Help -screen is black

[ptquilts]

Hello, I turned on my thinkpad A31 yesterday and it makes noises (fan) but no display. Also, the little overhead light does not work. I read previous threads and tried various permutations of taking out battery, unplugging cord, holding power button down, etc. several times, to no avail.
What would be the next step? Thanks

 

[sam_fisher]

Could be a graphics problem. I would get on the phone to Thinkpad and see what they say.

 

[ptquilts]

they would say, it is out of warranty.

 

[AntiZig]

hello, what do you mean by little overhead light?

get a flashlight and point at laptop screen, if you can see the image with flashlight then your backlight is dead and you need to replace it (fairly cheap)

if flashlight doesn't help, connect an external monitor, if external monitor works fine, the problem is with your laptop screen and needs to be further diagnosed by a professional (could be a dead inverter or the LCD panel gone bad itself)

if external monitor doesn't work, you have a very big problem caused by motherboard or GPU, which necessitates replacing both and is costly

 

[ptquilts]

hello, what do you mean by little overhead light?

get a flashlight and point at laptop screen, if you can see the image with flashlight then your backlight is dead and you need to replace it (fairly cheap)

if flashlight doesn't help, connect an external monitor, if external monitor works fine, the problem is with your laptop screen and needs to be further diagnosed by a professional (could be a dead inverter or the LCD panel gone bad itself)

if external monitor doesn't work, you have a very big problem caused by motherboard or GPU, which necessitates replacing both and is costly

Hi - the overhead light is the one that would illuminate the keyboard like if you were in a dark room. You turn it on with Fn and PgUP keys.

I have a second thinkpad that I am using now (T30) - could I use that as a second monitor? What would I use to connect them?


Thanks.

 

[AntiZig]

unless your second laptop has a dedicated video input port (most laptops don't) there's no way to use it as an external. you need a simple desktop monitor, it's a quick check, I mean I'm sure you can find a friend who can let you use their monitor for 5-10 mins.

hmm the overhead light of yours might indicate that your monitor isn't getting power properly if that overhead light is powered from the LCD power circuit. but that's just a guess.

 

[ptquilts]

well I found a friend with a monitor, hooked it up - nothing. What is my next step?

I have a Thinkpad T30, what are the odds I could take the hard drive out of the A31 and put it in the T30, to get the info off it?

 

[AntiZig]

if the external monitor doesn't work it indicates a problem with motherboard/GPU. typically an expensive repair if it's no longer on warranty since you'll have to replace everything on that mobo.

as far as getting the info from the hdd, you can hook it up to another laptop in-kind, but if you have a second slot for that hdd. I'd go with hooking it up to a desktop, it's a lot easier. But your choice, as long as that hdd is in working condition it should work on any system

 

[ptquilts]

Best answer selected by ptquilts.