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Post by Chicago Jake on May 31, 2010 10:28:19 GMT -6
My laptop, which is my main computer, started having a flickering display. Then the display went away completely! Arghgghgh!
Fortunately, I have an old CRT which I attached to the VGA output port. Image looks fine on that. That's what I'm using right now. Kind of tough looking off to the side while typing though!
Closer inspection revealed that the laptop LCD isn't quite completely black. There is a very faint image of what is also on the CRT. Ah ha! This leads me to believe it is a backlight problem. A little Googling showed that the backlight tube or the inverter circuit are common component failures to cause this type of problem.
Now I have to decide if I'm going to take it somewhere, or try to fiddle with it myself. Any thoughts? Thanks!.........Jake
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on May 31, 2010 16:47:55 GMT -6
Go for it Jake, how often do you get to dive into the deep end of laptop repair in a no lose situation?
Our daughters laptop crapped out on her last month with just 3 weeks left before graduation. It was a <2 year old HP and the thing started to disintegrate back in November. The hinges started to crack and the screen bezel separated from the frame. Piece of crap HP! It was the first non-Dell computer Ive bought since Northgate went under in the 90's.
The issues with the hinge basically pinched the wires to the screen making it barely legible UNTIL the hinge broke completely. Now she has a laptop that is in two pieces but without the pinched wires the screen works again, she props the screen up on the desk with some books, but it works (she gets a new DELL this week).
Sum total Jake, from the very beginning, the cost to repair her laptop was only marginally less expensive than buying new, so I would say go for it yourself, you dont have a lot to lose because to have a "pro" fix it, well... you might as well get a new one ordered now.
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on May 31, 2010 17:30:19 GMT -6
It was the first non-Dell computer Ive bought since Northgate went under in the 90's. Northgate! Damn, what fond memories ... those babies were built like a friggin' tank! BTW - no one mentioned backing up the HD before diving in. Is that because the data is expendable? I'd think you'd at least want to use the external monitor to move stuff to a thumb drive or CD or whatever ... but hey, you can always download that porn again, right? |
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Post by Chicago Jake on May 31, 2010 18:54:12 GMT -6
No problem on the data backup. I have an external HD that I backup to frequently. At the first sign of trouble (flickering screen), I did another backup.
Now I've got to find a place for spare parts that won't take weeks to get to me.
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Post by Ardbeg... innit on Jun 1, 2010 4:45:01 GMT -6
Northgate! Damn, what fond memories ... those babies were built like a friggin' tank! Damn straight they were. That was back in the day when I was still traveling around to conventions and professional meetings trying to build up the business. My last Northgate (with its monstrous 600Mb hard drive) and the 100 pound 23 inch monitor I had at the time went quite a few places with me in those days. Drove them to Minneapolis, St Louis, DC, Detroit and UPSed them to Atlanta and New Orleans and the sucker shook off each trip with not a bit lost and begging for more. Dont forget campers, always park your hard drive before shutting of the power. |
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Jun 1, 2010 9:22:05 GMT -6
Now I've got to find a place for spare parts that won't take weeks to get to me. If the issue is time, wouldn't it be more efficient to just buy a new laptop? |
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Post by Chicago Jake on Jun 1, 2010 14:30:06 GMT -6
I'm looking for a balance between time and money. Like a good project manager.
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Post by ♥ COVID-19♥ on Jun 1, 2010 14:41:29 GMT -6
I can't put a high enough dollar value on my time (especially when you factor in trial & error, frustration factors, any learning curve that may be necessary, etc.) -- I'd probably opt to just buy the new laptop if I found myself in a similar situation.
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Post by Chicago Jake on Jun 1, 2010 15:07:58 GMT -6
If I had to be on the road in a day or two, I'd probably take that approach, too. But I don't have a business trip planned this week.
So I opted to drop it off at a local repair shop, with instructions to call me if it needs more than $200 worth of work. If it does, I'll get a new one. If it doesn't I'll have it back in a day or two and save the bucks. Seemed like a good compromise. And I do have plenty of other computers around here to tide me over. It's all a compromise.
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Post by Chicago Jake on Jun 1, 2010 17:18:35 GMT -6
All's well that ends well! The computer guy called me back five hours after I dropped it off. My diagnosis was correct, a bad backlight. $120 and I've got my computer back good as new.
Thanks to Yelp for helping me find a good, honest repairman a few blocks away.......Jake
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