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Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop - screen blacked out
Hi
I have an Inspiron 1420 laptop which I bought 4 years ago. The screen I have is WXGA 14.1 inch , 1280 X 800.
Yesterday my laptop screen went black all of a sudden without any warning.
I restarted it a couple of times and I was able to log in to my desktop but the screen went black after about a minute.
At first I thought it was a problem with Windows Vista as I could see the Dell logo when I rebooted the system. Soon after I could notice a reddish twinge when the laptop was on and the screen would go black again.
After a couple of attempts, the screen started blacking out sooner and I could not see anything. Sometimes if it goes on sleep mode I''m able to see the log in page but it would black after after a few seconds.
I was able to go to the BIOS page and the startup repair page (after pressing F8 ) a few times but it blacked out after that.
Couple of times when I was able to log in to my desktop, I saw the screen flicker slightly for a few seconds and black out.
Luckily my roommate has a Dell desktop monitor and after connecting the video cable, I am able to work on it through Fn/F8. I can see the my desktop clearly on the external screen while my laptop screen is blacked out.
The laptop is working fine and all the lights on the bottom left are flickering.
So far the evidence is pointing towards a problem with my LCD screen. Hopefully if I replace it all will be well.
I am looking to buy the assembly screen replacement ( cover with the inverter and the screen ) instead of only buying the screen. I can see some listings of these on ebay and for the moment it looks like the most convenient solution for me.
With the description of the problem I have written, can anyone confirm that I have a problem only with my LCD screen or do I need to check out something else before buying the replacement cover. I don't think there is any problem with the motherboard / graphic card etc.
Is this how a LCD screen usually dies out... without any warning? When it blacked out the first time, the screen did not flicker at all.
Thanks a lot for reading my post. I'd be grateful if some one can help me out.
ejn63
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July 30th, 2012 20:00
What you have described is a faulty backlight - if you replace the screen, be sure it comes with the inverter as well.
mrhope2009
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July 30th, 2012 20:00
Thank you suntattood and ejn63.
Do you know if an backlight/inverter is an integral part of the LCD screen or is it a different component altogether?
Right now I am going through the listings on ebay. There are some sellers who are selling the screen assembly. i think those comes with an inverter. I would only have to remove the keyboard cover and the keyboard to replace it.
The other sellers are only selling the LCD screen. Replacing only the screen is cumbersome , I think.
suntattood
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July 30th, 2012 20:00
If you have a spare monitor, you can connect your laptop to it and check if you will have the display available. If so, then you have to look for a screen replacement for your laptop.
ejn63
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July 31st, 2012 05:00
You should ask - the inverter is generally sold as a separate part, particularly with used screens.