Dell inspiron 1525 problem

[watercooled]

got a problem with this laptop the screen is black but if you hold it up to the light you can just about see the windows screen i have hooked it up to my pc monitor but its the same

whats the problem with it ?

[Sarky]

Sounds like the backlight or inverter has gone, you can usually pick them up on ebay :)

[watercooled]

would that still affect an external monitor ?

[wonderlust]

depends if it's set to display on an external screen, FN + a key (should be marked) will cycle between the options

[Sarky]

would that still affect an external monitor ?
Oh, didn't notice that, not sure then. I suppose its possible, but I'd be leaning towards a dodgey graphics chip.

[FlasH]

Unfortunately I'm inclined to agree with Sarky with a graphics problem, whether driver related to a naff chip.

[watercooled]

depends if it's set to display on an external screen, FN + a key (should be marked) will cycle between the options


ok pressed FN and A at startup and it showed on my external monitor and started doing a diagnostic and all looked fine.

however it found error 0326 inverter problem.

pressed escape to load windows and screen went black ?

can you press FN and A anytime to toggle or only at startup ?

[wonderlust]

iirc yes you can

and by function + a key I meant the specific key not the actual "A" key!

Added after 9 minutes:

Seems it may be FN+F8

[watercooled]

ok that worked

so would that mean that it needs a new invereter and back light ?

[wonderlust]

Might only be in inverter, once it's changed all will be revealed!

[watercooled]

Ok thanks. Does the FN F8 work on all laptops?

[wonderlust]

Different makes use different keys

[watercooled]

Different makes use different keys


is there a list of them anywhere ?

[wonderlust]

normally it's shown on the keyboard in the form of an icon/pictogram