Member Avatar for Watson306

Hi Guys,

I have a 9301 Laptop which whilst using it (just on internet) the screen went multi coloured almost as if it had crashed or there was an issue with graphics card - not sure.

I then obviously had to power cycle it, but was the screen remained black with nothing at all, but i can hear both the HDD & CD starting up, so I can only asume that it is not totally knackered, but i was wondering if anyone knew what it may be?

I should also mention that I am slightly technical as I deal with Cisco stuff all day long. I have had it in bits, and for some reason I had a spare inverter and have tried swapping that out (as someone mentioned on the internet somewhere that it could be that) and it has not resolved it.

Thanks in advance.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

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Short expert summary and practical next steps. already reports multicoloured artefacts followed by a completely black screen while drives still spin, and an inverter swap plus an external-monitor attempt were tried; correctly noted that most laptops of this type do not have a removable GPU. The symptom set most strongly points to either (a) the panel/backlight/cable chain, or (b) a board-level video fault (GPU or logic board). The following checks help narrow which.

Diagnostic checklist (in order of ease and safety):

  • Shine a bright light across the screen during power-on (angle it low across the LCD). A faint desktop or BIOS splash visible under strong light means the panel is receiving image data but the backlight/inverter is not working.
  • Observe keyboard LEDs (Caps Lock) and listen for POST beeps. A responsive toggle LED or normal POST sounds indicate the system is completing POST even if no video appears.
  • Try a minimal boot: remove the HDD/optical drive and boot to force BIOS/POST output. Also try booting with a single RAM stick, swapping slots. Reseating memory frequently reveals faults that look like no-video.
  • With the lid open and power removed, check the LCD cable at the motherboard and at the panel for loose pins, bent pins, or damaged shielding. Reseat connectors and inspect the cable for kinks where it flexes.

Safety and further notes. Disconnect AC and battery before touching internal connectors and take ESD precautions. Measuring inverter output requires experience; the inverter/backlight circuit can produce hazardous voltages, so leave high-voltage checks to a technician if unsure.

Diagnosis mapping and options. Result patterns: faint image + no backlight = panel/inverter/backlight; no image anywhere and external monitor blank = likely motherboard/GPU problem. Panel replacement is a low-cost test; motherboard/GPU repair (reflow/reball or board replacement) is specialist and often costly.

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Member Avatar for Watson306

Any suggestions?

All I really want to know if there is anyway of ruling out Motherboard or screen?

Cheers

Member Avatar for caperjack

sorry for the late reply ,you are kind of in a section for help.
anyway did you try hooking it to a regular computer monitor ,laptop should have a vga plug on the side or back of it .

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
Member Avatar for Watson306

sorry for the late reply ,you are kind of in a section for help.
anyway did you try hooking it to a regular computer monitor ,laptop should have a vga plug on the side or back of it .

Thanks for getting back.

It does have an external monitor socket (kinda like a 9 pin serial connector) anyway I took it to work and plugged my monitor at work into it, and nothing.

Member Avatar for caperjack

assuming you did all you could to make it switch to the monitor ,like using the FN + the appropriate F key ,like the toshiba we have here its FN+F5 key.
it sounds like its either the lcd ,or the onboard video device chip

Member Avatar for Watson306

Thanks mate.
Without taking it apart does anyone know if this model has a separate graphics chip or is it built in to the motherboard?

Member Avatar for caperjack

it not likely a removal chip ,usually only good gaming laptops that come with a removal chip

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