Laptop problems - white screen of death?

killernoodle · 12-02-2004, 06:31 PM

Hey, I have a Dell C400 laptop with a 12.1" LCD screen that will randomly turn completely white during windows, in the BIOS, in DOS, whatever. It will return to normal after a second or so, and plugging it into my 2001FP shows that it operates normally. Moving the screen back and forth doesnt seem to fix it, and I have disassembled it and reassembled it probably 10 times now and cant find the source of the problem. The LCD is usually fine, but it will just occasionally turn white or become garbled. The backlight stays on while it turns white, so I dont think that is the problem.

Anybody have any idea what the problem might be?

killernoodle · 12-14-2004, 01:02 PM

After 3 flex cables and 2 inverters, I have determined it is not an LCD problem.

Apparently my CPU is overheating... It also appears that the CPU fan does not work. Poking around with a volt meter, The fan header seems to be dead. Now I need another 12v source. I was thinking of taking some from the HDD since they are less than 1 cm apart and it is external, but I dont know how a laptop drive is powered.

Anyone know what pins are used for power on a laptop?

prb123 · 12-14-2004, 01:47 PM

I've pulled power from the PS/2 header several times, it's much easier to soder to than the HDD header.

killernoodle · 12-14-2004, 04:15 PM

Lol, I spent $40 on this freaking problem thinking that it must be a flex cable (Dell's Diagnosis as well) and all I had to do was download a program that turns the fan on. You would think that they stay on all the time, but apparently you need software to run a fan.

I'm starting to get sick of this lappy...

mastermind2004 · 12-14-2004, 08:39 PM

Wow, that's a new one. I had one of my laptop fans kick into overdrive the other night. It was loud enough that I had to shut it down to sleep before exams. Otherwise, it's handled running 24/7 pretty well for a long time. I think it'll get a nice format and clean-up over christmas while I can back everything up to our desktop at home.

killernoodle · 12-14-2004, 10:06 PM

Well, I played worms armageddon for about an hour and didnt have a problem. Turned it off and then back on and 15 mins later the problem arose again, this time with the fan on...

There is yet another problem...

12-02-2004, 06:31 PM	#1
killernoodle Thermophile Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 1,014	Laptop problems - white screen of death? Hey, I have a Dell C400 laptop with a 12.1" LCD screen that will randomly turn completely white during windows, in the BIOS, in DOS, whatever. It will return to normal after a second or so, and plugging it into my 2001FP shows that it operates normally. Moving the screen back and forth doesnt seem to fix it, and I have disassembled it and reassembled it probably 10 times now and cant find the source of the problem. The LCD is usually fine, but it will just occasionally turn white or become garbled. The backlight stays on while it turns white, so I dont think that is the problem. Anybody have any idea what the problem might be? __________________ I have a nice computer.

12-14-2004, 01:02 PM	#2
killernoodle Thermophile Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 1,014	After 3 flex cables and 2 inverters, I have determined it is not an LCD problem. Apparently my CPU is overheating... It also appears that the CPU fan does not work. Poking around with a volt meter, The fan header seems to be dead. Now I need another 12v source. I was thinking of taking some from the HDD since they are less than 1 cm apart and it is external, but I dont know how a laptop drive is powered. Anyone know what pins are used for power on a laptop? __________________ I have a nice computer.

12-14-2004, 04:15 PM	#4
killernoodle Thermophile Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 1,014	Lol, I spent $40 on this freaking problem thinking that it must be a flex cable (Dell's Diagnosis as well) and all I had to do was download a program that turns the fan on. You would think that they stay on all the time, but apparently you need software to run a fan. I'm starting to get sick of this lappy... __________________ I have a nice computer.

12-14-2004, 10:06 PM	#6
killernoodle Thermophile Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 1,014	Well, I played worms armageddon for about an hour and didnt have a problem. Turned it off and then back on and 15 mins later the problem arose again, this time with the fan on... There is yet another problem... __________________ I have a nice computer.

12-14-2004, 01:47 PM	#3
prb123 Cooling Neophyte Join Date: May 2002 Location: Michigan Posts: 51	I've pulled power from the PS/2 header several times, it's much easier to soder to than the HDD header.

12-14-2004, 08:39 PM	#5
mastermind2004 Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: MIT Posts: 78	Wow, that's a new one. I had one of my laptop fans kick into overdrive the other night. It was loud enough that I had to shut it down to sleep before exams. Otherwise, it's handled running 24/7 pretty well for a long time. I think it'll get a nice format and clean-up over christmas while I can back everything up to our desktop at home.

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