[clug] Ubuntu 8.1 on Toshiba Tecra black screen problem

[Matt Smith]

Doris ann wrote:
> Hi. I'm new to this list.
> Can anyone offer some suggestions on this problem with my laptop, please?
>
> Problem summary:
> no backlight on laptop, black screen, no response to live cd, no 
change to new inverter, it is running an external monitor ok
<snip details>
>
>
> Any thoughts about what the problem might be and how to fix it?

Hi Doris,

I have seen this problem occur on a client's Dell laptop before (cannot
remember the exact model).

Same problem description, for a few days prior to the fault occurring,
they noticed the screen "flashing", then finally one morning they
couldn't see anything on the screen.
An external monitor worked fine, but the display was blank - upon closer
inspection, you could *just* make out the display image.

I was able to open the screen surround, and observed that somehow the
two wires that power the LCD backlight had become caught in the opening
mechanism and had been cut, causing the fault.
A repair was ruled out due to the price of laptops being quite low
comparatively, and as it functioned perfectly with an external monitor,
it became a desktop-based laptop.

Hope that helps some.

Cheers,
Matt