HP DV Entertainment Laptop Video Problemslm

[gtr4rls]

Within the last few months, my HP DV Entertainment laptop had started to lose video and the screen has gone black. Once in a while it will come on when I reboot, or just leave it run. I took me a little bit to realize it was a video problem....and connected an external monitor only to find out the computer was working fine.

This Laptop is just over 2-3 years old, and it was originally a $1200 laptop. I was going to buy a new screen for it...until recently the computer started overheating? I think. Could this be caused by the video problem? It would get real hot on the bottom, and go black (even on the ext monitor), and then not reboot.

Ideas? Thoughts? Should I just move on and buy a new one?

 

[Harvey]

Yes, the video problem could be caused by a failing backlight or the circuitry that drives it. This, and the other problems you describe could, in turn, be caused by overheating, and it sounds like it's getting progressively worse. If you just started noticing it, an internal fan may have stopped, or the air flow may be partially blocked by a build up of dust and airborne crud.

Most HP laptops are pretty easy to get into enough that you could open it up and blow out any dust, etc. If you see sticky crud coating the insides, you could try cleaning as much as you can with a soft cloth and swabs and Windex or alcohol.

If that works to relieve the heating, your machine may be OK. The biggest problem will be if the heat caused other components to fail due to overheating, at which point, you may need more advanced repairs by a competent tech, which may include the video backlight or motherboard. If so, get an estimate. That will help you decide whether it's less expensive to repair the machine or replace it.

One other factor is that you'll be burdened with Windows 8.x on any new machine.

Good luck.

 

[gtr4rls]

One other factor is that you'll be burdened with Windows 8.x on any new machine

Is Win8 that bad? I have not yet had the opportunity to work with it.

 

[Harvey]

Is Win8 that bad? I have not yet had the opportunity to work with it.

Win 8 is far too new. Just browse our forums and around the web. There are still too many reported compatibility issues with current hardware drivers and software for my comfort. You shouldn't have as many issues with a new laptop that comes with Win 8 pre-installed, but software issues will persist for awhile.

Another issue I have with it is that, when viewing a rather large vertical screen across my keyboard, I want to see a desktop, not something that looks like a giant smart phone that expects me to reach out and touch it for control.

My basic rule has been not to adopt a new version of Windows until it's been out at least two years. Win 7 was an exception. It was pretty damned good out of the box and seemed to have it's legs in under a year.

If I were shopping for a new laptop, today, I'd first check to see if others had found the necessary Win 7 drivers for the models that interested me and successfully installed it. If you burn the recovery disk set, or at least keep the original recovery partition, you could always go back to Win 8 at no cost, later.

 

[gtr4rls]

Thank You, I appreciate your input.