Today I was just browsing firefox on my laptop. And I went to create a network bridge for my connection for PS2 online, and my laptop just shut off, and when I turn it back on, i cant see the screen! I can see something from the side, but its like mostly black. I managed to look through the side enough to enable S-VIDEO and im typing right now while looking at my TV. if anyone knows how to fix this please tell me! IT will be hard since i can hardly see anything.

Press: fn and f6 but sometime it changes, it looks like a display with a star

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Originally posted by Napbree
Press: fn and f6 but sometime it changes, it looks like a display with a star

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I did. I exited super video mode, and did what you told me to do, but i did not notice anything different and am still at a black but not completly black screen

Ok, it looks like you've turned down your brightness try looking for a up arrow for the brightness

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Originally posted by Napbree
Ok, it looks like you've turned down your brightness try looking for a up arrow for the brightness

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Originally posted by Steven
I dont htink its the brightness cookie, because its like very very dark, and
I know my laptops maximum dark level for brightness, and this exeeds it by far

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Hmm, maybe you have turned the screen on, but havnt turned the backlight on.

My first thought was that you may have accidentally switched to external display only mode -- another of the brand-dependent key combinations, usually Fn + some function key.  You should try to find this key combination for your laptop (the function key involved is typically marked with a symbol that looks like two screens) and press it a few times, just in case.

However, my second thought was that's probably not it: when the built-in screen is switched off, it is off -- there is no display on it.  You had display, just no backlight.

You should rule out the external display switch and also reboot the laptop and observe, in case the screen lights up initially and only goes dark after Windows boots, which would point to some software problem. 

Lacking either of those, it'd seem that you have a backlight or backlight inverter failure, which would have to be repaired at a shop.  I hope the laptop is still under warranty -- otherwise, you may be looking at a pretty expensive repair.

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Originally posted by Steven
I dont htink its the brightness cookie, because its like very very dark, and
I know my laptops maximum dark level for brightness, and this exeeds it by far

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Thanks cookie. In response to adeptus about depends on which laptop you have, I have an old HP pavilion ze4000 or ze4540. I will post a screenshot of my S-video settings. Since im  using my tv for the monintor.

If you reboot, does the backlight come back on? Maybe it burnt out.

When you turn on your computer, at the point where the bios screen appears (or before?), does it have any light?

My thinkpad is rather antiquated, and the backlight often takes ages to start up [or just doesn't]. There's a little button that the screen hits when you fold it- tapping it puts the laptop to sleep, and tapping it again usually fixes the light.

Failing that, your screen might just be dead. If rebooting doesn't turn your screen back on, you might not be able to get it working again I would think

There may be a way to do it, see I've heard that some laptop backlights can be controlled through ACPI or dedicated hardware registers, but exactly how you're going to access them I'm not sure. The Linux thinkpad driver* works in this way and can control these signals through /proc. Still, it's not something I've messed about with. And even if you do manage to restart it through some such method, if you've already tried rebooting and that kills the light, you're going to have a great time sending ACPI signals every time your laptop starts.

Is it still under warranty?

* Note that the driver gives the proc interface- the ACPI behaviour of the Fn buttons is enabled even without any drivers installed, the main point of the drivers is masking this behaviour or controlling them through scripts. I imagine it's a similar story for other laptop brands.

Hmph,ACPI sounds confusing to me,. but could the backlight have anything to do with me experimenting with S-video ea lier today? And When I tried to create a network bridge, (this was out of s-video mode and the backlight was on) my laptop  just shut off unexpectedly and when I turned it Back on, there was no backlight. And Nope the backlight never turns on, I have a flashlight with me and when i shine it i can see WINDOWS loading screen. So it never turns on at any point.

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Originally posted by Steven
Hmph,ACPI sounds confusing to me,. but could the backlight have anything to do with me experimenting with S-video ea lier today? And When I tried to create a network bridge, (this was out of s-video mode and the backlight was on) my laptop  just shut off unexpectedly and when I turned it Back on, there was no backlight.

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Crap. Well I probably am getting a FREE laptop from the school and it will  be  a DELL, hopefully an insporon or whatever there spelled. Im getting one in late september because of my messy handwriting. 8 years to late though.

Your inverter or your backlight are either fucked  (lcd itself isn't as you can see what's on it)or have some loose connection, like it used to happen to me,  try closing it fast/hard and opening it back again, maybe the cable is only a tiny bit loose

How old is the laptop? If it's still under warranty they will probably fix for free.

Warrenty is not an option I wish, Im thinking it was a setting i might of touched by accident. I dont see how it would just go dead like that..

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Originally posted by Steven
Warrenty is not an option I wish, Im thinking it was a setting i might of touched by accident. I dont see how it would just go dead like that..

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Originally posted by ShawnZ

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Originally posted by Steven
Warrenty is not an option I wish, Im thinking it was a setting i might of touched by accident. I dont see how it would just go dead like that..

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the same way light bulbs burn out?

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dude, if it doesn't light up even when you're not on windows forget the software problem... Your inverter or your backlight is dead...

So 100% its not a setting? Maybe I can take a screenshot if you want of something that will help you?

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Originally posted by Steven
So 100% its not a setting? Maybe I can take a screenshot if you want of something that will help you?

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No i mean a screenshot of the settings so then someone might say" oh thats the problem you need to change that"

If the screen doesn't light up while booting there is 100% no way it is related to any Windows setting.

It *may* be a BIOS setting (brightness) but reading most of the posts that seems very unlikely and looks like you checked it already.

I'm having the same no backlight problem on my 5 yr old Compaq. I discovered that I can get the backlight to work if I boot Windows into Safe Mode. I've tried different power schemes in Control Panel but no success on rebooting in Normal Mode. Looks like a Windows problem but nothing in Micosoft Knowledgebase. Any ideas?

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Originally posted by smaglikn
I'm having the same no backlight problem on my 5 yr old Compaq. I discovered that I can get the backlight to work if I boot Windows into Safe Mode. I've tried different power schemes in Control Panel but no success on rebooting in Normal Mode. Looks like a Windows problem but nothing in Micosoft Knowledgebase. Any ideas?

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