I got this old packard bell laptop at a sale for $1 but the screen is extremely dark. I wouldn't have even noticed it unless my halogen lite wasn't on. So I held a flashlite close to screen and could make out windows 3.1 on it and works ok besides the lcd is out and some keys don't work. Anyhow to get to the point... Is it possible to change a bulb in it or something? I also tried connecting my 17in svga monitor to it and nothing happened?? crt, vga same thing right? I did smell something when I first plugged it in but unplugged it immediately, removed battery and plugged it back in, smell went away and booted fine. I don't know if it was the bulb, battery or what? but it was on for 20 minutes and never smelled again. Hoping to add another working oldie to my collection! I figured i'd get more info here then in hardware considering it's age.

You say it has an external VGA port. I'd look in the BIOS (CMOS Setup) and see if there's an option to use it. This MAY be why it doesn't currently work when you plug your 17 inch VGA monitor to it. Look for an external keyboard connector, as well. My 486 notebook had one (didn't have an external VGA port, though). Good luck.

Well flashlite in hand I searched for the monitor settings in the bios but it didn't seem to make a difference. somehting must be wrong with the vga port i guess. It has mouse and keyboard ports I forgot to mention I had already found and used them. Does an lcd display have some kind of lite bulb or something? Is there someplace to test if it in getting power to the item that illunimates this display? I don't mind pluggin the thing in or using external keyboard & mouse but holding a flashlite to screen is rediculious! LOL

There's no bulb in an LCD screen; you have to replace the entire screen. You may be able to find an inexpensive pulled screen on eBay, if it's a common model. But that won't do any good if the problem isn't the screen. It could be the motherboard's integrated graphics. Worst case, pull the hard drive, RAM, and other working parts and sell them on eBay. While not worth a fortune, you'll get more than a dollar. Best Luck, Bob