Dell inspiron 1521

Question

Hello people, lurkers, ladies, gentlemen, and the rest of you. I have a problem that seems to be quite common with Dell Laptops, and needed some personal input. Like many Dell laptops, mine has undergone th dreaded black screen. However, I have taken many steps to no avail. First, some basics: Model is the Inspiron 1521 - Warranty expired. The problem - Black screen of death. Steps I have taken and eliminations - The display works hooked up to an external moitor ...that ruled out the video card unless theres some strange tech mumbo that allows it to work on an external and not the LED. This being the case, I replaced the LED screen and the inverter, now the lights in the LED screen work (I can see the screen is indeed ON but there is no display). I then thought that it might be a driver issue, so I reinstalled the video driver while it was hooked into the external monitor...again, no dice. So now I have re-formatted, reinstalled the OS in hopes that that would knock it working again. Survey says No.   Conclusions - I'm either going to have some bad wiring to the LED itself or the video IS actually flubbed up and that would mean a new motherboard. Any input or suggestions or even the exact answer would be much appreciated as I would really rather not have to buy a completely new laptop. Thanks in advanced.

TechToes · Answer

With all the views I'm sure someone might have thought of something, but after pondering and tinkering, I think I may have found the solution. The LCD cable must have/might have a short in it or something of that sort that prevents a video signal from getting through. I will be replacing this and give an update as to weather this works or not. Who knows? Maybe this thread could serve as a solution to anyone else having this problem.

skipper4 · Answer

Have you had any success?  I am working on a 1521 with a similar video problem.  The video is very faint.  You can see it in a dark room.  Just like yours, everything is fine through an external monitor. The machine is out of warranty and of course, Dell will only help through payment.  Nothing like standing behind your product.

TechToes · Answer

Hello, I'm sorry to hear about your misfortune as well. I can tell you that if you are getting a dim picture, then both your LCD and converter/inverter are working fine. What you need to look at replacing are the backlights on the LCD. There cheap enough, and a quick search through Google will instruct you every bit of the way. As for myself, I'm about determined that it's the connection between for the video cable on the mother board...Which means a brand new 'otherboard to by. Hooray Hooray. Ah well, gotta love DELL's insight to all this...absolutly nothing. I do however wish you the best of luck on your endevours. Sincerely, TechToes

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