Hello Friends. Having trouble fixing a Laptop Black Screen Problem. We believe it's because of the video driver.
The Laptop Model is a Lenovo W500.
Before I go into detail, here's some computer specs.
Processor - intel( R )core (tm )2 duo cpu p9600 @ 2.66ghz, 2667mhz 2 core ( s )
Graphics Card - ATI Mobility RadeonHD3650
RAM - 8GB
Let me know if you need any more specifications.
Anyways, here's a summary of what happened and what I have attempted to rectify the problem.
Playing Kritika Online, as my friend was loading into the next dungeon, the screen became discolored, and the Laptop crashed mid-loading. Full freeze, no Ctrl+Alt+Delete no response. Upon turning the machine back on, the screen remained black. I told them to hook up an external monitor to see if there was any hardware failure otherwise, but the machine appeared to at least turn on - and be able to reach Windows Troubleshooting.
After a lengthy process determining what the problem could be (specifically letting Windows attempt Automatic Repair, a System Restore, and a System Restart from the Windows Troubleshooting Menu) I had my friend disable their ATI Radeon MobilityHD3650 Display Driver by booting into Safe mode and once restarted, the computer behaves as normal. Albeit with the Laptop Screen still remaining black, but my friend can get to regular windows without it crashing into a Windows 10 Troubleshooting Loop on the external monitor.
What could have happened? I tried downloading some drivers from the official website here:
http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/desktop/legacy?product=legacy2&os=Windows+8+-+64
And
http://www.driverscape.com/download/ati-mobility-radeon-hd-3650 (the second one on the list, damn ads)
After that I went through the process of getting my friend to install those drivers and check on them with Device Manager, but they did not appear under the Display Adapter - and uninstalling the ATI Radeon MobilityHD3650 driver removes the Display Adapter from Device Manager entirely.
Upon further research I learned that these drivers are no longer supported by Windows 10, as they are support for legacy hardware, aka the Graphics Card. (ATI Radeon MobilityHD3650) As such the only way to update the Driver "properly" is to let Windows Update do it.
I asked my friend for the Driver Date and Version #, and unfortunately they are the same as the most recent driver released! Driver Date: 1/13/15 and Version: 8.970.100.9001
So what happened? I had them check for system updates and even try to force some through. It's so bizarre to me. Especially since I told them to do a System Restore to a former point where it wassn't broken as my first piece of advice, along with a System Restart from the Windows Troubleshooter which wiped all data aside from base Windows. (This Laptop was only used for games.) Along with several restarts hoping the driver would fix itself.
I also tried to make them do Windows Key + P to fix their display, went into display settings to try and detect the laptop monitor, or do anything about fixing their display, and finally Windows Key + Ctrl + Shift + B to try and make the Laptop Display wake up. I truly believe until the Driver is fixed, the Laptop's Display will not come on! It will remain black.
I'm out of possible options I can think of, and spent an entire day trying to fix this laptop. Does anyone have any advice? Please help! I may be overlooking something simple. Thank you for your time!
The Laptop Model is a Lenovo W500.
Before I go into detail, here's some computer specs.
Processor - intel( R )core (tm )2 duo cpu p9600 @ 2.66ghz, 2667mhz 2 core ( s )
Graphics Card - ATI Mobility RadeonHD3650
RAM - 8GB
Let me know if you need any more specifications.
Anyways, here's a summary of what happened and what I have attempted to rectify the problem.
Playing Kritika Online, as my friend was loading into the next dungeon, the screen became discolored, and the Laptop crashed mid-loading. Full freeze, no Ctrl+Alt+Delete no response. Upon turning the machine back on, the screen remained black. I told them to hook up an external monitor to see if there was any hardware failure otherwise, but the machine appeared to at least turn on - and be able to reach Windows Troubleshooting.
After a lengthy process determining what the problem could be (specifically letting Windows attempt Automatic Repair, a System Restore, and a System Restart from the Windows Troubleshooting Menu) I had my friend disable their ATI Radeon MobilityHD3650 Display Driver by booting into Safe mode and once restarted, the computer behaves as normal. Albeit with the Laptop Screen still remaining black, but my friend can get to regular windows without it crashing into a Windows 10 Troubleshooting Loop on the external monitor.
What could have happened? I tried downloading some drivers from the official website here:
http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/desktop/legacy?product=legacy2&os=Windows+8+-+64
And
http://www.driverscape.com/download/ati-mobility-radeon-hd-3650 (the second one on the list, damn ads)
After that I went through the process of getting my friend to install those drivers and check on them with Device Manager, but they did not appear under the Display Adapter - and uninstalling the ATI Radeon MobilityHD3650 driver removes the Display Adapter from Device Manager entirely.
Upon further research I learned that these drivers are no longer supported by Windows 10, as they are support for legacy hardware, aka the Graphics Card. (ATI Radeon MobilityHD3650) As such the only way to update the Driver "properly" is to let Windows Update do it.
I asked my friend for the Driver Date and Version #, and unfortunately they are the same as the most recent driver released! Driver Date: 1/13/15 and Version: 8.970.100.9001
So what happened? I had them check for system updates and even try to force some through. It's so bizarre to me. Especially since I told them to do a System Restore to a former point where it wassn't broken as my first piece of advice, along with a System Restart from the Windows Troubleshooter which wiped all data aside from base Windows. (This Laptop was only used for games.) Along with several restarts hoping the driver would fix itself.
I also tried to make them do Windows Key + P to fix their display, went into display settings to try and detect the laptop monitor, or do anything about fixing their display, and finally Windows Key + Ctrl + Shift + B to try and make the Laptop Display wake up. I truly believe until the Driver is fixed, the Laptop's Display will not come on! It will remain black.
I'm out of possible options I can think of, and spent an entire day trying to fix this laptop. Does anyone have any advice? Please help! I may be overlooking something simple. Thank you for your time!
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