Dell Laptop--wierd backlight problem

[wayout2day]

Dell Inspiron E1505 Laptop. Running on XP Media Center Edition.

It will boot up and run just fine. But the screen only flashes the Dell boot screen before the backlight goes out. An external monitor runs fine. CTL + F8 switches the external and the screen back and forth. This will fire up the backlight for less than 8 seconds.

Normal fixes for this would be: Replace backlight, replace inverter board, replace video cable. But I don't think this is the case. Maybe the inverter board, but I don't want to spend the client's money yet.

The PC installed 5 updates three times when I went to shut it down. This didn't seem right and I wonder if this was a problem.

I read the Dell forums. They revealed a similar problem. Replacing lcd screens and inverters didn't work for them.

Tried to update the Mobile Intel 945GM Express Chipset Family drivers....none to be found.

McAfee scan revealed nothing. {I wonder if it ever does...dnk if it was up to date.}

I pulled the HD (Western Digital 160 GB). A scan with Pareto revealed and removed.....Qwickspy--a keylogger {possibly remote software from Dell ???} This was shown by Pareto to be a serious threat............and Vapsup sad trojan. Removing these did not solve the problem.

I am a bit suspicious of the software end of things because I am able to get the backlight to work when I use the ctl + F8 combo. The client was able to get the backlight to work by opening and closing the lid...but I think this is likely to be related to a burst of energy from the motherboard starting up the backlight.

anyway, if there is a software fix, can you point me to it ? Or maybe I just have to try the inverter board. They are less than $20 US on ebay... Thanks in advance....

 

[wayout2day]

ok, i did take the chance and buy the inverter board. It did fix the problem. The client was happy. But this still leaves the nagging question out there about the laptops that have this problem that is not solved.

Laptops are looked upon like calculators, when they break you get a new one. I have found that there are many fixes, but a lot -- A LOT-- of shops are way overcharging for the repair. Let's get the word out there...thanks for reading...ss about the soapbox...complain to Dennis Miller...

 

[volt01]

I agree with this. Laptops make me very angry, in that they are treated as very replaceable machines. I paid $650 for a dell, Under two years later the mobo goes bad, in that the fan controllers break causing over heating. Because, of the way laptops are made, the thing is basically totalled. If I use a cooler, it works just fine, however I know have a low quality overpriced desktop replacement.