbered function keys. On my Toshiba, I have to hold down the Fn key and press the F5 key to cycle through notebook monitor, external monitor or both.

So did you flip the video signal over to the external monitor using the appropriate Fn + Fx keys?

 

Hi Bill. Its Fn + F8 on this one and yes I have just double checked to make sure. I was sure I had but I tried again just now just to make sure. Actually, it doesn't even give the POST text on the screen either.

Should it need to boot further than POST to enable the Fn/F8 key combination?

I ask because i put a linux cd in to see if it would boot to linux and now the Fn/F10 combination won't eject the cd either..

 

Maybe - it depends on the BIOS. But displaying the POST information is a very basic task. So if you are not even getting that, and you cannot see an image with a flashlight either, then it does not look good.

 

Hi Evan & Bill. This is for info.

You may find this interesting - if, indeed, you don't know this already. It may be the cause of the fault in this laptop but is certainly the cause of faults in many others.

Its known as the nVidia Defect and is apparently very common. Fuller details are here. Yes its a UK site but I'm sure there's someone in the US who's picked this up too.

The symptoms are exactly what I have in this Dell and I've just taken in an Acer Aspire 9304 with the same symptoms - hence the further research..

I'm going to mark this as resolved since there's no point in pursuing it any further here.

 

Huh? Not hardly - at least not from what you said in your posts above.

BY FAR - the most common cause of black screens in notebooks is inverter/backlight issues. LED backlighting (which don't use CCFLs) is less prone, but LED backlighting is not yet commonplace.

And a lot has happened in 3 years, since that article.

Not to mention, according to these specs for the Dell Studio 1737, it has Intel graphics with some versions using AMD/ATI, not NVIDIA.