laptop backlight shuts off after 5 min. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

yatzr · 12-04-2005, 09:59 AM

I've got a dell inspiron 2600 that i've had for about 3 and half years now. Yesterday, i was using it and all of a sudden the screen went black. I thought it had just shut down completely, but when I looked closer, i could still see stuff and do stuff so it was just the backlight that had turned off. I rebooted the computer and after about 5 minutes it did it again. Then I rebooted in safe mode and after about 5 minutes, it did it again. It's been doing the same thing no matter what I try.

After doing some searching, I couldn't find any similar problems, only problems where the backlight never turned back on. So, any ideas?

it's running winXP with SP2 and all available updates. i've already tried changing all of the power settings too. It does it when plugged into the wall and when only using the battery.

thanks in advance

portwineboy · 12-04-2005, 10:38 AM

It's probably gone bad, I've seen a much higher rate of failure on the backlights after 3 years...so much so that I spec'd out my current LCD desktop displays in the office for replacement after 3 years. There are people who sell replacement lights (i think they are fluorescent) and instructions on how to replace them...i've never tried it.

You might want to watch ebay for a "parts" sale of your current laptop. Sometimes you can get one on the cheap and replace the entire lcd yourself.

AquaFox · 12-13-2005, 06:42 PM

just be careful when you buy screens online, the last one i bought was well used and wasn't as bright as the one i replaced was, also it has a blemish in the screen.... i would reccommend looking into the backlight replacement thing that portwineboy suggested first

yatzr · 12-31-2005, 05:42 PM

just for some archived info, I was able to fix this by simply replacing the LCD Inverter. It's a long thin chip inside the LCD bezel that powers the screen. After a lot of searching, this came up to be the cheapest option ($30) so I tried it first and so far (one hour) it is working. I was able to get a used one on ebay; I couldn't find any new ones anywhere, and it was really easy to replace.

I'm so happy to have my laptop back

12-04-2005, 09:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
yatzr Insane	laptop backlight shuts off after 5 min. I've got a dell inspiron 2600 that i've had for about 3 and half years now. Yesterday, i was using it and all of a sudden the screen went black. I thought it had just shut down completely, but when I looked closer, i could still see stuff and do stuff so it was just the backlight that had turned off. I rebooted the computer and after about 5 minutes it did it again. Then I rebooted in safe mode and after about 5 minutes, it did it again. It's been doing the same thing no matter what I try. After doing some searching, I couldn't find any similar problems, only problems where the backlight never turned back on. So, any ideas? it's running winXP with SP2 and all available updates. i've already tried changing all of the power settings too. It does it when plugged into the wall and when only using the battery. thanks in advance __________________ Mechanical Engineers build weapons. Civil Engineers build targets.

12-04-2005, 10:38 AM	#2 (permalink)
portwineboy Master of No Domains Location: WEEhawken, New Joisey	It's probably gone bad, I've seen a much higher rate of failure on the backlights after 3 years...so much so that I spec'd out my current LCD desktop displays in the office for replacement after 3 years. There are people who sell replacement lights (i think they are fluorescent) and instructions on how to replace them...i've never tried it. You might want to watch ebay for a "parts" sale of your current laptop. Sometimes you can get one on the cheap and replace the entire lcd yourself. __________________ If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a veteran.

12-13-2005, 06:42 PM	#3 (permalink)
AquaFox WaterDog	just be careful when you buy screens online, the last one i bought was well used and wasn't as bright as the one i replaced was, also it has a blemish in the screen.... i would reccommend looking into the backlight replacement thing that portwineboy suggested first __________________ ...AquaFox...

12-31-2005, 05:42 PM	#4 (permalink)
yatzr Insane	just for some archived info, I was able to fix this by simply replacing the LCD Inverter. It's a long thin chip inside the LCD bezel that powers the screen. After a lot of searching, this came up to be the cheapest option ($30) so I tried it first and so far (one hour) it is working. I was able to get a used one on ebay; I couldn't find any new ones anywhere, and it was really easy to replace. I'm so happy to have my laptop back __________________ Mechanical Engineers build weapons. Civil Engineers build targets.