Dell E1505 Bootup Screen Goes Dark

[pikov22]

A second or so after the BIOS startup screen appears, it disappears leaving the screen dark.

The startup screen's colors are "off" - i.e., not the correct colors.

It will boot from a Linux live CD but there's no display.

Junk heap?

[Steve R Jones]

Try pressing the fn + F8 (i think) keys. (one of the F keys is for video)

Do you have a spare external monitor you can test with?

[pikov22]

Try pressing the fn + F8 (i think) keys. (one of the F keys is for video)

Do you have a spare external monitor you can test with?

I hooked it up to the spare monitor and everything works as before.

Any idea what's wrong specifically and what it might cost to fix?

Thanks.

[osprey4]

Hi Pikov22,

If the screen starts up fine then goes black, chances are it's a bad inverter board. They're not expensive and with average skills you can replace it yourself.

It could also be a bad graphics adapter but if the external screen looks fine, that's not it.

[pikov22]

Hi Pikov22,

If the screen starts up fine then goes black, chances are it's a bad inverter board. They're not expensive and with average skills you can replace it yourself.

It could also be a bad graphics adapter but if the external screen looks fine, that's not it.

I see them as low as $2. Is one that cheap risky?

The other problem is the display of the BIOS splash screen. "DELL" is blue. Everything else is red.

Does this still sound like the inverter or could there be more?

Thanks.

[osprey4]

Does that happen with the external monitor? If so, that could be the video card. If you have dedicated video i.e., not integrated), then that can also be replaced.

You might want to bring it to a shop. Yes, they charge, but better to do that than waste money guessing.

[pikov22]

Does that happen with the external monitor? If so, that could be the video card. If you have dedicated video i.e., not integrated), then that can also be replaced.

You might want to bring it to a shop. Yes, they charge, but better to do that than waste money guessing.

Does what happen, the blue/red BIOS splash? It does not show up, I suspect because the Dell doesn't switch the video output until after the BIOS boot.

Not sure what you mean by dedicated video for a laptop. And I'm not sure that I want to spend any money on a 6-year-old laptop.

[osprey4]

Well, the good news is that you can use the external monitor to get your files backed up.

[pikov22]

Well, the good news is that you can use the external monitor to get your files backed up.

So you're suggesting that it's not worth putting money into it?

It's OK. This was an old laptop that I had been using to keep up my *nix skills on. Maybe I'll have to put a virtual Linux machine on my travel laptop.

[osprey4]

It would be worth seeing if the inverter board fixes the problem.

[pikov22]

Good point. I guess I can risk a couple of bucks. :-)

[pikov22]

It would be worth seeing if the inverter board fixes the problem.

Replaced the inverter. Now, stuff appears on the screen but there is a reddish cast to it, and then it goes dark after 10-15 seconds.