Member Avatar for Amoya_1

Sunday morning I turn on my computer and I see it’s blinking on and off. Normally it blinks on and off to like boot up or something. I connect my dell laptop to my external monitor. I use a cable with hdmi and the display part on the other side. I plug them in and it shows on the monitor screen.
I sat waiting for it to load but it’s taking longer than usual.I plugged out the power cord and pull the monitor. I remove four little plugs from the side of the monitor, then when plugging in the power cable cord,it shocks me on my fingernail. I had a thought the power cable needs to be changed. Is that it?. Yea so I used my sister’s laptop yesterday while having the monitor plugged in and eating for a longtime hoping for it to boot up or turn on but nothing. The morning when I saw it taking long to boot I connected my laptop to my television to see and it’s working. It display on the television. Do you think it’s the power cable Cord also?. I’ll be buying one today to see if it will work…I’m hoping it does because my laptop screen is broke and ink is running out. Help me please?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rproffitt

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First, treat the shock you felt as a red flag. Stop using the monitor until you swap in a known‑good, grounded power cord and try a different wall outlet or surge protector. Damaged or improperly grounded cords are a shock and fire hazard; if you still feel any tingle or the monitor continues to power‑cycle after changing the cord/outlet, retire the monitor and have it serviced rather than keep testing it yourself ().

Quick way to isolate the fault:

  • Disconnect the video cable entirely so only the power cord is attached, then power on the monitor. Most models should show a stable self‑test/No Signal screen. If it still blinks or the power button is unresponsive, the monitor’s internal power board or control board is likely failing. Many monitors (including Dell) have a built‑in self‑test and diagnostics; running that will confirm if the panel/power is OK without your laptop in the loop ().

If the self‑test is stable, shift focus to the signal path:

  • Try a different HDMI cable and a different input on the monitor.
  • If you are using an HDMI‑to‑DisplayPort cable, be aware those are directional. Passive cables only work from a DisplayPort source to an HDMI display; to go from HDMI source (laptop) to DisplayPort input (monitor), you need an active adapter (DisplayPort overview).
  • Test the monitor with another computer and test your laptop with a different external monitor to confirm which side is at fault.

Building on ’s point, once you have a stable setup, avoid relying on a flaky monitor while your laptop screen is broken. Fix the root cause or replace the monitor so you are not stuck without a display at a bad time.

Member Avatar for rproffitt

The usual fix for a broken laptop display is to replace the laptop display. Not with an external because eventually said laptops will boot and display only on the laptop display.

-> Since it worked on the TV, that's a good sign another monitor is likely to work.

But again, so many have tried to get by without the repair and later discover the external stops working and they are forced to repair the laptop or get another laptop.

Last thing: We only lose what we don't backup. Many continue to keep their stuff on a single PC. When this broken laptop fails altogether your data might be lost. Backup is cheap, recovery is expensive.

commented: I realize that hours ago speaking to my father so he’s going to get it fix while the monitor will just be there put down one side, I guess. +0
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