Laptop screen is black

[HaloMilliVanilli]

The wife has a Toshiba Satellite laptop, probably 5 years old or so.  I can hear it running but no images on the screen.  I've tried forcing a shutdown and restarting.  I've also removed the battery and power cord, reinserting and restarting.  I've tried to start in safe mode.  Nothing has worked.

 

Thoughts from the techies?

[St1ck]

Go to Best Buy, and purchase a new computer.

[Brandon]

I've had the same laptop and same problem, seems to happen quite a bit with that model.

 

Your best bet is to just get a new laptop and if you take it anywhere they will likely tell you the same. The cost for the repairs is comprable to just getting a new laptop.

[nate]

Is it posting? In other words is it booting to windows? If it is then the display is bad. Otherwise it could be any of the hardware, RAM, CPU, video card, etc.

[HaloMilliVanilli]

I have no idea what it is "posting" to (or if it is at all) since I can't see anything.  When I push the power button, I can hear it working as if it's turning on.  I thought of pulling off the bezels and getting the keyboard out to see if there is a loose video cable or something like that.  See if there is something obvious looking.  Maybe bang it against something (the Fonzie method..).

[mrwicked]

Hook up an external monitor. If it works fine - then you know it's the display, or the connector to it.

 

Those parts are dirt cheap - can probably find an OEM one on ebay.

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Yes, good suggestion Wicked.  I'll try hooking it up to my flatscreen and see what's what.

 

In order to be proactive, anyone have suggestions for a solid replacement that is reasonably priced?  Say $300-$500 range.

[Blarg]

In before some idiot suggest s a Mac Book Pro for $1800.

[mrwicked]

if she just uses it to browse the web / facebook / etc, get her a chromebook.

[gotbeer]

Any recent updates?  

 

Try this one.  Unplug.  Take out the battery.  Wait 10 seconds.  Then hit and hold down the power for 10-30 seconds.  

 

Put the battery back in and try starting it.  

[2002_halos_II]

 Pavilion 10 TouchSmart 10z-e000

 

 

for about $350 straight from the HP site / free shipping

 

Win 8.1 no optical drive

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.  Unfortunately, nothing has worked.  The only thing I have yet to try is hooking it up to an external monitor.  Don't have the necessary plug at the moment.

 

Probably gonna look into replacing it.

[Ray McKigney]

[mrwicked]

this thread is racist.

[mp170.6]

I've had very good results with Asus laptops, tablets, and monitors. 

[Ray McKigney]

this thread is racist.

 

You're right. Thread title should be "Laptop screen is African-American."

[Blarg]

Lazy?

[Eric]

I highly recommend the external monitor check. It sounds to me like you have a screen issue (given that you didn't mention that anything happens on the screen when you boot it up).

 

That could be the cheapest option. That said, if you are willing to spend $300-$500 on a new laptop (and considering the current one is 5 years old, it's probably not a bad decision), I would recommend checking out the bin at Best Buy. If you're willing to wait it out (say a week or two) and stop by occasionally, you can find some seriously good deals on those.

 

If your wife is not a serious hardcore gamer (and I'm willing to bet she's not) then one of those should work for her. I, myself, have been laptop bound for almost 5 years now myself and outside of using Photoshop Elements, hardly ever need anything more than Office and Internet to do anything, and both of those work just fine. You don't need the latest and the greatest laptop to do what needs being done, so finding a laptop that is a step or two behind will still work great for you.

 

Stay away from the "Refurbished" though, as those are used computers and, while cheaper, there's a reason for the price difference. Spend the extra $30-$40 and buy new only.

 

Funny enough, I usually recommend purchasing through Amazon for a lot of things, but computers are not one of them. Amazon's prices are prohibitive, to say the least. That said, however, using Amazon to narrow down what you're looking for is an excellent way to narrow in on exactly what you might be looking for and is what I use before looking elsewhere (which has been Best Buy for the last 5 years simply because they have the product at the best available prices).

 

Also, stay away from Fry's Electronics at all costs. Period. You never really know what condition the product you are getting from them is. It could be excellent, but more likely than not, it's refurbished being sold as brand new.

 

ETA: Bestbuy.com will do you no good. You need to physically go into the store to see the inventory that they have on sale. Their website kinda stinks for up to date info on the bin.

Edited April 19, 2014 by Eric

[Ray McKigney]

Try newegg.com too. They usually have really good deals. 

[HaloMilliVanilli]

this thread is racist.

Seemed appropriate since the screen isn't working.

 

 

Ha. 

 

Too soon?

[Blarg]

I highly recommend the external monitor check. It sounds to me like you have a screen issue (given that you didn't mention that anything happens on the screen when you boot it up).

 

That could be the cheapest option. That said, if you are willing to spend $300-$500 on a new laptop (and considering the current one is 5 years old, it's probably not a bad decision), I would recommend checking out the bin at Best Buy. If you're willing to wait it out (say a week or two) and stop by occasionally, you can find some seriously good deals on those.

 

If your wife is not a serious hardcore gamer (and I'm willing to bet she's not) then one of those should work for her. I, myself, have been laptop bound for almost 5 years now myself and outside of using Photoshop Elements, hardly ever need anything more than Office and Internet to do anything, and both of those work just fine. You don't need the latest and the greatest laptop to do what needs being done, so finding a laptop that is a step or two behind will still work great for you.

 

Stay away from the "Refurbished" though, as those are used computers and, while cheaper, there's a reason for the price difference. Spend the extra $30-$40 and buy new only.

 

Funny enough, I usually recommend purchasing through Amazon for a lot of things, but computers are not one of them. Amazon's prices are prohibitive, to say the least. That said, however, using Amazon to narrow down what you're looking for is an excellent way to narrow in on exactly what you might be looking for and is what I use before looking elsewhere (which has been Best Buy for the last 5 years simply because they have the product at the best available prices).

 

Also, stay away from Fry's Electronics at all costs. Period. You never really know what condition the product you are getting from them is. It could be excellent, but more likely than not, it's refurbished being sold as brand new.

 

ETA: Bestbuy.com will do you no good. You need to physically go into the store to see the inventory that they have on sale. Their website kinda stinks for up to date info on the bin.

 

Hah, the old reputation is hard to get rid of. Fry's clearly marks open product or factory refurbished on all their products on shelves.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I have bought from Fry's several times and have never had an issue. I don't understand the angst about refurbished products either, as they normally carry the same warranty as the new ones. Both of my main computers are refurbs (a Dell and a Gateway), and never a minute's trouble with either of them. The newest one is almost three years old.

Edited April 19, 2014 by Vegas Halo Fan

[Ray McKigney]

I have bought from Fry's several times and have never had an issue. I don't understand the angst about refurbished products either, as they normally carry the same warranty as the new ones. Both of my main computers are refurbs (a Dell and a Gateway), and never a minute's trouble with either of them. The newest one is almost three years old.

 

I got a really good deal on a refurbished Gateway a few months ago and it's working great so far (knock on wood). 

[Hollyw00d]

Try newegg.com too. They usually have really good deals.

no to new egg, I bought a cell phone charger from there and it didn't work right out of the box. So now I'm boycotting them forever

[Eric]

A few months back I had to hit Fry's to pick up an emergency router. It was shrinkwrapped and it appeared the box was still factory sealed. When I got it home and opened it up, some of the bags were just stuffed back into the box empty and the router and the literature were simply placed back in the box. It had clearly been opened previously, but was sold as a "new" item. That was less than 3 months ago, not 3 years ago, so the "reputation" is still based on fact as recently as February.