Toshiba laptop, black screen of death, Windows 7

[spirithorse]

Greetings,
Wondering if anyone can tell me how to check the monitor on a laptop to see if
the monitor has just stopped working.
My wife's Toshiba just turns on with a black screen. You can hear the hard drive
working and I tried to use the start-up disk that I made when it was new but, you
just hear the CD drive running. Still nothing on the screen.
I already bought her a replacement laptop but, it would be nice to get this one
working to be used for backing up files, an extra laptop, and even let my grandson
play on it instead of messing up my desk top PC.
Thanks and God Bless! Spirithorse55 at hotmail dot com

[EIEIO]

Sometimes the laptop's backlight lamp just burns out.You can buy replacement bulbs for about $20. There are tutorials about how to open the frame around the screen to make a repair. To see if it's a bad lamp:

Power up the laptop in a dark room. Take a flashlight and shine it on the screen at a steep angle. If everything else is working, you'll be able to dimly see the shapes on the screen. Try typing a few commands or moving the mouse around to see that the computer responds.

Here's a tutorial - you might be able to find something more specific to your model:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Replace-Your-Laptop-s-Backlight/

 

[Crabbyboater]

I had the same problem waith my 17" Toshiba laptop.  Found out that the wiring in the hinge was intermittent.  If I held the screen at just a certain angle it would work but any movement and it went out.  Considering the cost of repairs I could either buy a new unit, or connect an external monitor to the laptop and lose the portability.

I decided to keep the unit plugged into an external monitor, using it as a desk unit, and bought a new Toshiba 17" laptop configured with Windows 7.  At age 78 I really didn't want to be learning a whole new language.  Love the new unit!

[spirithorse]

Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate it.
I plugged another monitor into the VGA port on the laptop today
(should have thought of that earlier but, my CRS 'Can't Remember Stuff'
must have kicked in) and, the different monitor came on for just a second
with the green light and then a message that said 'No signal'.
So, evidently, there is something wrong with the hard drive or the lap-top
and not just the monitor.
I made a Boot Recovery Disk when it was brand new but, it doesn't seem to
work either but, without a monitor to actually see anything, who knows?
Thanks again and God Bless! Spirithorse

[EIEIO]

After plugging in the 2nd screen, you need to right click on the desktop and go to Properties, then enable the screen to be extended to the 2nd screen. If that's not turned on then the 2nd screen will show "No signal".

Also try this: after the 2nd screen is plugged in and turned on (but before the Properties stuff above), hold the FN key (lower left of kybd, next to CTRL) and hit F5. This will toggle through the laptop screen only, both the laptop and 2nd screen, and 2nd screen only. You should see your screen show up on the 2nd screen if the computer is still functioning.

Did you try the flashlight on the screen? That's the way to know that the LED is still working and the bulb or its electronics have gone bad.

[spirithorse]

Thanks, Ray,
When I plugged in the other monitor and right clicked I still couldn't see anything on the monitor so, no Properties or other options.

I tried the FN and F5 but, still nothing on the monitor.

I also tried the flashlight but, could never see anything through the black. matte screen.
Just the reflection of the flashlight on the face of the screen.

I really appreciate your time and efforts.
THANK YOU!
God Bless! Spirithorse

[EIEIO]

This brings up a good point - maybe we should have an audio track play at boot-up ("Hello, World - I'm booted and running") so if the screen dies, we know the computer is still running. If the sound track does not play, we know the computer never booted.

Make senes?

[spirithorse]

Hi, Ray,
I was thinking along the same lines.
After I tried the boot recovery disk that I made when the computer was new and that didn't work,
I tried an audio CD and then I tried a DVD movie to see if I could even hear anything but, no
visual and no audio.
Someone close to our home just ran an ad saying he is starting a new business from his home
and was very straight-forward about prices for various services. It is $15 for the diagnostics to
see if he can determine what the problem is so, hopefully we can get it to him and get it fixed.
I'll definitely let you know how this all concludes to inform anyone else that has this problem
what we found out in this case.
God Bless! Spirithorse

[DWSudekum]

Greetings,
Wondering if anyone can tell me how to check the monitor on a laptop to see if
the monitor has just stopped working.
My wife's Toshiba just turns on with a black screen. You can hear the hard drive
working and I tried to use the start-up disk that I made when it was new but, you
just hear the CD drive running. Still nothing on the screen.
I already bought her a replacement laptop but, it would be nice to get this one
working to be used for backing up files, an extra laptop, and even let my grandson
play on it instead of messing up my desk top PC.
Thanks and God Bless! Spirithorse55 at hotmail dot com

Spirithorse what model is it?  There is a whole set of motherboards that have a problem with overheating that will eventually unsolder the chipset that runs the computer, this might be one of them.

DW

[spirithorse]

Hi, DW,
It is a Toshiba Satellite L455D S5976

I think from a previous search that the motherboard is an
Intel Motherboard K000093580 LA-5822P
I am not positive about that though.

Let me know what you have knowledge about the over-heating problem you mentioned.
I am on the fence right now about what to do with this because I already bought my wife
another laptop but, I would like to fix this one if it is not too expensive.
My wife said she definitely does not want me to buy a motherboard if I am not positive
that is the problem and if I don't know positively that I CAN and WILL install the new
motherboard instead of starting on it and then not getting it finished in a timely manner.
One of my bad habits! LOL Start something and then move on to something else.

I appreciate you contacting me and hope you can shed some light on this issue.
God Bless! Spirithorse

[DWSudekum]

Spirithorse this is not something that is for a novice to fix as the fix requires almost complete disassembly of the laptop and then to preform a field repair in which you have to reflow some hidden solder joints under the chip set.  There are several companies that do this however it costs about 2/3 the cost of a new one to get it done.  This is a problem that affected HP, DELL, Toshiba and Sony but only certain models.  The internal heatsink system was insufficient to effectively draw the heat away from the chipset and it over time would desolder itself causing the black screen of death.  There was a couple of years back a class action lawsuit over this issue.    You best bet is to do some research on a new laptop perspective.  The major vendors have fixed that problem as far as I am aware of. Hope this helps.

DW

[smw]

If it says No signal try restarting and turn on the monitor after the computer, mine does that sometimes
if that fails it could be your video card

[spirithorse]

Thanks, SMW,
Unfortunately, I think the video card is an integral part of the mother-board.
I could have gotten a mother-board pretty cheaply but, my wife asked,
"Are you sure that is the problem?" (I don't know). "Are you sure it will fix the
problem?" (Not for sure).  "Are you sure you can take it apart and put it back
together or will you have to pay some-one to do it? (Mmm, I think I can do it).
"Don't spend the money on the part".   (Okay, Honey! You're right).

[smw]

The wife bit sounds familiar spirithorse lol