m15x - Strange problem

Hi, it's my first post on this forum but I've already read a lot here so I think that some people should be able to help me.

I recently bought an Area-51 m15x (the one with HDMI) with broken hinges so I could fix them myself. It had no OS but I've seen it POST.

I have torn it apart, cleaned it properly and I ended up buying a new lid (skullcap ftw!), I reinforced it with epoxy and everything seemed to be going well until I turned it on.

Everything turns on, LEDs, Fans, the cpu and gpu get warm... But I have a black screen (completely, even with a flashlight I can't see anything - I'm guessing it's not the inverter).
So I started reading here. I have tried turning it on with an external screen, with the left mouse button pressed and even without the video card (8600 GT btw)... No results!

Hell, I even disassembled it again (what a chore, seriously clips and screws?) to check if everything was plugged in.

So my guess would be that the motherboard is fried... which is strange since I've seen it work and I think I have repaired enough laptops to take the necessary precautions...
If the laptop turned on with an external LCD, it would most likely be the screen, by the way, behind the LCD display, there's a shield with "Don't Touch" written in red, is it that sensitive? I haven't touched it but it's possible that my girlfriend did.

And there comes another question: does the HDMI output work with the onboard graphics or only with the discrete card?

Or maybe I'm not doing something right, is there a trick to turning it on with an external screen?
Also, is it normal for the cpu fan to rotate for 1 or 2 seconds then stop when turned on? Maybe it isn't on for long enough that the cpu needs actual cooling...


On another topic, I plan to change the graphics card one day. I know what my options are but I'd rather go wit ATI (I'm a fanboy yeah). I have seen that benfclark tried the 4870 but I'm more interested in the 4850... some say it can be done, others say that it can't. Has anyone even tried it? It seems like a viable option...

Anyways thanks in advance,
Regards,
el_corsez

EDIT:
I reseated the RAM and we have lift off! It still seems strange though... Anyways, I'm still glad it made me join your ranks, I think is not the last time that you'll hear from me.
My previous questions still stand so if anyone would be kind enough to enlighten me...

 

hey man i got the same problem with the area 51 m17x-r1 model. when you power it on and the lights turn on and everything but black screen.. i also tried hooking it up with a HDMI cord to a HD TV but it didnt work that way either.

have you figured it out yet or what?

 

Yup, it's at the end of my previous post. I've first tried with only one stick of RAM (one, then the other) both worked well but they didn't together. I just switched them around and it started up... I'm not really sure know why it was but I'm just happy it works.

The thing is, I knew from the beginning everything worked as I've just disassembled it to clean. Are you certain your graphics card(s?) are fine? Try reseating them.
I'm not sure how the m17 works but I can start the laptop up on the integrated chip by pressing the right mouse button at the startup.