wxga v wxga+ on Dell 6400

was given a screen off an old Inspiron 6000 - its spec is wxga+ - not sure of the res - but the higher spec one - it is complete with inverter and video cable

it works fine on a 6000

would like to fit it to a Dell 6400 running windows 7 - the 6400 has the lower spec wxga screen

physically it fits fine and in bios and safe mode it works perfectly - however if i boot up the 6400 in 'normal' win 7 mode it is fine until after the welcome screen when the screen is black - it just does not turn on the back light - picture is there but very dark

video card is ati X1300 - i have checked drivers and am told they are the latest - if i disable video drivers i get correct resolution but no aero mode - which i would expect as it only running in vga mode

so the screen works - as does the invertor and it obviously has the correct cable - i know when the 6400 was originally sold the higher res screen was an option so somehow it should work

i feel i am missing something simple but cannot see what

any help appreciated

thanks

 

Are you using the 6000 inverter or the 6400 inverter?

 

am using the 6000 inverter - the one that came with the screen - if thats the answer can obviously swap them over - just to emphasise - the screen works perfectly on the 6400 but goes dark after the welcome screen in windows

i assumed it was a driver problem - but your question prompts other thoughts

will wait for further comment before doing anything

thanks

 

You should try the 6400 inverter. See if that helps.

 

thanks - i would never have gone down that path but that worked - it does not seem as bright as on the 6000 but its an old inverter so that may well be having some effect - have a better one in the 6400 so will try that

 

Just a note on resolutions:

WXGA = 1280x800 (generally).
WXGA+ = 1440x900
WSXGA+ = 1680x1050
WUXGA = 1920x1200

Integrated graphics cards can usually support resolutions up to WXGA+, at least in older laptops. For resolutions in the range of WSXGA+ & WUXGA, I don't think I've seen a laptop without a discrete GPU running that, perhaps because they couldn't get it like that. I would recommend looking online for a new/unused inverter for both screens, just to hang on to, in the event something does go wrong.