Black screen on laptop?

[Mark L]

Turned the laptop on this morning, it made all the start up noises and the screen remained black.

Plugged an old Flatron monitor into the laptop and I can now see what I'm typing here.
4 year old Toshiba Satellite that has performed very well, until this morning.
Any ideas?
Guess it's a trip to the local computer people unless ......

[ricktas]

Laptop screens are notorious for this. I have had two screens replaced over the years (under warranty) for exactly the same issue.

[Mark L]

Thanks Rick.
An update.
Thought I'd better back up the last two weeks photos. Plug in the external drive and the laptops screen suddenly works?
Restart and it's still working.

[Stingray]

hey Mark ...
sounds like it could be the cable that goes through the hinge or maybe the connector for that cable..
I've worked in IT for 20+ years and regularly have to replace these cables for customers..

[Mark L]

Thanks Daz, I'll keep that in mind for next time.
Since the screen reappeared there hasn't been a problem.

[Mark L]

And since the screen reappeared it's gone off and on again.
That's okay, the screen I plugged into the laptop showed my what I want until.
Haven't use the laptop for two days, turned it all on and the plugged in screen just wants to go into save energy mode. Doesn't matter what I try, the screen won't show what's one the laptop.
Have checked the screen on an old desktop (which I'm using now, soooo slooow) and the screen works fine.
Laptops off to an expert that charges money tomorrow.
And I so wanted to PP and share some of the photos of my visit to Sydney. grrrrrr

[MissionMan]

I have generally found that laptops these days have a lifespan of about 3 years, after that they are inconsistent and expensive to maintain.

[paulheath]

You went to Sydney..... and no invite, right your off my Christmas list

[Mark L]

Rushed trip. One night stayed Paul. When to a reception at Government House. Our current states governor's last. Lovely lady.
Stayed at Circular Quay. Better half want's to revisit for a few days to slowly wander around the city.
Will let you know if this ever happens. I'll go to the zoo.
Hang on, what am I talking about. This is supposed to be about Technology - Hardware & Software.
Merry Christmas.

[bcys1961]

I just bought a new Toshiba Satellite. So far so good but remind me to replace it in 3.5 years !

[Mark L]

How did you know we have a Toshiba Satellite Brad? It's served us well for over five years.
I'll try and remember to remind you.

[bcys1961]

Turned the laptop on this morning, it made all the start up noises and the screen remained black.

Plugged an old Flatron monitor into the laptop and I can now see what I'm typing here.
4 year old Toshiba Satellite that has performed very well, until this morning.
Any ideas?
Guess it's a trip to the local computer people unless ......

Ahhh ..You told me in post #1 . I won't rely on you reminding me if you can't remember what you posted a few hours ago ! Don't worry I'm sure it will happen to us all as we get your age and the Alzheimers kicks in.

[Mark L]

I think I remember what Alzheimers was!!

[arthurking83]

I'll try to remember to remind you to remember what you forgot to remind Brad about ...... in 3.5 years time!
(lucky for us it's not November 11th! )

[ricktas]

^^^^

All sorted. I added a reminder into the AP Calendar : http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...&day=2017-12-1



Now if I could just work out what I am supposed to do at 11.30 today, then all will be good in the world. Note to self -- when you put "appointment at 11.30" into your diary, remember to put what it is for and where.

[Stingray]

And since the screen reappeared it's gone off and on again.
That's okay, the screen I plugged into the laptop showed my what I want until.
Haven't use the laptop for two days, turned it all on and the plugged in screen just wants to go into save energy mode. Doesn't matter what I try, the screen won't show what's one the laptop.
Have checked the screen on an old desktop (which I'm using now, soooo slooow) and the screen works fine.
Laptops off to an expert that charges money tomorrow.
And I so wanted to PP and share some of the photos of my visit to Sydney. grrrrrr

Hi Mark .. not sure if you're still trying to get it to work.. notebooks can be "fussy" sometimes with ext screens (especially when screen issues)
so some times it doesn't auto detect you've attached an ext screen
on the Toshiba's if you turn the notebook on and connect a ext screen .. press Fn+F5 that tells it to show on the ext screen ..
give it a minute or so and if screen still doesn't come on .. try it again .. if no luck trying this 2 or 3 times when all the notebooks turned on and lights show it's on and running then there's prob more deeper problems