I had a perculiar problem with my Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop. From one day to the other, the screen suddenly turned black after booting windows and before getting to the login screen. The only way to get a login was to press F8 before booting and selecting "VGA mode". Then I switched the normal device driver off (My Computer|Properties|Device Manager). However, this did not solve my problem. I found out there was a common problem with laptops in general that the "screen lid is closed switch" is stuck. Furthermore it seems the Dell inspiron 9300 has a magnetic switch. To remedy the problem I used a powerfull small magnet used to fix notes to a metal board. I searched for a place under the keyboard were the maget was repelled (tried with both sides). Then I rubbed the magnet repeatedly over this spot with the repelling side down. Then the screen switched on again.. Hope this helps someone with a similar problem. Marco

Using ANY magnet near a computer, ESPECIALLY a laptop, is a huge risk. You could wipe the HDD in no time flat. You were lucky. "So won’t you give this man his wings What a shame To have to beg you to see We’re not all the same What a shame" - Shinedown

I was going to post the same warning as Jennifer.

It is always good to see constructive criticism. Although I think it takes more than a small magnet to wipe a hard disk, it is always wise to act prudently and backup important data. I just wanted to share my experience with people who perhaps stumbled on the same problem. Take from it what you will and use it with common sense I'd say.

Well your point is well taken. However you stated "I used a powerfull small magnet". As far as wiping the hard drive goes you might not do that, but could cause SOME corruption. As the areal density of the platters gets higher the voltage required to perform a read or write is less. The disks today are more prone to corruption from many sources. Hope you don't take this personally. Most of the folks that come here for help don't know much about computers and for that reason we error on the side of caution. At least I try to anyway.

I wrote: I searched for a place under the keyboard were the maget was repelled (tried with both sides). I found out these were in fact the speakers - but luckily the switch was close to that - it makes a faint clicking noise when passing with the magnet

That sounds like a lubrication problem.