P-7811FX screen black totally

Hi...yikes. This is bad. It was working fine for 9 days and then I switched user to allow my brother to login. I closed down the top and waited until he came. He came about 2 minutes later. When he opened it the screen was white. Then I restarted the system by pressing the power button as that was my only option.
Then upon restart the lights came on...but no screen...it is totally black...what makes it worse is that I connected the VGA port to my monitor and it is working. Yikes! Any solutions? Thanks.

 

One more thing...the top of the laptop by the left speaker is quite hot...hotter than usual. I am fearing that this is the gpu...****

P.S - I can hear when windows starts etc

 

No help?...

 

1: did you try hitting fn+4 wait 5 seconds if nothing then hit it one more time.
2: take battery out and unplug it for 20 seconds then plug it back in and put battery back on then turn it on.

 

Thaks for replying. Yes I tried that still nothing. When I go into safe mode through the external monitor I see that the Monitor does not exist in the device manager, but the 9800M GTS and all of the other hardware does...this is very bad.

 

sounds like the connector might have come loose from the mobo.

 

Whoa...but I didnt use any force...how could it become loose just like that?

 

did you open up the screen a little too far? these computers dont have LCD stoppers (to cut costs) so it is possible that if you open up the lcd up too far it has a chance of pinching the wires that connect the screen to the mobo.

 

But wait, if I open it and look for the connector would it void my warranty?

 

quite possibly...if you aren't careful.

 

Okay. Any instructions on how to do this check?

 

not from this guy. maybe someone more experienced in taking apart the computer can help.

 

can't you just get a replacement?

 

Ok thanks diablo.
@ryo nah it isn't that easy for two reasons...I got it technically on the 22 August 2008...so I am outside the 14 day period...and two...I live in the Caribbean. So I would have to send it to my cousin who would then have to replace it. If i dont get it fixed I'll see if i can get it replaced by sending it to her.

 

Well I'm being told to send it in by Gateway support...and it will take 7 - 14 days to fix...sigh...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! So a good 3-4 weeks without my beautiful P-7811FX...sniff sniff.

 

no problem.

there are a few things with this.. now i have looked at both and upgraded my screen to a 1920x1200 so i have seen both connectors.

there is a connector in the top half of the laptop and there is one in the bottom half. so you may need to check both.

now, does your screens how any light whatsoever?? just curious.

1: take out the battery
2: take out the two small screws.
3: flip laptop over and take out the media bar. i use flat handle type staple remover for taking the screen and the media bar out. unless of course you have the real tool for doing it.
4: you will see the video connector sitting right there. unplug it and plug it back in. plug in the laptop and turn it on for 10 seconds just long enough for the screen to show. if no screen is showing...then i'll tell you about opening the lcd screen.

 

No it doesn't have any light. We'll I'll try out your instructions. Thanks. But in case it doesn't work could you mention how to open the lcd screen?

 

1: take out the rubber screw covers (6 total)
2: take out the screws (6 total)
use the same thing you used before to carefully pry apart the screen
3: start with the top part near the camera and work your way around the edges going down towards the base.
4: if you need to lift from the screen side, then do so, but gently lift and keep prying from the back.
5: once you have the front bezzle off you will nee to take out the 4 black screws at the bottom holding the screen to the back bezzle. when you do this, be carefull.... you probably wont need to take it completely apart, but spread it just enough to see the video cable connector. it is right near the top of the screen. so is the camera connector. you will need to pull the connector out as well. also check the inverter connector at the bottom of the screen. make sure this cable is not cut or broken due to someone not putting the screen bezzle together in the first place.

and just reverse the steps to put it back.

sorry abut the rush directions, but im on my way out.

 

Whoa that sounds kinda difficult...I guess I better just send it back before I void my warranty. Thanks though.

 

yeah if screen is white and left side near speaker is hot it's def the gpu, you haven't OC'd have you?

 

No I haven't overclocked or even changed the drivers...I left everything as it came...so I was not expecting this.

 

Ok I am going to return this for a new one or just get it repaired but since I bought it online do I just show my receipt to any bestbuy that I go to? Also more than 14 days have gone...I got it on the 22nd of August so you can call this the 3rd week. If I get it there before 30 days are up what happens?

 

Then your GPU is working or external port would be dead as well. Try what johnksss posted. There is instructions posted on the Gateway web site.. you could call for permission to do this since it is posted?

 

Well I don't know...I'll think about it. But the left sided speaker is still very hot...and that is where the gpu is.

 

if you are not comfortable with dissecting electronics and/or never operated on a laptop before, i would recommend either ask a professional to do it or get it done by GW(safer choice).

but first by all means try to get it replaced by BB.

 

Running very hot? As soon as you turn it on? And yes, if your not comfortable checking thing out do as royk50 suggested.

If you send it off let us know..good luck.

 

But now when I connect the monitor to the laptop it doesn't show up...the gpu seems to be totally fried now.

 

I am in the I.T field and I have opened laptops before...but I don't want to risk doing it on a $1500 product...because my warranty may become void. Thanks though.

 

hit that fn+f4 a few times. maybe it is set to just internal lcd screen this time and not dual.

we only give you these suggestions to try to save a major wait time. like me for instance. thought i was going to have to send mine back to gateway, but with a little luck and a lot of digging and trying things. i dont have to now. some times these things are rushed together and not completely put together tab out here or bezzle not completely fasten. but by all means...if you do not feel comfortable..ship it back to gateway or walk it into a gateway store. you wont get your money back, but they may exchange it for you under 30 days. this has been known to happen from time to time. happen to me a few times a few stores. just depends on who is in charge that day.

but, ill probably do mine one more time to show you if you really want to look. (ill take pictures)

edit: look at quite a few of our members who aren't i.t's and have switched screens. *LOL* so don't sell yourself short!

 

I love how everybody on the internet is "in the IT field".

 

also ironic that they never break it down to a specific field. IT is such a broad category.

hell, ill be honest. i havent taken but a few computer classes in my life (not that they were really needed) but all of my knowledge comes from delving deeper and deeper into computers. i tore apart computers before i even knew what 90% of the stuff did. back when they had ISA to PCI adapters.

 

my first victim was a pentium 75 it had a dual boot win 3.11 and that ibm os/2
i actually managed to rebuild it, however that strange ibm thing never recovered from my experiments...

 

i tore apart a dual floppy system with dos 1.0. had no clue about nothing, just that i wanted to see what was inside and how it worked. took 3 weeks, but i did it and learned dos and the insides of a computer. one of the first ones we we're allowed to have as a public. thus the start of my it career move...lol. my dad was not very happy when he seen his computer taken apart on the floor. lol

 

lol dook. @johnkss, posting a few pics would be fine. it could well save me some time indeed.

 

Alright, here is the latest. I am contemplating unscrewing it as the video output to my desktop monitor is working sort of, it says (cannot display at this resolution) when I boot it to windows...so I assume the gpu is still working...and that the cable to the monitor may have become slack indeed.
And yes, I tried hitting FN+F4 plentyyyyyyyyyy of times.

 

The area by the multimedia buttons and the left speaker are very hot...I can't even touch it for long...so it has to be the gpu...hm...I can't see anything on my monitor anymore...not even the bios...and I was seeing that up to yesterday.

 

agent, pop it open and check your connections. it's not a delicate process..it's rather simple and should take maybe 5 minutes. Are your fans spinning up? johnksss's instructions wont lead you astray. But, its better than mailing it out..and in the event you do mail out, you'll probably be waiting longer than 14 days. I'm impatient like that though, and would rather get my hands dirty..then mail as a last resort. Or hell, take it to a local tech so as not to void the warranty, they'll probably pop the cover for next to nothing. And if there is a major issue, then send it out. Just my 2 cents..

 

I'll think about it, but i need to see the images of what to do.

 

My gf said to see if the computer department at our university could get it fixed, she got her dell fixed but the problem wasn't as complicated as this...I wonder if what they would do would keep the warranty intact.

 

the fn+f4 was for you to see the screen on an external monitor this time.

when you boot windows, hit f8 to get the safe boot up menu

then boot up in vga mode, so that you can get into windows and change the resolution to fit your monitor. unless you have a high res monitor like i do, you wont beable to see your screen. you need to change it to something like 1280x1024.

your gpu is on fire because it's working about 4 times as hard, due to a mal configuration and trying to push a resolution your monitor doesn't support. (speculation of course)

also make sure you can in fact hear the fans spinning under where the gpu is suppose to be.

 

Well I know why Fn+f4 was hit but still no go. It also gets hot when there is no cable connected to the laptop and even when I try pressing F8 to get to see safe mode and the other options nothing is coming up. It was working yesterday but now the monitor just stays blank...and yes i can hear the fans by the left speaker

 

im sorry...i was thinking you could still see your screen again, using the external monitor.

 

Nah I can't see it again...when vista boots up it says cannot display at this resolution. the thing is i should be able to see the post and press f8 and see the options...that was working fine yesterday...but i can't see anything now...**** man...it has to be the gpu i guess.

 

Well now vista boots up and I dont get anything...not even cannot display this resolution...all signs point to the gpu...but the gpu isn't that hot now.

 

well... time to break out the paper and pencil. and start trying combinations.
start with booting up to the cmos by hitting f10. i know you cant see the screen, but this will stop the computer from trying to boot the os. then press fn+f4 once and wait 10 seconds. do this 3 times to be sure. try this after pulling the battery and the power cord and letting sit for 1 minute or so.

try plugging in your hdmi cable to your hdtv to get the video to force a change. you may or may no see anything, but this might joilt the system back to external working monitor mode.

im looking for thier guide on the media bar break down.

 

Well that's a good idea thanks for the tips but I tried most of them already except the hdmi cable, my neighbour has an HDMI tv but I dont...and neither of us have the cable...that sucks. I tried using F10 yesterday and it worked. But I'll try it again now although I tried it today too...but nonetheless, I'll go again.

 

By the way can you get some pics of how to remove the screen? Thanks.

 

start here.

http://support.gateway.com/s/Manuals/Mobile/8512680.pdf

edit: dont feel bad. i tried the some commands for over a week, before they worked.... allot depends on in what order you do things....

 

Well I guess I would need to remove the multimedia cover first...but there are no pics of how to remove the screen.

 

you dont seem at ease with removing the media cover..lol. let alone taking apart the lcd. that's why we start small first. we might get lucky and it's that and not the video connector in the lcd panel.

and at the moment...im doing bios stuff with that laptop so i can't take apart the screen just yet. it will be a bit.