Toshiba Laptop Screen Problems

I have a friend that has an older Toshiba Satellite Laptop and when you start the computer the LCD screen remains black. If I hook up an external monitor and toggle back and forth between the external monitor and the lcd screen on the laptop it will come on and stay on while the laptop is on. As soon as it is shut down and started without the external monitor hooked up it will not work. Any ideas as to how to resolve this problem or what might be going bad?

 

Make sure you set the default monitor to the laptop monitor and not the external monitor.

 

First off, we need to know the model number. Secondly, shine a light at the lcd when you power on the computer. If it is just the backlight that is not on you will be able to see the faint image of what is on the screen. If you are able to see a faint image of what would normally be on the screen you need to take apart the lcd assembly (the bezel) and reseat the cables the plug into the lcd backlight inverter (its a little chip board right below the LCD).

If that does not solve the problem, it is most likely that the inverter went bad and needs to be replaced. You can usually purchased refurb ones on ebay for cheap.

The last option is that the LCD backlight itself has gone out. You can have this repaired but it will cost around 100 dollars. considering its an older laptop, it may not be worth it.

here are some pictures of what the lcd assembly looks like inside (not this model, but they are all close enough)
http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/ToshibaA3/remove_laptop_LCD_screen.htm

 

The model is a Satellite Pro 4600 and appears to be pretty old. When I turn it on it stays completely black. As soon as I hook it up to an external monitor and toggle back and forth between it and the LCD the LCD comes on and works fine. Once it sits off for awhile the LCD will not come back on until I hook it back up to the external monitor and toggle between the two again. Strange...

 

bizzare. If I recal I have seen this on a portoge before. I would suggest that you update the bios. If that doesnt help I'm really not sure what it could be as it appears all the hardware is working correctly.

 

Well, this laptop is now dead. I can not get the screen to show on the laptop lcd or an external monitor at this point. Would a bad inverter cause the external monitor to no longer function? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

From the little bit of research I've done in the last few days I would say no to the inverter causing the external monitor to not working. The inverter goes straight to the backlight. Similar to a ballast in a florescent lighting fixture.