dropped laptop-no image

[romegio]

I dropped 15in albook closed on edge on concrete floor-a couple of feet. it initially appeared dead. the hard drive made this repetitive clatter. and no image appeared. i brought it to tech serve in nyc where i live and they said hard drive was gone and some part of the display.(i cant remember what that was)- but i dont believe them anyway because my friend came by the other day and firewired the laptop to my other one, and the hardrive showed up on the desktop.I did some diagnostics with tech tool pro and there is apparently nothing wrong with the hard drive. i want to try and fix display problem now . any ideas?
there is no visible problem.

 

[cwa107]

Are there any visible cracks on the screen? If not - try using the laptop in a brightly lit room. Can you see a faint image on the screen? If so, your CCFL tube is likely broken or the inverter is bad. If nothing at all, you flex cable that runs from the systemboard to the display is either damaged or detached.

iFixIt.com has all the parts and disassembly instructions you need, providing that you feel comfortable disassembling your notebook.

Also, if the hard disk was clacking loudly, but now working, that doesn't mean you're out of the woods. Whenever there's a mechanical failure (the clacking noise), there's usually damage to the disk surface or the mechanicals.

 

[romegio]

hey, thanks for info. there is no visible damage to anything. i think the techserve tech said inverter is bad too. Do you think i should just buy one and try it?Do you know if it is difficult change out such an item? thanks for your time. the hard rive now does not make a noise. i guess i would have to re-qualify that clanking sound- it was really jusat a repetitive clik..

 

[cwa107]

hey, thanks for info. there is no visible damage to anything. i think the techserve tech said inverter is bad too. Do you think i should just buy one and try it?Do you know if it is difficult change out such an item? thanks for your time. the hard rive now does not make a noise. i guess i would have to re-qualify that clanking sound- it was really jusat a repetitive clik..

The inverter can be tricky to diagnose.

Just to give you some background on how LCD screens work - there are four major components to LCD screens. The screen itself, the CCFL tube (think of it like a flourescent light bulb), the inverter (a transformer that steps up voltage to the light bulb) and the flex cable (provides a connection between the systemboard and the monitor.

If you can see a faint image on the screen, then it's likely that either the CCFL tube or the inverter has failed. After a drop, I would lean toward the CCFL tube being broken because it's made of glass. The inverter is solid-state circuitry and ideally shouldn't be very susceptible to damage based on force.

If you *can not* see anything on the screen and the screen does not have a crack, then it's like just that your flex cable is disconnected or damaged. If this is the case, you just need to trace the flex cable from the back of the LCD itself to the motherboard and make sure the connections are solid and inspect for tears.

It can be moderately difficult to disassemble your LCD bezel and laptop, but anyone who is comfortable with taking apart the delicate plastics that comprise today's electronics should be able to do so following the instructions from iFixIt.com

A lot of computer repair centers will suggest replacement of the inverter when there is a display problem and the screen is not cracked - and with good reason - it is a common point of failure depending on its design. However, if the problem surfaces after a severe shock, I wouldn't be so quick as to jump to that conclusion (especially if you have absolutely nothing on your screen).

Before I tell you what to try first, I need to know if you can see any image on the screen at all.

 

[kgeier82]

is there an external monitor you can try?

lets figure if it "is" the lcd first. im pretty sure it is, but this is a step that could save you buying parts that simply wont do the job.

 

[romegio]

hi, i would like to try another display. and i can do it easily because i have an s cable socket, so i can hook it up to my tv, but the problem is that i cannot get to the system pref panel to set for exterior monitor. the other thing that i noticed is that when i put a light behind the apple logo n on the back of laptop, i can see a little blinking monitor with question mark ...not good i guess.
what do you think about that?

thanks so much for your time.

 

[romegio]

no image

there is no image on screen at all. but when i hold light up behing laptop(and shine it into apple logo on back of display, i can see a blinking question mark and monitor symbol.not good i suppose.

 

[cwa107]

hi, i would like to try another display. and i can do it easily because i have an s cable socket, so i can hook it up to my tv, but the problem is that i cannot get to the system pref panel to set for exterior monitor. the other thing that i noticed is that when i put a light behind the apple logo n on the back of laptop, i can see a little blinking monitor with question mark ...not good i guess.
what do you think about that?

thanks so much for your time.

Actually, that's a very good sign. It means your flex cable is attached and working. Now we know that it's either the inverter or the CCFL tube (bulb) that is the problem. Being that you have a flashing monitor, I'm willing to bet it is the inverter.

The inverter is a little circuit board that is installed in the display panel itself (usually - I'm not 100% sure it's that way on your specific model). For most laptops, they run around $75 and are an easy swap if you know how to disassemble your computer.

 

[romegio]

wow, this would be great if thats all it were. an inverter, heh...cooool.
thanks, its cheap enough to just try it...i think..
thanks again..

 

[cwa107]

wow, this would be great if thats all it were. an inverter, heh...cooool.
thanks, its cheap enough to just try it...i think..
thanks again..

Yeah, the inverter is not a terribly difficult job usually. I've never done it on an Apple product, but can practically do it blindfolded on a Dell. Usually you just need to remove the display, pop the bezel off the display, detach a couple of cables, remove a couple of screws and replace it.

I'm not sure exactly what model of Powerbook you have, but it looks like most of the instructions are out there on iFixIt.com, but they don't get into disassembling the screen itself, so you'll probably have to wing it a bit.

Good luck and let's hope it's not the CCFL tube.

 

[romegio]

grat i will check out ifixit. the inverter idea is safe and inexpensive enough.
i will let you know. thanks again for your time.
hope that i can help you out somehow..
ciao

dennis dennisdelzotto.com