white screen on boot for laptop

[wooby]

I bought a used alienware laptop
the seller formatted the hard drive for me before sending the computer
when I press the power button, I immediately see a completely white screen
there are some interlaced thin black lines that eventually disappear
there is also a darker rectangular area in the middle of the screen (but still white)
I can feel the computer trying to access the hard drive and then the optical drive (I have the Recovery CD in the optical drive)
it does respond to the keyboard (can change brightness...Ctrl-Alt-Del does reboot the computer)
the VGA and S-video out either show nothing or show the same white screen
I've tried taking out and putting back in the RAM, taking out and putting back in the video card
no differences
starting up the laptop without the video card installed gave a completely white screen with no interlaced black lines or darker area

any suggestions?


thanks!

 

[LiLithTecH]

The fix is to remove the Battery & AC from the laptop and
let it set for 10 minutes or so before replacing the battery
(which I hoped you did before remove the RAM and Video).

 

[wooby]

oops...no I didn't
it was easy to see how to remove the RAM, video, and hard drive
but I didn't see the battery or AC unit...?

thanks!

 

[wooby]

anyone know how to remove the batter/AC unit?

 

[LiLithTecH]

What MODEL is it?

Most of the Alienware's have a Slide-LOCK located on the
bottom of the laptop to secure the Battery.

The AC Adapter is the brick that plugs into the wall on one end
and into the laptop on the other.

 

[wooby]

thanks for the help

it's an Area 51m (766)

I did disconnect the battery and a/c adapter
after 10 minutes, tried running with just the battery
same white screen with black lines
disconnected the battery
after 10 minutes, tried running with just the a/c adapter
same white screen with black lines

anything else I could try?


thanks again!

 

[wooby]

any other suggestions?

thanks!