N5010 blank screen at startup (External Monitor also didn't work)

Hi,

I really appreciate all the troubleshooting you have already done. If you do not get a display on the external monitor it might be an issue with the video card or the system board where it is connected. When you connect an external monitor to the system press on the Fn and F1 keys together to toggle between the displays, if it doesn't work you can only with the F1, and check if you get display on the external monitor.

I would also recommend you to run the LCD built in self test to check the hardware functionality of the LCD screen, you can run this test by following the steps below:

• Power down the system.
• Press and hold the 'D'  key on the keyboard and power it on.
• A solid color screen is shown and five different colors are displayed. While the colors are displayed, the system beeps every 2 seconds. You can use this test to determine if something is wrong with the display.

You can perform the Dell Diagnostics to determine if there is any hardware failure. To perform the diagnostics, follow the steps:

•  Turn off the computer; press and hold the key, push the power button and release the keys simultaneously.
•  A blue screen will appear stating Pre-boot System Assessment .
•  A screen will appear with a message 'Were color bars displayed?(y/n).
•  Press 'Y' key if the color bars are displayed properly. 
•  If you get any error code, make a note of it and continue testing.
•  Please share the error codes along with the error message if any.

Also, let me know if you can see any Dell logo when you power on the system. There are also 3 LED's in front of the system (check picture below) and let me know the status.
 

Thanks a lot for your reply Abhishek, I really appreciate your help to solve my problem.
Here are the results after testing the points you've mentioned:


1. I've tried pressing the Fn+F1 keys after connecting the external display and turning on the laptop but nothing happens on both displays.

2. This method actually worked the screen was operational once I press and hold the D key + Pressing the power button. the screen made the color test and then the Dell logo showed and windows started normally.

but when I tried and to turn off the laptop again to see if this problem is fixed here whats happened in detail:

- After getting my screen to work using the D+Power method, I've shut down windows normally and then I've turned on the laptop normally by pressing the power button only, the same blank screen problem exist.

I've noticed the power leds at the bottom:
The 1st one from the left (Power was on) -  the 2nd one (It was on for 2 secs after pressing the power button then it went off) - the 3rd one the battery was led because it wasn't fully charged it was connected to AC,
So I've turned it off again.
Please note that when I just press the power button while in that state the laptop turns off immediately.

- After 2 more tries with the same problem, I've used the D+Power method again just to run my laptop to write you this reply because I was using the desktop PC.

I've tried to hibernate which I use a lot. because I doubt that maybe it's a hibernate issue but when I turned the laptop on again the same problem exist too.

3. Method 3 the Pre-boot System Assessment test was fully completed without any error codes even the 30 mins memory test which shows an alert before starting. all that was before I actually see your reply because the blank screen problem until now is totally happens randomly.
Actually I pressed and hold (Fn key) + power by coincidence in one of the tries :)

I've send a message with my service tag, but unfortunately the warranty is already expired because my N5010 is over 2 years old.
and I really love it's performance against any competitor owned by my friends or my relatives.

Again I really appreciate your help, and hoping that you can find a permanent solution for that blank screen issue which is too common and varied with a great number of users.

Hi Amrdy,

Thank you for your reply.

As your system is intermittently booting to Windows and all the diagnostics have passed it doesn't seem to be a hardware issue. I would recommend you to boot the system up by pressing the power button and D together and then update the video driver and the BIOS from the links below.

Video driver: http://dell.to/SUEl5B

BIOS : http://dell.to/VA0gVV

Note: Before flashing the BIOS please check the following:

• Battery should have 10% charge
• Adapter should be connected
• No external devices should be connected.
• All other programs should be closed and documents saved.

Actually i thought that the video card or BIOS maybe the reason behind this problem because last time I downloaded a video card driver was from ATI website. and the BIOS was version A12 not the latest one A15.

But today's morning when I turned my laptop on I was 90% sure that the screen is going to work from the first time, but the same problem happens again. and I was so desperate.

there's no unknown resource/highly effective on system software is installed the last 5 months which is before the cause of the problem. and I really can't tell what's the reason behind this problem until now.

The screen never turn on just blank. and neither the windows or the Dell Logo or anything shows on the screen.

the power button + the power leds at the button is on. and I'm 100% sure that there's nothing is loading in the background while the laptop in this state it's just like it's powered from the outside but the inside is still un-powered.

In the same time I don't think it's a hardware problem except for something like the screen converter or any inner power cables that's responsible to power the screen or maybe it's not a screen issue at all :(

the very first thing that boots when the computer is starting is the reason that the screen isn't work because I just hear the sound of the fan + Optical drive without the sound of the processor.

When I keep trying to power the laptop on/off until the screen is led, Everything is working fine afterwords. like everything. there's no flickering or sudden shutdown when moving or carrying the laptop while it's on, or any slow performance in anything. the whole laptop is working normally.

Today the screen was led after 6 tries. Yesterday it was led after the 15th or 16th try. it's totally random when or which try it's going to work. P.S: I never randomly hit any physical parts on the laptop to get it to work!

the only method I've used which wasn't too helpful is "Removing the battery/AC > Pressing the power button for 20 secs > connecting the AC adapter and power on the laptop" that method never caused anything useful with my issue.

Today I'm going to reinstall Windows 7 to insure that everything related to any software is not the reason behind this problem. and also to fix some minor software issues I'm facing from my currently installed version.

I'm trying to write any small details that I'm facing during this problem, right now when I shutdown or hibernate my laptop I become so worried how long it will take to power on back. what If I'm in a meeting and what my clients and work boss are going to say If I cant turn on my laptop :(

Hi Amrdy,

Thank you for your reply.

We have done almost all possible updates and checks, however, as the issue continues to occur, re installing the windows seems to be the last option.

But before re-installing the Windows there is one last thing I would recommend you to check, that is the Power Options. Follow the steps below to check the power options.

• Click Start > Control panel > Power options
• Click on Change plan settings
• Click on Change advanced power settings
• In the advance settings, make sure the 'Hibernate after' option is set to never.
• Power button action is set to shut down. (check picture below)
• Once this is done click on apply to save the settings.

Hello Abhishek-

I cant thank you enough mate for helping me out with all this possible solutions which have ended positively.

I think it has been fixed by the last try before reinstalling windows. which is the power options setting:

- I was pointing the power button action to Hibernate not to shutdown (Now it's same as the default settings).

I've tried several times and the screen is working normally when I turn on my laptop which wasn't happen that much before, I really hope that's a permanent solution and wont happen again later on.

Thanks again Abhishek, I'm really grateful for your help.

Good luck and best regards to you.

My N5010 is doing great until I actually have the bucks to go and buy my top item in my wish list (Alienware M18x) :D

in advance setting i don't find Hibernate after option.

Hi Abhishek, I too have similar problem with my dell studio laptop 1537. I will appreciate if you can help me out. My laptop was working fine but since few days when I start my laptop by pressing the power button on the side. I notice that the system lights flash and the power button shows light but my screen is blank. I also tried the option of removing the battery and pressing the power button for a minute and to put the battery back again and to start my laptop by pressing the power button but it same situation my display doesn't work its blank.

I thought my display has gone so bought a new external display but that also did not work. I saw your helpful response on this post and tried the troubleshooting options you have given here on this post.

The option of pressing the D button and holding it while pressing the start button worked on my laptop and I noticed my laptop display was showing different bright colours and after showing colours it went blank again there was no dell sign displayed while the colours were displayed.

The next option you mentioned about the dell diagnostics to perform by pressing the Fn button and pressing the power button it dint worked on my laptop by doing so my laptop screen was total blank and no change was seen. please kindly help me find out what the problem is with my laptop and how i can bring it back to normal functionality. I will be very thankful and will appreciate your help and support.

Hi,

I really appreciate all the troubleshooting you have already done. If you do not get a display on the external monitor it might be an issue with the video card or the system board where it is connected. When you connect an external monitor to the system press on the Fn and F1 keys together to toggle between the displays, if it doesn't work you can only with the F1, and check if you get display on the external monitor.

I would also recommend you to run the LCD built in self test to check the hardware functionality of the LCD screen, you can run this test by following the steps below:

   Power down the system.

   Press and hold the 'D'  key on the keyboard and power it on.

   A solid color screen is shown and five different colors are displayed. While the colors are displayed, the system beeps every 2 seconds. You can use this test to determine if something is wrong with the display.

You can perform the Dell Diagnostics to determine if there is any hardware failure. To perform the diagnostics, follow the steps:

    Turn off the computer; press and hold the key, push the power button and release the keys simultaneously.

    A blue screen will appear stating Pre-boot System Assessment .

    A screen will appear with a message 'Were color bars displayed?(y/n).

    Press 'Y' key if the color bars are displayed properly.

    If you get any error code, make a note of it and continue testing.

    Please share the error codes along with the error message if any.

Hi Abhishek, I too have similar problem with my dell studio laptop 1537. I will appreciate if you can help me out. My laptop was working fine but since few days when I start my laptop by pressing the power button on the side. I notice that the system lights flash and the power button shows light but my screen is blank. I also tried the option of removing the battery and pressing the power button for a minute and to put the battery back again and to start my laptop by pressing the power button but it same situation my display doesn't work its blank.

I thought my display has gone so bought a new external display but that also did not work. I saw your helpful response on this post and tried the troubleshooting options you have given here on this post.

The option of pressing the D button and holding it while pressing the start button worked on my laptop and I noticed my laptop display was showing different bright colours and after showing colours it went blank again there was no dell sign displayed while the colours were displayed.

The next option you mentioned about the dell diagnostics to perform by pressing the Fn button and pressing the power button it dint worked on my laptop by doing so my laptop screen was total blank and no change was seen. please kindly help me find out what the problem is with my laptop and how i can bring it back to normal functionality. I will be very thankful and will appreciate your help and support.

Hi Abhishek, I too have similar problem with my dell studio laptop 1537. I will appreciate if you can help me out. My laptop was working fine but since few days when I start my laptop by pressing the power button on the side. I notice that the system lights flash and the power button shows light but my screen is blank. I also tried the option of removing the battery and pressing the power button for a minute and to put the battery back again and to start my laptop by pressing the power button but it same situation my display doesn't work its blank.

I thought my display has gone so bought a new external display but that also did not work. I saw your helpful response on this post and tried the troubleshooting options you have given here on this post.

The option of pressing the D button and holding it while pressing the start button worked on my laptop and I noticed my laptop display was showing different bright colours and after showing colours it went blank again there was no dell sign displayed while the colours were displayed.

The next option you mentioned about the dell diagnostics to perform by pressing the Fn button and pressing the power button it dint worked on my laptop by doing so my laptop screen was total blank and no change was seen. please kindly help me find out what the problem is with my laptop and how i can bring it back to normal functionality. I will be very thankful and will appreciate your help and support.

I am having the exact same problem as NMUHMD with a Dell Latitude D531. The user reported to me that she got the blue screen of death with an error message that said, "Memory Parity Error" out of nowhere...no new hardware changes at all.

I have tried taking out the 2 RAM modules, replacing them in every single combination possible with still no luck. The hard drive was encrypted and as a result when I plug it into other computers it is not recognized. When I try mounting it with encryption software it says there is a hardware malfunction. I think the HD is toast, but I want to try to salvage the rest of the laptop. Everything that I read beyond this "pressing D" on startup for the LCD test says that you need to hold Fn or another key to enter BIOS settings or Dell Diagnostics, but I cannot get that far.I even thought about flashing the BIOS, but I cannot even figure out how to do that because I would need to run DOS to do that and it wont read the CD drive or a USB drive (although when it boots I can hear the CD ROM drive moving around)

I took apart all the other parts of the laptop I could think of (lcd, CPU, heatsink, keyboard, wireless card, etc.) and put them back, and still the same results. I've tried with no HD, with another HD I know works, and with the broken one and all give the same blank screen.

Anyone have any suggestions of where to go from here?

Hi abhishek, I am a suffering with this on n5010 for the second time. I have a dual boot system (windows as well as ubuntu.) I suffered the problem first time a month ago. The display test was showing very very faint colors that you would not notice the colors easily. External monitor will show display but was jarred.

However  when I did the bios check (Fn +power key) suddenly the screen lit up, and  after the test the system worked fine till today. I encounter the same problem again (booting in windows did some auto-updates today at the log in page and the system restarted and went upto the  log in page again and then went black) . Again display test shows very faint colors, again external display shows jarred output but the bios check would not work this time. I think it is neither the video card nor the LCD.  I will appreciate if you could help.

Dear Abhishek,

I presently face the same issue as described by Amrdy user above... 

Would you like to help me with the trouble shooting for the same please?

I would try all the steps one by one carefully and would in the mean while await for your kind response to this, please.