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Vostro 1400 - Dead LCD Screen?

Discussion in 'Dell Latitude, Vostro, and Precision' started by stryder1587, Oct 18, 2009.

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  1. stryder1587

    stryder1587 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I had firefox running with several tabs, then I went afk for a while and when I came back, the screen was blank. I shook the mouse, made sure it wasn't sleeping, tried alt-ctrl-del, but I got nothing. Then I did a manual restart by holding the power button then starting it up again.

    I could hear the sound of the login screen coming up, I entered my password and it was able to login to Windows since I heard that Windows startup sound. I still couldn't see anything on the screen. I plugged in my external LCD to see if that could detect anything but it said "no signal detected".

    Does anybody have a solution for this? Or is my laptop pretty much dead?

    My specs are:
    T7100 1.8ghz
    2gb ram
    8400 gs
    vista home 32bit
     
    stryder1587, Oct 18, 2009
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  2. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    Did you try toggling between the laptop and external display after connecting the external monitor?
     
    Commander Wolf, Oct 18, 2009
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  3. stryder1587

    stryder1587 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I tried disconnecting the power and battery, no change.
    I tried function key + switch to external lcd, it showed a bunch of blurry fuzzy lines going up and down the lcd.

    I think this means my video card is dead right?
     
    stryder1587, Oct 18, 2009
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  4. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    Might be a loose connection somewhere between the laptop and the external display... but granted that this is an 8400M GS, I'd say it's more likely that you've got a dying GPU. Those fuzzy lines should still be showing up on your laptop screen, though...
     
    Commander Wolf, Oct 18, 2009
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  5. stryder1587

    stryder1587 Notebook Enthusiast

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    stryder1587, Oct 18, 2009
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  6. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    With a bit of persuasion, I don't see why they wouldn't let you do it a second time, especially if the problem does turn out to be one with the GPU (which is still does seem to be). Give them a call and tell them what's up...
     
    Commander Wolf, Oct 18, 2009
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  7. stryder1587

    stryder1587 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Apparently they only extend the warranty for 1 more year. With that included, my warranty ends Aug 2009. It would cost me $249+tax to get it fixed. The motherboard and video card aren't worth anything close to that amount.
    Looks like I'll just have to salvage my harddrive and look at my "never buy dell" 14 inch paper weight.

    Thanks for all the help Commander Wolf!
     
    stryder1587, Oct 19, 2009
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  8. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    You could try replacing the motherboard on your own... but the cheapest Vostro 1400 or Inspiron 1420 board I can find is still $150. Don't know if it's worthwhile for you at that point. Maybe you can part out the rest of the machine? Try baking the motherboard XD
     
    Commander Wolf, Oct 19, 2009
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  9. stryder1587

    stryder1587 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Just an update, I finally reached a CSR that would help me to file a request for parts to be shipped to my house. This morning I received a box with a bunch of parts, but I don't know how to install them.

    They sent 3 pieces:
    1) Motherboard
    2) Fan/heatsink
    3) some L shaped thing - looks like theres a harmonica on one end and a rectangular piece with 4 screws on the end numbered 1-4 on each screw
    What exactly is this?

    How do I figure out how to replace these parts?
     
    stryder1587, Oct 23, 2009
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  10. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    Commander Wolf, Oct 23, 2009
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