i am getting an intermittent problem with an advent 7012 laptop. when i turn it on in am able to see the white on black bios information and when the pc boots up i am able to see the windows screen as normal. Sometimes however when windows boots up the screen will go blank with only a faint picture of the desktop screen. This has also happened in safe mode. After investigation it seems that it may be connected to a faulty backlight. I would have thought that a backlight would either work or not and not cause an intermittent fault like this. Currently i am able to view as normal but if i restart later it bwill probably go black again. Has anyone had similar experiences. (PS screen has just gone blank again as i was using it - i am writing this on another pc)

You might also check the video connection to the screen as well as the video card to make sure its seated properly. I have seen dirt get in the connectors and break connections. Simply unplug and reinsert... its worth a try :)

Hi, It could be the inverter that is on its way out (the inverter powers the backlight), especially as the problem is intermittent. You should try replacing this first before even thinking about the backlight (usually means replacing whole screen unless you are very competent at replacing the delicate backlight). New screens are very expensive for laptops, but the backlights are much cheaper.

If you have a video port you can connect an external monitor to, try a monitor connected to that for a while. If there are problems with that, check that the video card is seated in it's slot(if it is a card - it may be built into the mboard, in which case the video is defective) If there are no problems with that, there's nothing wrong with the video card or it's seating in it's slot (if it is a card - it may be built into the mboard). In that case, check the wiring between the case and the lid/LCD display, especially where it passes through the hinge - connections may be loose, or wires may be broken within their intact insulation, causing intermittant problems depending on how well the broken but touching each other wires are connecting. Your symptoms are not those of a bad backlight if the brightness is fine, and it is very unlikely they are symptoms of a bad voltage inverter for the backlight. Both those would be likely to cause intermittant blackness, not a faded display.

Hi, I would check the inverter as I said previously. I have had this problem occur before and it was indeed the inverter causing the problem. A faint video image on your screen with no light is a common symptom of an inverter problem. It is unlikely this is a problem with video or you would be seeing no image at all on the screen, however faint. A failing inverter does not always need to cause complete blackness but can cause a faded image dim image on the laptop screen, or sometimes an intermittent flickering screen. A failing backlight however can also produce such symtoms, therefore the only way to work out whether it is the backlight or inverter is to eliminate one. The inverter is much cheaper therefore try this first. If you are receiving a video image on your screen, however faint, it is very unlikely you have a video problem. Hope this helps.

Flickering I can see as being caused by a faulty voltage inverter. He didn't say anything about the display being dim when the image is faint. For some info about replacing a voltage inverter or backlight, and what some typical symptoms are, see response 5 in this: http://www.computing.net/hardware/w...

Hi, "...the screen will go blank with only a faint picture of the desktop screen..." Very typical of inverter problem. A faulty inverter can cause blackness, a dim screen or problems with flickering. The fact that you have said your problem is also intermittent burtysoft is also typical of this problem. Good luck.