Please, take a stab at it ...

I'm not much on laps yet, but is your warranty in effect? Or just try the HP customer service. Don't know how responsive they are but it may be worth a shot.
You can also try http://www.computerhope.com/index.htm& go to they're forum. They've helped me alot & have some geeks there too...good kind of geeks!!

 

I wish I were more knowledgable on LCD screens...

But, even a backlit unit should show "something" if you reflect the light off of it just right?

So, you say it sounds like it's working?

The Hard disk seems to spin up?

And, you get a beep or two?

Any sounds at all? What are they?

Any lights?

There are a lot of things that might cause a dark unit...

If the battery is bad some units won't even power up with the charger plugged in...

Get a few blinking lights but that about it...

As Johnny Five would say, "More Input!"

Mike Sr.

 

Something you might try. Turn the unit on to where you think it is working and tap heavily at the bottom of the display case on both front and back, then on the computer case top and bottom where the display connects. If you get any flashing of light you probably have a loose connection. If this doesn't do anything you might try tapping around on the bottom of the computer and see if you get anything.

If nothing, then I'd guess you do have a bad backlight.

I'd contact the manufacturer and the people you bought it from and complain as heavily as you feel comfortable When warranties are just up some will stretch things for you, but don't hold your breath.

If all else fails, and if you don't want to do any of the options you are given or find, I'd be glad to take a look at it, but would not gurantee anything - I don't have any test equipment any more but do get lucky at fixing things now and then I have a very talented hammer

 

Do a Google search on your Specific Model and see if anything turns up...

You may have to go through several screen of sales junk...

But, what you are looking for is any evidence that this problem has occurred to someone else...

If you can find a precedent that HP knew about a problem you might be able to talk them into fixing it for you even though it is out of 'legal' warranty...

My son wants a Laptop...

So, I'd be very interested in knowing how they respond...

I mean why spend all that money if it's only going to last until the warranty expires?

Might as well get a no-name...

Mike Sr.

 

If it's the Backlight...

(And, it's starting to sound like it is...)

It's probably an electro-luminescent panel...

The panel itself is probably not bad...

But, the High Voltage Power Supply that powers it is a likely candidate...

Other possible light sources are LED arrays... Again you're looking at a power supply/routing issue...

Or, low temperature Florescent... They do have bulbs that go bad. But, I doubt they have been incorporated in a Laptop LCD panel...

Not sure though...

They are found in Scanners, though...

Getting tech data on the Panel *may* be possible...

If you can not get help from HP at a cost you want to spend...

You might try to find a friendly Electronics Technician who is not afraid to open the Laptop up and see what they can find...

This is an iffy proposition as getting a Laptop apart is one thing...

Sometimes getting them back together can be rather "hairy"...

Because of the relative newness of the Laptop finding parts outside of HP may be impossible...

Mike Sr.

 

It could be a loose connector for the screen too. You could try opening the case, usually the plastic above the keyboard can be pryed off and then the keyboard can be removed. You may be able to find the wire going to the screent that connects to the motherboard. You could try reseating the connector, or the "Flextape" if it uses that kind of wiring.

I have a ze4560 my wife dropped, and the power connector broke (it is a very bad connector). I work in an electronics lab, so we went through and soldered some power wires in, and things are working again. However, this was a MAJOR teardown, and if you don't feel comfortable removing lots of little screws and being careful, you may want to find a friend that knows electronics.

I repaired it with the help of an electronics tech, because HP quoted me $500 to replace a stupid connector that probably doesn't even cost $1, and the laptop was out of warranty. They also said if the motherboard was damaged, it would be extra on top of the $500.00.

Its a shame that consumer electronics are throw-away items now, but it could also be that the manufacturers want you to buy extended warranties, and the high cost of fixing a device after the warranty is up is their way of making you purchase it.

 

Yeah,

Probably, me, too...

Though, as an Electronics Technicain, if I couldn't get or aford HP service, I'd at least have a go at it before I tossed it out.

But, then I have a ton of unfinished "projects", too...

It took two months after the techs at E-Mu sent me the surface mount transistors before I could bring myself to touch a soldering iron to my synth and finally fix it...

(The labor would have been $75/hr... Plus all that shipping and handling across the nation and back!)

Mike Sr.

 

PJ,

It sounds like you're not sure what the problem is. Is this still the case? As I see it, the problem could be the screen, the onboard video adapter (on the system board), or possibly the hard drive is toast. The first thing you should do is a simple test to determine what's dead, because you don't want to guess that it's the monitor, spend the $$ to fix it, and then find out that the onboard video card was the real problem.

Do you have a desktop system? If so, unplug the monitor from the back of that system and plug it into the laptop. Power up the laptop and see if you get a picture. If you get a picture (and I think you will), you have eliminated hard drive and video card as the culprit. You can go from there on how to resolve the issue.

Hope this helps.

 

Oh, great, a Mac user.

It would be the one system that I know virtually nothing about.

The video connection on the HP will be a 25 pin female connection. If the iMac has the same type of connector, it might work, but I don't know the difference in pinouts on a Mac, or even if there are any.

Of course, the beauty of a laptop is that you can take it to a friend who has a PC.

 

I thought the imac was built into the monitor?? Is there a cable?

 

The iMac should have a standard VGA Cable to the monitor if it uses a separate monitor...

The cable end, if it is a standard VGA and not a DVI will be a fifteen pin mini D-Shell connector...

A DVI connector will be somewhat square and have flat 'pins'...

You may also have a 9 pin d-shell connector (same physical size wrong pin count) for your serial Port, if you have one.)

I don't know why I didn't think of trying and external monitor! Doh!

Mike Sr.