Screen goes blank after a while

Implosion · 05-16-2009, 05:41 PM

So, been reading quite a lot about people having issues with blank screens on the laptops, guess I'll join the crowd...

I run a Dell Inspiron 9400 Running Fedora on it but the issues started with Windows XP so dont think it makes much difference.

what happens is that the screen works fine from startup till just about 5 minutes after being logged in. (logging is is really fast since theres no stuff on it and I run Fedora now). After that it just goes black, sometimes it works to just shut the top and open it again buying me a minute tops before it goes.

Also just before it goes black I get this really weird high pitched tone from it.

Anyway, I have checked the video cable to the LCD screen, nice and sturdy, I also plugged in an external and that works fine even while the laptop screen goes black. I tried that removing battery and power cable thing but didnt do much good. Also since the external screen is working I would have to guess theres no issue with the Graphics card or the drivers.

So... do I need a new LCD screen or is there some magical way to fix this ?

thanks for any reply, you always managed to solve my problems over the years.

**TriggerFinger** · 05-17-2009, 12:34 AM

You mentioned about a high pitched noise... I think it could be the inverter. Usually the high pitched noise is an indication of a malfunctioning inverter.

When the screen goes black, does it just dim or totally blanks out?

Implosion · 05-17-2009, 08:50 AM

It totally blanks out, exactly like when it is turned off.

Thanks for reply, gonna start looking around for cheap inverters :)

05-16-2009, 05:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
Implosion Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 22 OS: Vista/Fedora My System	Screen goes blank after a while So, been reading quite a lot about people having issues with blank screens on the laptops, guess I'll join the crowd... I run a Dell Inspiron 9400 Running Fedora on it but the issues started with Windows XP so dont think it makes much difference. what happens is that the screen works fine from startup till just about 5 minutes after being logged in. (logging is is really fast since theres no stuff on it and I run Fedora now). After that it just goes black, sometimes it works to just shut the top and open it again buying me a minute tops before it goes. Also just before it goes black I get this really weird high pitched tone from it. Anyway, I have checked the video cable to the LCD screen, nice and sturdy, I also plugged in an external and that works fine even while the laptop screen goes black. I tried that removing battery and power cable thing but didnt do much good. Also since the external screen is working I would have to guess theres no issue with the Graphics card or the drivers. So... do I need a new LCD screen or is there some magical way to fix this ? thanks for any reply, you always managed to solve my problems over the years. __________________ You are unique, just like everyone else

05-17-2009, 12:34 AM	#2 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,841 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Screen goes blank after a while You mentioned about a high pitched noise... I think it could be the inverter. Usually the high pitched noise is an indication of a malfunctioning inverter. When the screen goes black, does it just dim or totally blanks out? __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

05-17-2009, 08:50 AM	#3 (permalink)
Implosion Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 22 OS: Vista/Fedora My System	Re: Screen goes blank after a while It totally blanks out, exactly like when it is turned off. Thanks for reply, gonna start looking around for cheap inverters :) __________________ You are unique, just like everyone else