Laptop without display

[MXan]

I have a 2-3 year old Asus laptop with no display. It just up and died on me.

This is my first attempt at laptop hardware repair, so I'm a little out of my league. Tried swapping the bulb, no good. A buddy of mine is convinced its the inverter, but that doesn't make sense to me since I can't get the display to work on an external monitor either.

The computer does make its normal start-up, lights/fans/everything. No BIOS/CMOS beep code.

Any suggestions?

 

[Fardringle]

If you don't get a picture on the laptop's LCD or on an external display, it could be the actual graphics adapter in the laptop, or the computer might not be booting at all (similar to the way a dead PC can spin fans but not boot).

 

[MXan]

Both thoughts had crossed my mind, but I'm not sure how to test for them. The graphics card/adapter has dedicated memory, but I don't know if its an actual separate module or integrated into the motherboard.

How can I test if the computer is booting but having a display issue, or if its just display? And before you ask, I don't have a spare laptop graphic card to test with, but I might be able to find one.

 

[Matt1970]

You should be able to hear the harddrive cranking away while it boots. Try taking the ram out and the harddrive and see if it gives an error beep. A bad Harddrive "can" hose the system and keep it from posting but it's rare for it to do that. A bad stick of ram absolutely can make the system not post.

 

[PG]

We need more info. What is the model number?
what video card does it have? At least tell us if it is Intel, ATI, or Nvidia. There should be a sticker on the palmrest or you can google the model number.

A few years ago lots of laptops with Nvidia video had the on board video chip die. Well, the chip didn't die, the connection between it and the motherboard would break and there would be no video, even on an external monitor, just as you describe.
If out of warranty, those laptops could be repaired by a professional with the right equipment, but it might not last more than a few months after a repair. The problem would typically come back. Anyway, the nvidia video chip needed to have the solder for the video chip reflowed which is why it's best to have a professional do it. There are people on craigslists who advertise that they have the equipment for this, and also on ebay.
Also, most of those nvidia video laptops had just a thermal pad between the video chip and the heatsink. There are copper shims on ebay for just a few dollars that work a lot better than the foam type thermal pads.
If you have one of these laptops and get it fixed by a professional, and they change the thermal pad to a copper shim, then I think the repair could last for a decent amount of time.
Anyway, this could be your issue, but like I said, we need more detail.

 

[MXan]

We need more info. What is the model number?

I know. I almost didn't post the topic til I had the info to give you, but went ahead and posted anyway. I have to dig it out to get the model # and other info (we moved recently). As it hasn't been working, I haven't used it in a few months and no longer have the specs memorized. Thanks for the info PG. After I get it dug out, we will explore this more. @Matt: I think I did the memory test back when I was first troubleshooting, but I can't remember for sure so I'll do it again. And I'll see about getting a beep code out of something. I will edit this post later to give you guys the specs.

 

[THRiLL KiLL]

We need more info. What is the model number?
what video card does it have? At least tell us if it is Intel, ATI, or Nvidia. There should be a sticker on the palmrest or you can google the model number.

A few years ago lots of laptops with Nvidia video had the on board video chip die. Well, the chip didn't die, the connection between it and the motherboard would break and there would be no video, even on an external monitor, just as you describe.
If out of warranty, those laptops could be repaired by a professional with the right equipment, but it might not last more than a few months after a repair. The problem would typically come back. Anyway, the nvidia video chip needed to have the solder for the video chip reflowed which is why it's best to have a professional do it. There are people on craigslists who advertise that they have the equipment for this, and also on ebay.
Also, most of those nvidia video laptops had just a thermal pad between the video chip and the heatsink. There are copper shims on ebay for just a few dollars that work a lot better than the foam type thermal pads.
If you have one of these laptops and get it fixed by a professional, and they change the thermal pad to a copper shim, then I think the repair could last for a decent amount of time.
Anyway, this could be your issue, but like I said, we need more detail.

yes, the only way to fix them would be to have them resolder/reflow the video chipset.

from what i have seen it will run 125 to 150 on average.

Just hope when the video card went, that it didnt take out the rest of the mainboard.

in most cases, if the laptop is 3+ years old, a 400 budget laptop is faster

 

[nitrous9200]

In case you don't know, you usually have to press a specific function key to enable the external video output, not just plug it in.
If you turn the laptop on and shine a flashlight on the screen and you can see the display, that means either the inverter or the backlight inside of the LCD needs to be replaced (in the latter case, that means changing the whole screen).
I'm guessing that your laptop does not have a replaceable video card; most don't but a small number do (MXM). If it has an Nvidia 7- or 8- series graphics card (like 8400M or 8600M GT, for example) it is likely that it is suffering from the solder issue that has been mentioned by others.

After trying the usual troubleshooting steps - swapping out RAM, pulling out the drives, pulling the CMOS battery, etc, there is a trick you can try that might just work.
If the machine happens to be suffering from the Nvidia defect, it is possible that heating the underside of the graphics chip with a heat gun or hair dryer and then firmly pressing on the top will work. It sounds crazy, but there are lots of articles and YouTube videos like this one that successfully use that procedure to revive dead GPU's. I've taken two HP laptops with NVidia 6150 chips that would power on but not display anything or boot up, and the heat trick worked on both of those. Basically, it's a very low tech solder reflow; although there are professional tools needed to do this "properly", I wouldn't bother spending any money. This way is more fun, free, and it gives you a chance to tear apart your laptop (something I quite like doing )