Dark screen on laptop when turned on, not completely black. Please help,

[marjan76]

Hi,
Could someone please help me with my laptop. I have  a Dell Inspiron E1405 and when I turn it on I get a very dark screen, after I press F8 and get into safe mode I can slightly make it the words and it takes me to my desktop, but it is extremely dark to see much.

I have to say this problem started 2 days ago and initially once I would start the computer the Dell logo would come on followed by a clicking sound and the black screen.
A few nights ago I accidentaly ran into the wall carrying my laptop, but it was working fine. Could this dark screen be due to a loose cable or do you need to get a new lcd?

I would really appreciate any help.
Thank you.

M.

[junestan]

Have you tried the keys that change the brightness of your screen?  Maybe they were hit inadvertently.  I have a dell latitude.  The keys for screen brightness are on the bottom right.  There are blue circle-like pics on the up and down arrow keys.  Since the screen brightness function is blue, if I want to use that and not the up/down arrows I have to press the key w/the blue Fn on it while I press the screen brightness keys.  The blue Fn key is to the left next to the Ctrl key. 

[marjan76]

Hi thank you for your reply.
Yes I've tried the Fn and the up and down arrows and unfortunately, they're not helping with the dark screen that is almost black.  I was trying F12 to get the diagnostics but it was just too dark to see the results. I'm just hoping its not the lcd that needs to be replaced.

Thank you.

[drivenbywhat]

Hitting it against the wall is just a coincidence not the cause of it. If your screen is black after trying to raise the brightness then chances are good it's the lcd that's gone bad. More specifically it's the backlight that is not turning on anymore for you to see the screen. If you have a monitor for a desktop pc and your laptop has an external monitor port than you can use that to see if the video is fine on the other monitor. Also, the backlight not turning on is most often due to the lcd inverter going bad. They usually cost between 20$-80$ but depending on the laptop they may not sell the inverters without the lcd. Also, it's a hassle opening up an lcd. Last but not least if you have a flashlight you can shine it at the monitor and you should be able to see the screen a bit better but not enough for a solution but enough to get you by.

[Salmon Trout]

Hitting it against the wall is just a coincidence not the cause of it.

This is nonsense. You cannot possibly know this. Hitting laptops against walls is a pretty good way of making them not work.

[patio]

Hitting it against the wall is just a coincidence not the cause of it. If your screen is black after trying to raise the brightness then chances are good it's the lcd that's gone bad. More specifically it's the backlight that is not turning on anymore for you to see the screen. If you have a monitor for a desktop pc and your laptop has an external monitor port than you can use that to see if the video is fine on the other monitor. Also, the backlight not turning on is most often due to the lcd inverter going bad. They usually cost between 20$-80$ but depending on the laptop they may not sell the inverters without the lcd. Also, it's a hassle opening up an lcd. Last but not least if you have a flashlight you can shine it at the monitor and you should be able to see the screen a bit better but not enough for a solution but enough to get you by.

I was tempted to remove your advice...but after reading it again i think it should remain for posterity's sake,,,