Best answer gets 20 bucks paypal....Screen has gone blank in Vista

[chiefkikaho]

ok, I am currently fixing a laptop for my friend. It started from a simple no brainer (replacing new hinges) to a complete nightmare (Screen has gone blank). Actually this is a two laptop fix. He has an HP dv9000. It had 2 Hard drives. He took the secondary drive which is a sata wd caviar blue scorpion 500gb and put it in a Compaq HP 8710w mobile workstation. He wants the 8710 to run in his old secondary drive without losing any data. Took awhile but I ran a windows install disk and was able to navigate to his saved files through the install screens. so that is not much of the problem at the moment i hope. but before doing this process.... I tried to put that hdd back into the dv9000 thinking that i could back up his files via external hdd on the dv9000. the second I tried to boot up, the system crashed (dv9000) and I lost picture on that monitor. I plugged in a monitor into the vga port of the dv9000 and was able to see images on that but the monitor from the dv9000 lost all picture when it was working fine before i tried to insert the scorpio back in it to retrieve lost files......

Now i can work of the vga monitor i plugged in only in safe mode but picture on the dv9000 is not showing up. What could have caused this problem? was it the secondary drive i tried to plug back in and it messed with the bios or display drivers some how? (sidenote, the primary hdd in the dv9000 is not sata, it looks like im fittin a comb in a comb when installing and I know that is not sata (if that makes any sense). I have been reading a lot and some forums have said that adding the second hdd is a pain and causes problems because the hdd is newer than what the laptop is used to and i have to jump it back down to a sata 2 or 1.....

I need to get images back on the dv9000's native screen and I can't figure out how to do that. Why does it show up on the vga monitor i plugged in but not the native screen?

Sorry if this is confusing.... im confusing myself with how to word this issue.


winning answer gets $20 paypal

help!

 

[CaedenV]

Here are a few ideas:
1) Laptops tend to have hot-key buttons to change the displays used, and it is quite possible you hit this. It is usually Function (fn)+ an F key (F1-F12), and it will toggle between the native display, external display, and both.

2) You could be booting off of the wrong HDD, unplug the HDD you just put windows on, and try booting up. Windows, especially older versions of windows, are extremely hardware dependent and will either not work, or do very odd things if you swap out major components without reformatting (like changing the mobo).

3) You unplugged, or misplugged, the monitor on accident when you replaced the hinges between the monitor and laptop. Make sure there is no unnecessary strain, and that the video cable (usually on the left side) is plugged in correctly

4) The CFL bulbs in the monitor may have burnt out or unplugged. While the computer is on take a flashlight (or go outside in the sunlight) and try to see if the image is still there, but the backlight not working. If this is the case then you may need a new monitor or laptop


The 'comb in a comb' is called PATA or ATA 66/100/133 (depending on how old this thing is), it is the old standard for HDD connections and is no longer made (though there is a glut of refurbished drives).

When doing file backups I like to use an external USB bare HDD adapter. They are cheap, and help with not accidently booting from the drive you are trying to save. Mine is similar to this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812226001

Good luck!

 

[chiefkikaho]

Here are a few ideas:
1) Laptops tend to have hot-key buttons to change the displays used, and it is quite possible you hit this. It is usually Function (fn)+ an F key (F1-F12), and it will toggle between the native display, external display, and both.

2) You could be booting off of the wrong HDD, unplug the HDD you just put windows on, and try booting up. Windows, especially older versions of windows, are extremely hardware dependent and will either not work, or do very odd things if you swap out major components without reformatting (like changing the mobo).

3) You unplugged, or misplugged, the monitor on accident when you replaced the hinges between the monitor and laptop. Make sure there is no unnecessary strain, and that the video cable (usually on the left side) is plugged in correctly

4) The CFL bulbs in the monitor may have burnt out or unplugged. While the computer is on take a flashlight (or go outside in the sunlight) and try to see if the image is still there, but the backlight not working. If this is the case then you may need a new monitor or laptop


The 'comb in a comb' is called PATA or ATA 66/100/133 (depending on how old this thing is), it is the old standard for HDD connections and is no longer made (though there is a glut of refurbished drives).

When doing file backups I like to use an external USB bare HDD adapter. They are cheap, and help with not accidently booting from the drive you are trying to save. Mine is similar to this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812226001

Good luck!

Sorry, I guess I wasn't that clear....

1) I tried the FN + F4 which was the key to switch between display modes (nothing)

2) I have already taken out the sata secondary drive. since the first boot/crash....

3) i have gone back to unscrewing the case many times just to double check, no extra strain on the ribbons.

4) Damn I hope not.... At first I could barely see the HP splash logo.... but now even with a flashlight i see nothing.... I really hope I didnt burn out his monitor cuz it was working right before i plugged in that sata hdd.... I will try to remain in denial for a day or two since i have read others fix their problems (even though their solutions didn't help me). I REALLY hope it isn't this.... it is dark out so I guess i will wait til the morning, or probably afternoon since i need the morning to watch my niners stomp out the skins....


$20 still up for grabs

 

[frozenlead]

First, don't use the Windows installer to grab data from a drive. You should back it up to an external media with the original system or, as chief wrote, use an external adapter to back it up to another machine. I have a similar interface made by Vantech, it's very useful to keep around.

Also as cheif said (indirectly), video working over an external interface (VGA) but not over the attached screen indicates a monitor problem. Try reseating the monitor cable.

The inverter that powers the screen backlight is a common breaking part in most notebooks. You can measure its voltage output with a multimeter to determine if it's still functioning. It should be around 500V or so. In addition, as cheif said, the image faintly being on screen but not very bright is a good sign of inverter or backlight failure. Most backlights nowadays are integrated into the LCD panel and aren't replaceable. Replacement inverters are cheap, however, and if you replace the inverter and it still doesn't light up, your LCD panel is to blame. LCD panels are somewhat expensive, usually around $150.

A final word of advice is to not change major hardware components on Windows installations and expect them to work. Windows 7 is somewhat better at this than previous versions, but if you change major components, its a good idea to reinstall Windows.