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March 18th, 2003 18:00
inspiron 4100 display problems
KirkKellogg
Dell inspiron 4100
Service tag # 65D9111
Express service code # 13385281141
OS= XP Dell OEM version 11/01
Problem: Display: Unit won’t always display. Laptop screen is “blacked out”. Since I the unit new in Nov. 2001 the display would always not return after the lid is reopened, while returning from standby or hibernate, but would always return upon reboot. Annoying, but I could live with that. As time went on problem progressed to current situation which is: if the unit has been on for at least 30 minutes or so, and it becomes necessary to reboot, the display will return but is rendered not viewable due to being obscured by what appears to be a dark layer on top. This condition was discovered one day when after I closed the lid to move from my hotel room to my vehicle and the display would not return but I noticed it could be seen faintly under this dark screen because of the lighting conditions and viewing angle in my vehicle. At that point I had critical data that needed to be accessed so I went and bought a monitor and was able to get through the job I was on using an external display. Is this a hardware or software problem? Most diagnostic procedures employ the process of elimination and since I don’t have hardware components to substitute I can’t rule hardware out. During the last few months I have noted the following conditions that should be useful to isolate the problem. At one point I did reload XP which did not help. At another point I had an error message that alluded to the hal.dll (Hardware Abstraction Layer) file being corrupt and I reloaded it from the windows disk and that definitely had an effect on the problem although it did not correct it. The external display is always available then the laptop screen is “blacked out”.
The display will always come up when first booted or booted when unit is cooled down (as in been shut down for at least 30 minutes). Is this due to temperature having an effect on a component or connection or residual electrical energy having an effect on ROM, RAM or other software in the machine? As long as the display is up, it will stay up until reboot, or attempting to return from standby or hibernation. If anyone has any ideas and has time to post them I will try them and post the results. I can’t be the only one out there with this problem. Thanks
Dell inspiron 4100
Service tag # 65D9111
Express service code # 13385281141
OS= XP Dell OEM version 11/01
Problem: Display: Unit won’t always display. Laptop screen is “blacked out”. Since I the unit new in Nov. 2001 the display would always not return after the lid is reopened, while returning from standby or hibernate, but would always return upon reboot. Annoying, but I could live with that. As time went on problem progressed to current situation which is: if the unit has been on for at least 30 minutes or so, and it becomes necessary to reboot, the display will return but is rendered not viewable due to being obscured by what appears to be a dark layer on top. This condition was discovered one day when after I closed the lid to move from my hotel room to my vehicle and the display would not return but I noticed it could be seen faintly under this dark screen because of the lighting conditions and viewing angle in my vehicle. At that point I had critical data that needed to be accessed so I went and bought a monitor and was able to get through the job I was on using an external display. Is this a hardware or software problem? Most diagnostic procedures employ the process of elimination and since I don’t have hardware components to substitute I can’t rule hardware out. During the last few months I have noted the following conditions that should be useful to isolate the problem. At one point I did reload XP which did not help. At another point I had an error message that alluded to the hal.dll (Hardware Abstraction Layer) file being corrupt and I reloaded it from the windows disk and that definitely had an effect on the problem although it did not correct it. The external display is always available then the laptop screen is “blacked out”.
The display will always come up when first booted or booted when unit is cooled down (as in been shut down for at least 30 minutes). Is this due to temperature having an effect on a component or connection or residual electrical energy having an effect on ROM, RAM or other software in the machine? As long as the display is up, it will stay up until reboot, or attempting to return from standby or hibernation. If anyone has any ideas and has time to post them I will try them and post the results. I can’t be the only one out there with this problem. Thanks
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shesagordie
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March 18th, 2003 19:00
sbskirk.
Since this is the forum for Dimension Desktops, maybe the appropriate conference for a Inspiron post would be here.
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board?board.id=insp_general
Bev.