screen just goes black?!

[looobylooo]

hi,
heres hoping someone might be able to help please.
occasionally, as of late, ive been in the middle of doing something on my laptop and all of a sudden the screen has just gone black!! it seems like the programmes are still running behind it, i just cant get to them! no matter what i press click or do, nothing brings back what was on my screen, so all im left to do is to press the power button and start up again.... grrrrrrrr.
any ideas why this happens please? and is there a way i can get back to what i was doing without losing everything becuase ive had to switch off?
thank you in advance :o)

[FoxLee2]

This happened to my laptop a couple of weeks ago. It became more and more frequent until I couldn't get anything up on the screen at all. So now I have a separate monitor to the side of my laptop rather than buying a new laptop. The downside is that my laptop now stays on my desk permanently.

[ACtheTROLL]

try adjusting the power management (control panel) so that the screen remains "always on" and kill the screensaver

[looobylooo]

hi ac,
its not the screensaver that comes on though, its just a black screen and it wont go, but doing what you suggest will that solve my problem then?
thanks :o)

[Mr-Tom]

If possible try the external monitor port with a working monitor....the port will either be on the side or on the back of your laptop.

Make sure the second monitor is getting a signal....most will say something like 'No Signal Input" if it isn't.....most laptops use Fn + F5 to scroll through the output options of the second monitor but you may have to consult your manual on that one.

If you can replicate the problem and the second monitor stays on then we can assume that the problem lies within the screen itself and is not software related.....if the second monitor goes off too then it will be a software issue rather than a hardware problem.

If you find the second monitor is ok and stays on, try reducing the brightness of the laptop screen to minimal....again this is usually a Fn + key combination.

If you can then turn OFF the screen backlight (yet another Fn + key combo) and then back ON again, and the screen comes ON, if a bit dim, then the problem lies with either the CCFL backlight tube or the inverter that powers it.

Inverters are expensive but very easy to change, CCFL tubes are very cheap but a right pain to fit...they are extremely fragile.

A way to test if this IS the problem is to slowly increase the brightness of the screen (if it works at all) and see if it goes off again at a certain brightness....this is a sure way to tell if it's backlight trouble (or inverter).

If the second monitor goes off too then it's more likely a software issue and this could be any number of things. The power management has already been mentioned and would 90% of the time be spot on...but the fact that the screen doesn't come back on with a key-stroke or mouse-move seems to indicate it may be a little more deep-rooted.

Try the second monitor first and see if it gives you any indication.

Regards.

[looobylooo]

thank you mr tom!
thanks for all your knowlegeable help, much appreciated.
thankfully it only happens now and again, so i will wait till it next happens and then i will attempt to do what youve told me to do. i will keep this info at hand. thanks for sparing me your time.
kind regards
loooby :o)

[Mr-Tom]

You're welcome.

One other thing you could do to try and narrow this down is when it happens again take a close look at the screen......you may need to get a torch or take the laptop to a window or something and try to see if the screen is displaying the image but just isn't being illuminated.

You need a strong light source but it is possible to see by moving the screen at different angles if there is still an image on there. Obviously if the screen is completely free from anything then it's something more serious.

If you have an image then it's 90% probable that it's the backlight that's gone...or the inverter.

Good luck.

Regards.

[looobylooo]

thanks again mr tom, youve been most helpful, very very much appreciated, thank you! :o)