So, it died or something. I can do desktops, but laptops are beyond my expertise.
Power turns on
Runs off of battery when power cord unplugged
USB ports recognize cord extension to charge cell phone
USB ports do NOT recognize the mouse - I tried ALL the ports
Screen stays blank - It is a black hole of death, nothing on the screen
Fans ARE running
Any suggestions?
Paws:
Yes it is. I have desperately been searching for some sort of answer to this problem.
An external monitor did not work. That could also be associated with the monitor possibly being bad as well since it's been in storage.
It works with the battery in.
Works with the battery out and plugged into the power cord.
It even attempts to read a CD.
Can you explain exactly what steps you have taken so far?
and also the results you obtained from each step…
We dont want to go over old ground that you have already done…
Regards
paws
Hi squirrel,
you need to use a known good working external VDU, not one that has a question mark on its effectiveness…..
It works with the battery in.
Works with the battery out and plugged into the power cord.
It even attempts to read a CD.
I still need an amplification clarification of the above….
Remember I am maybe thousands of miles away from your computer while you are sat in front of it….. I need to have every detail that you see or hear reported back if I am to assist you.
Regards
paws
It's basically running. There are no power issues. I have checked those. The power cord works just fine. If I remove the battery and plug in the cord (and plug the cord to the wall) it still turns on.
Another sign that the power is fine is the fact that I can charge my cellphone via USB port. However, the Mouse is not recognized in any of the USB ports. The Mouse does however work on another laptop.
When a CD is in the drive, at the beginning of the booting process you can hear the computer attempting to read the CD (it's rotation within the drive). However, without a screen to see anything it does not finish reading.
The fans all turn on and work just fine.
All the lights are on (they are above the keyboard below the speakers on the laptop) except the icon lights that signify WiFi, monitor, and sound. The Power On light remains Green (showing it's on and working) with no blinking or fading. My assumption is that if the laptop is not registering the screen, it does not boot further and therefore the other programs do not run.
The only thing that does NOT happen is the screen turning on. I do not have access to an external monitor at the moment other than the questionable 1990's box version. I have been attempting to locate one.
The laptop does NOT give me any beep codes I can look up to verify an issue.
Hi Ok I understand.
Whilst you are waiting to get hold of a known good working VDU there are some other tests you can perform…
1 Can you boot into safe mode? ( tap F8 once per second immediately after you power on the computer (within a second or two, max of pressing the power on button)….. does anything appear on the VDU?
2 Take a torch (flashlight) and shine it directly at the screen from a distance of 2 inches or less (it needs to be a good strong beam on the flashlight) move it around the screen when you think the computer has powered on….. look at the screen carefully and at different angles..can you see a faint/dim image of your computer's normal look?
3 Boot into a live distro of Linux Puppy (available from here) http://puppylinux.org/main/Overview%20and%…g%20Started.htm
make sure you you burn the CD as an image (a copy just wont work!) ImgBurn is good for this, available here:
http://www.imgburn.com/
See if Puppy can provide an output that will work on your screen
Its an obvious point but do check that you have not accidentally switched off your screen…. see you handbook for the key code to switch this on or off, usually its Fn key +an F key often F5 or F6 on Acers…
Regards
paws
✨ Ask AI
AI can make mistakes. Check the cited posts. Archived advice can be out-of-date
Don't include personal information. Questions and selected public posts go to OpenAI. About Ask AI