Dell 1545 - Black Screen....

[Knotty87]

Hi Guys,

I've looked through these forums to see if I can find another forum post similar to mine but no such luck....


The problem I am currently having with my Dell 1545 is the screen keeps going black. The laptop works fine for a while, then suddenly the screen goes blank, then black, but the computer sounds like it is still running. Holding down the power button to turn off, then turn on again, the screen is black, but after a couple of hours the laptop is fine again, I am able to work on it, go on websites etc, but then the problem happens again, turn the computer off.....and the cycle continues.

I am at a loss at what to do, I've completed 4 passes on MemTest86 with no faults found, ran MalwareBytes, but nothing was found, defragged the harddrive, it still keeps happening.

Any help will be much appreciated!

Thanks

 

[markwp]

The next time it happens, do this:

First - hook the laptop up to an external monitor and see if that works. If it does, then

Second - remove the external monitor and look closely at the screen from an oblique angle. See if you can see your desktop (it will be very, very dim). Also use a small flashlight to try this test.

If you can get your desktop to appear on the external monitor, your gpu is still working. If you can see a very dim desktop from an angle, that would mean (most likely) that the inverter and/or ccfl is going bad. If you cannot see anything of the desktop from an angle, that would mean (most likely) that the screen is dying.

I suspect you have a bad inverter/ccfl. It is a pretty simple DIY fix, and you can get the parts on the web (Ebay). If you are not comfortable with working with small parts, you can also get a completely new screen including the inverter/ccfl and replace the whole unit. More expensive, but actually easier.

Mark

 

[Knotty87]

The next time it happens, do this:

First - hook the laptop up to an external monitor and see if that works. If it does, then

Second - remove the external monitor and look closely at the screen from an oblique angle. See if you can see your desktop (it will be very, very dim). Also use a small flashlight to try this test.

If you can get your desktop to appear on the external monitor, your gpu is still working. If you can see a very dim desktop from an angle, that would mean (most likely) that the inverter and/or ccfl is going bad. If you cannot see anything of the desktop from an angle, that would mean (most likely) that the screen is dying.

I suspect you have a bad inverter/ccfl. It is a pretty simple DIY fix, and you can get the parts on the web (Ebay). If you are not comfortable with working with small parts, you can also get a completely new screen including the inverter/ccfl and replace the whole unit. More expensive, but actually easier.

Mark

Many thanks for your reply Markwp!

Am I safe in assuming that I plug the external monitor in before I power down the laptop?

Thanks

 

[markwp]

Shut down the laptop, plug in the external and reboot. While the laptop has it's screen up and running, adjust the properties so that both screens are running. Then wait to see if your laptop screen goes dark, but the external remains on.

You can also try booting the laptop and then plugging in the external. If it will show up this way, then you can remove the external and wait for the laptop to go dark and just re-plug the monitor.

Mark

 

[MaxPtheGame]

Run PSA.
http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/19/KCS/KcsArticles/ArticleView?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&docid=266787

Run LCD Bist
http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/04/KCS/KcsArticles/ArticleView?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&docid=DSN_E3FE44D4AAF58D13E0301E0A5517246B

Since the issue is intermittent.. these diags might pass. But try more of these as well...

While you run these test try moving the screen forward or backward to see any distortion to the display...if yes replace LCD kit.
Try connecting an known good ext monitor ...

LCD BIST passed means... the LCD itself is fine. But backlight and LCD cable not confirmed.

"The laptop works fine for a while, then suddenly the screen goes blank, then black, but the computer sounds like it is still running." this symptoms means... mobo is fine; at this moment if ext monitor works fine, then mobo is fine 100%. Issue with either LCD cable of the LCD itself(90% chance).

IF LCD BIST fails..then thats it replce LCD kit.

 

[Knotty87]

Update:

Ran the PSA test and I was given a 2000-0146 error (HDD), so now I am on a mission to try and find a fix to that! Dell, in their infinite wisdom did not provide me with an Windows 7 installation disk, so if reformatting is the answer, I might have to buy a new CD.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[MaxPtheGame]

Update:

Ran the PSA test and I was given a 2000-0146 error (HDD), so now I am on a mission to try and find a fix to that! Dell, in their infinite wisdom did not provide me with an Windows 7 installation disk, so if reformatting is the answer, I might have to buy a new CD.

Thanks for the help everyone.

146 means it talks about previous psa error logs wrt hdd, mostly 0142. To confirm the same, you need to run the 32 bit diags from the bootable driver disk. or downloadble from dell driver site.
the test is "Test system" -> "Custom test"-> HDD-> sata option -> DST short test. it take 2 min of time to complete. If the test comes with 00ff... 065d error.. then you need to replace hdd. or if the test fails with more than 5 blcks, you need to replace hdd. else format the hdd.. should fix the hdd issue.

wrt os disk... if you can any dell os disk from anyone.. who has the same os.. can be used... use your own cd key activate it..

if you still have the recovery partition.. in good state.. then u can do Dell PC restore...to factory settings... by doing F8 thingy...make sure u dont back up any thing using same app while restoring.