5 Posts
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575
August 25th, 2020 10:00
Vostro 3458 - backlight or lid switch?
Hi folks,
I have an older Vostro 3458, still a good little machine except the screen is too dark to read. Everything else works 100%, and the screen is still working - if you shine a light on it, you can see the screen is active. My first thought was the screen backlight, but then I tested the "what to do when closing the lid" setting in power options of Windows 10... If I set it to sleep, hibernate, or shutdown, nothing happens when I close the lid, open the lid, etc.
This got me thinking it might have something to do with the magnet/reed switch however I can't actually find where those components are located on this laptop. I'm thinking that maybe the reed switch is stuck in "lid closed"
These days I primarily use this laptop connected to a monitor, but it would still be handy to use it as an actual laptop!
Thanks!
Tom
ejn63
10 Elder
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30.2K Posts
1
August 25th, 2020 12:00
If the problem were just the lid switch, you wouldn't see anything on screen - it would cut off the display completely, not just selectively cut the backlight. Since you do see a faint image, it's either the backlight or the power to the backlight circuit that has failed.
If the failure occured gradually, over time (a striping effect as some LEDs failed; it's unlikely they would all fail at once), that suggests the backlight, for which you'll need to replace the screen.
If the failure happened suddenly, it is much more likely a blown high voltage circuit -- for that repair, you'll need to replace the system board.
tractors1982
5 Posts
0
August 25th, 2020 13:00
Thanks for the quick response!
The failure was sudden, there was no gradual dimming or striping as you suggest.
Changing out the system board is likely more expense than I can justify given the age of the system, and it does work fine on a desktop monitor.
Thanks
Tom