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Laptop screen goes black

Discussion in 'Community Broadband & Computers' started by jmbranch, Apr 14, 2010.

  1. jmbranch

    jmbranch New Member

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    Almost everyday on my Toshiba laptop running Vista the screen will blackout and I have to reboot to fix it. Is this a Vista problem or just my laptop?
     
  2. Mr. Linux

    Mr. Linux Senior Member & Moderator Forum Staff

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    If I had to take a wild guess, it would be that the graphics chip inside your laptop is overheating. Could be a loose heatsink or something as simple as dust in the air intakes, etc. Have you tried using a can of compressed air on all the vents in order to remove as much dust/debris as possible? Try that and see if the problem persists or if it takes a longer period of time before the screen blacks out.
     
  3. Sasquatch519

    Sasquatch519 Member

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    I havent heard of that problem being associated with Vista. The graphics chip idea makes sense to me, although I'm not sure why it would work again immediately after reboot - that's not a lot of time for the chip to cool. Does it happen while you're working on it or does it happen when you walk away for a while? Perhaps it could be some kind of software bug with a screen saver or standby/sleep mode? I say try the compressed air thing first. If you're still having the problem, I'd reinstall windows. (I know it's a pain, but it fixes a TON of problems every time you do it, especially with the registry.) If that doesn't fix it, it's a hardware issue and probably time for a new laptop.
     
  4. merky1

    merky1 Member

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    Sorry if this sounds lame, but have you checked to see if it is set to "suspend" automatically? I know that my laptop running vista has some of the most annoying quirks when it comes to "power management"...
     
  5. sri_n

    sri_n Member

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    I bet it is a Toshiba problem. An old Toshiba (series 1800) I have has the same problem. If you peer at the screen in low light, you can actually tell that the screen is up and running, only that it is very very dim. This is a known issue with most toshibas. I googled it a while ago, and from what I read, the only thing that fixes this is to physically reseat a circuit board attached at the bottom of the screen. This involved removing the front cover that frames the screen, and the board is at the bottom.
     
  6. hornerjo

    hornerjo Senior Member

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    We have a Toshiba laptop that did the same thing. It was also getting very hot. I tried taking it apart to clean, but it was too much of a PITA. Took it outside and blasted the the heck out of it with a can of compressed air. Dust went everywhere. It's been fine since. This was about a week ago, running Vista as well.
     
  7. jmbranch

    jmbranch New Member

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    Thanks everyone , I will try the compressed air ----another thing sometimes the screen goes to black and white vertical lines and I have to shut off and on to fix it also. Any thoughts on this ?
     

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