help with faulty lcd

My girlfriend was using her Vaio TX this morning and the screen suddenly 'went out' - it is almost black, but we can faintly see the desktop and can see the mouse moving around etc. The fn+F5 and F6 do nothing when we try to change the brightness - I can see the icon appear at the bottom of the screen, and the white bars go up and down as if the brightness were changing, but the screen brightness does not change.

It seems as if the lcd backlight may have broken or somehow become disabled.

Does anyone have any advice? We're pretty lost as to what to do.

Many thanks.

 

It does seem as though the backlight has broken. To fix this, you will probably have to purchase a new LCD display, and they are costly. If your still under warranty, you get get Sony to replace the screen.

 

Thanks for your quick reply Zero.

There has been a development since my intial post - sometimes, when we reboot the laptop, the VAIO logo and boot password prompt are lit up as normal. Then the windows loading logo appears for a few seconds, and then the screen goes very dark again, as described above. It is as if the backlight fails as soon as windows begins to load.

could this be a software thing? if so, it's not something i've ever come across before.

 

Its most probably the lcd inverter and not the software. I've got one like that and it is out of warranty. So I have opened the panel and twitch the lcd inverter a bit and it lights up fine. But then dies again in few mins.

If your machine is out of warranty you can perhaps get the lcd inverter search the model for it. I googled and saw mine for 30-40$ instead of buying a brand new screen.

 

Interesting, thanks BaNZ. Where is the inverter located within the laptop? is it in the screen section, or in the main body of the laptop? And what does it look like?

Also, do you have any idea where I can search for the part number? I am based in the UK and can only find US parts listings.

thanks again.

 

I'm not certain where it is in the Sony TX, but it is normally at the base of the LCD display, or right at the top. Either way, if you open it, you should get a good view of where it is. Also, if you have warranty, then just get Sony to replace it, instead of going through the hastle of opening it.

 

Yes I agree with Zero too.

The lcd inverter should be in that plastic transparent casing. Most of the time you can feel where it is. It's usually the hotest part on the lcd panel.


google image of lcd inverter : http://images.google.co.uk/images?s...&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-30,GGLG:en&q=lcd+inverter

Most of the sites I found are from usa. So I wouldn't know if they would fit. But I assume they should as long as you get the right part number. It it usually found on the inverter.

 

thanks for all your advice guys.

Unfortunately the laptop is not covered by warranty.

I have played around with the laptop and discovered that the screen works most times the laptop is started up, but as soon as I pick up the laptop or move it on the desk, the screen goes out.

If this is a loose connection, do you think I could open up the laptop and look for a loose ribbon or cable around the screen, and try to reattach it myself?