Black Screen

My screen is just going black in the middle of working but it doesn't actually shut off. I don't know how to fix this.

 

What is your model ?
Try to hook up to a monitor to see if it has display or try another working ram.
-Black screen: no video signal
-Dim screen: no backlight and image can be seen by using a flash light.

 

My computer is a 3150 model. It's a dim screen. I can see the image using a flash light. What does that mean? I don't have another monitor to hook it up to.

 

Dim screen:bad inverter or bad baclight. Inverter is very easy to replace, you only need to remove the lcd bezel, but with bad backlight you have to replace the lcd.
Look at the post " Screen installation and repair ", you will know where the inverter locate.Inverter converts dc to ac current for the backlight which lights up the lcd.

http://www.screencountry.com/index.php?section=downloads&display_topic=1211510219

 

On the 3150, there is a switch under the lid latch. All this switch does is turn off the backlight. The switch is a simple metal strip pressed by the latch. If through metal fatigue the metal strip has lost its 'spring', and is making unwanted contact, it would explain your symptoms.

The repair requires removal of the wrist pad. There are a series of screws on the bottom of the notebook retaining the wrist pad.

If this is one of the 3150's with built-in wi-fi, you also have to be VERY careful that you don't break the switch when lifting off the wrist pad ... lift a little bit then slide the wrist pad to the left, do not lift straight-up or you will break the switch.

The wrist pad (touch pad) is connected to the motherboard by a ribbon connector, there is no need to disturb this to check the latch switch.

If the latch switch is badly mangled you might consider snipping out the metal strip. This will unfortunately prevent the backlight from turning off when you close the lid, unless of course you power down the notebook.

The next most common point of failure is where the backlight lead passes through the hinge between the main case and the LCD panel. Fixing this requires a much more substantial tear-down of the notebook. The previous message may help if you need to do this (I haven't followed the link provided by beut).

The lid latch switch is a lot easier to check before ripping things apart any futher.

 

I have a hp dv6636nr first my 2 usb ports failed, then my start up time was longer and longer. Then I got a black screen. I could only get back using last known good configurtion. Then that stopped. My husband is very knowledgeable with computers. So he was able to get it to start after a very lengthy process. He thinks it's the motherboard that is bad. All over the net I've read that these computers are doing the same thing. Do you think it's the motherboard or maybe something else. I can't shut down now or I get the black screen. I did a full recovery but no help! Thank you for your help

 

Hi Savedab - you might get a more informed response on your issue over in the HP section of this site. You posted this in the Averatec section, and what applies to one computer manufacturer might not apply to another.