Dell 5160 Laptop

[Jdinh04]

I have a Dell Laptop 5160, and when I start up the laptop, about 1-2 minutes after windows loads, the whole screen just shuts off.

I just reformatted the computer too.

Any ideas!?

 

[Fardringle]

Does the same thing happen if you boot into Safe Mode? It sounds like you might have a problem with the video card/video driver in the laptop that is causing the display to shut off when Windows loads the driver during the boot process.

 

[CTho9305]

Does the laptop stay on and the screen just go black, or does the whole thing turn off?

 

[Jdinh04]

The screen just turns off but the laptop stays on.

 

[Narse]

Try to boot into safe mode and see if the problem still occurs, if it does not remove and reinstall the video card driver.

 

[WildHorse]

I had exactly the same problem last November with an old Dell D505 laptop.

After you boot, before it shuts down, try looking carefully at your screen from different angles.

Can you very faintly see the desktop? So faintly you almost have to use your imagination to barely see it?

In my case, I first tried replacing the power transformer cord, thinking a small wire in the cord might have been broken preventing proper recharging. That did not fix the laptop's problem.

Next I replaced the motherboard & video card. That also did not fix the problem.

Finally I replaced the monitor screen, which instantly did fix the laptop problem Backlight had failed.

Glad I had bought a 2-year warranty which covered the new parts from Dell.

I have to mention that Dell's service to me was FANTASTICALLY good; probably the best service I've ever received from any company for any product in my entire life.

Indication: most likely your screen's backlighting has failed, requiring monitor screen replacement (which is a simple task).

 

[Jdinh04]

Scott,

That is exactly the problem. I don't have the warranty for this laptop, how much do you think it costs to do the replacement?

 

[CTho9305]

It's probably not the panel itself, it's probably the backlight or the inverter. Backlights are often possible to replace without ripping apart the whole thing. I'm not sure about inverters, but it's definitely doable.

 

[Jdinh04]

Do you think its a backlight problem then? or both?

 

[Jdinh04]

BUMP!