m17 R4 no LCD display

Question

Hi,First post, so please be gentle with me lolOkay, So I have an M17 R4 laptop, it's been working fine up until recently when the screen refused to switch on.If I HDMI it to a tv, it works fine, but the lcd display remains black. fn+F8 does nothing.The screen did look like it had hair line cracks in it, so thinking that one of the kids may have damaged it, I replaced the screen. That made no difference.I've also changed the cable that leads from the MB to the lcd panel, that has made no difference either.I'm now at a loss, and still no display.I read somewhere that if I hold down 'd' when powering on, it forces an LCD test, but this doesn't appear to do anything.If I f12 on boot and select diagnostics, this doesn't show any faults either.The built in gpu is clearly working, just no display on the lcd.I also ran a small magnet down the right hand side to see perhaps if the lid sensor wasn't detecting an open, but this is working as expected too.Any ideas?Thanks in advance.

ejn63 · Answer

There are two possibilities -- the display itself is faulty, or the power to the backlight circuit is bad.

Shine a very bright flashlight at the screen -- do you see even a faint image? If you do not, replace the display panel. If you do see a very dim image but have no backlight, it's a tossup between the backlight being bad (meaning new panel time) or the power circuit to the backlight being bad (meaning it's replacement system board time).

crimsom · Answer

Hi @Win2Kuser welcome to this free user to user Alienware laptop discussion forum.

Thank you for a good opening post and sharing the troubleshooting/repair activities already undertaken.

Please visit Intel® Driver & Support Assistant.

Support for Alienware m17 R4 Drivers & Downloads says operating system can be Windows 10, 64-bit or Windows 11.

With laptop connected to ethernet cable and HDMI cable connected to external monitor/TV, please boot into 'Safe Mode with Networking' to see if the laptop's screen starts working. If Yes, there is an application conflict. If No, there is a basic operating system issue, such as drivers.

How to Boot into Safe Mode in Windows 11 or Windows 10 | Dell US.

How to Troubleshoot Display or Video Issues on a Dell Laptop | Dell US.

Win2Kuser · Answer

Thanks for the replies Crimsom and ejn63.

Booting into windows safe mode does nothing, it's just not displaying anything on the LCD, not even BIOS.

I've just done another diagnostic test on it, and now it's saying 'Cable, jumper, connection, or LCD cable' fault.
I've opened it back up and checked the cable, it all looks fine, and the cable was a replacement anyways.

Any other ideas?
I don't really want to pony up for a replacement mobo, I'll just use it as a desktop instead. It's got better specs than my gaming PC anyways lol

Thanks.

crimsom · Answer

Hi @Win2Kuser thank you for sharing update.

The HDMI signal comes from the Discrete GPU and determining the root cause of no screen image is prudent before considering replacing the expensive system board. Presume this system does not have an extended Dell warranty.

Please go to Device Manager, is there a yellow triangle on any of the drivers or an unknown driver?

Please run the Windows Error Checking tool. How to Scan a Hard Drive Using 'Error Checking' (lifewire.com).

Please run the System File Checker. How to Run System File Checker in Microsoft Windows | Dell US

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m17 R4 no LCD display

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