HELP My laptop monitor died?

[bardy]

If I am making typos it's because I can barely see. I have my laptop hooked up to my TV and it's not making the best monitor in the world.

Anyway, so i turned on my computer yesterday evening and the monitor was very very very dark. IT is light enough that I can make out that there are pictures on the screen but I Can't really read anything or see what they are.

But my computer itself seems to be working fine... and I don't think it's a driver problem. My laptop is about 5 years old and maybe something just finally burned out? Has this ever happened to anyone here?

If this thread determines that my laptop is toast, I am just going to buy a new one this week. And then I will ask what kind of laptop I should get. I want one that I can play games on and that is generally pretty fucking sweet and will last me for another 5 years. I know I could get more funtionality with a desktop but I really like the convenience (have grown accostomed to) of a laptop.

[Travis_Wright]

brady if you're able to hook it up to a tv or another monitor and it looks fine, then chance are it's not your video card, but rather your laptop monitor itself... you can try downloading updated drivers to your video card and see if that fixes it, but more than likely it's the monitor.

[strange_one]

it sounds like one of the backlights might have died

[bardy]

yeah I did some searches and its either my backlight or the little button that tells when the monitor is open/closed is broken. I just took my laptop completely apart to try to get to that button to see if maybe soething was broken, but it looks okay... unless the little thing the button touches is dead... but in that case i won't be able to fix it. Damn it! This computer is my little buddy and I will miss it

[spring]

a 5 year lifespan for a laptop monitor is pretty decent...i think.

oh, and don't get a toshiba when you get a new laptop

[yo soy el mejor]

[bardy]

I think its actually the open/closed sensor and not the backlight. I say this because for the past year or so... sometimes when I open the monitor after having it closed overnight, the backlight wont come back on. So I have to restart it and it fixes the problem. However, now I have restarted it a bazillion times and it hasn't fixed the problem. MAybe my sensor is permantely in off mode! I don't think fixing this would be any easier than fixing the backlight, no?

[bardy]

hey ******, at least I can afford to go out and spend a grand or so on a new laptop

[yo soy el mejor]

how about you spend it on plastic surgery instead? and less ugly clothes

[bardy]

now you are just getting ridiculous

[yo soy el mejor]

ORLY?

[The Jesus]

Shouldn't it be "HELP! My laptop monitor died!"....?

[waltermcphilp]

if you are looking for a new laptop newegg is always nice. i usually just use them for parts, but you can browse to see compare at other stores.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2&N=2030080032

[Effloresce]

I'd help you but then I remembered you are an attention craving snob.

Go fuck yourself.

[diplodocus]

Originally Posted by spring

a 5 year lifespan for a laptop monitor is pretty decent...i think.

oh, and don't get a toshiba when you get a new laptop

isn't it funny how the western consumer tolerates being sold crap...

[bardy]

are the alienware laptops any good?

[waltermcphilp]

from what i understand alienware is made especially for high end gaming and multitasking. so, yea, it should be pretty good.

[ZWANPHONY]

maybe you should just take it to someone that works on laptops and tell them you know where the problem lies, so it should be a 15 minute fix. hopefully they will know what they're doing.

[spring]

Originally Posted by diplodocus

isn't it funny how the western consumer tolerates being sold crap...

mhm. pretty funny-tragic.

hey john, have you seen that documentary 'manufactured landscapes' ? i think you'd like it

[diplodocus]

Tried to save the trees
Bought a platsic bag
The bottom fell out
It was a piece of crap

Saw it on the tube
Bought it on the phone
Now you're home alone
It's a piece of crap

I tried to plug in it
I tried to turn it on
When I got it home
It was a piece of crap

Got it from a friend
On him you can depend
I found out in the end
It was a piece of crap

I'm trying to save the trees
I saw it on TV
They cut the forest down
To build a piece of crap

I went back to the store
They gave me four more
The guy told me at the door
It's a piece of crap

Originally Posted by spring

hey john, have you seen that documentary 'manufactured landscapes' ? i think you'd like it

no i haven't. i just now enqueeeueueueued it though.

[dean_r_koontz]

Originally Posted by diplodocus

isn't it funny how the western consumer tolerates being sold crap...

this is just an amazing post

[ZWANPHONY]

Originally Posted by bardy

are the alienware laptops any good?

you're a gam3r ? lOlz

[bardy]

Originally Posted by ZWANPHONY

maybe you should just take it to someone that works on laptops and tell them you know where the problem lies, so it should be a 15 minute fix. hopefully they will know what they're doing.

As mch as I love this latop, I would hate to spend money on it. It's very very outdated and very ancient. I just like it for sentimental reasons.. I am surprised it has lasted this long!

But I need to get a new one. I haven't decided if I should just get a cheap one that does the basic things or if I should get a nice one that would be "current" for much longer, you know? I wouldn't really be doing any "work" on it, as I already have a laptop that my work gave me.. but I guess I would be using it for games, pictures, videos, music, etc. I wouldnt mind being able to attach a TV tuner to it in the futre, but I don't have a second TV hook-up at he moment.

Anyway, also... if I have to get a new computer now, should I get vista?

Is this computer too much?

http://www.alienware.com/product_det...EFAULT#pdp-nav

[ZWANPHONY]

i would get ultimate vista just for the sake of dreamscene...

personally, my next lappy is gonna be a tablet. i've wanted one for so long now. my gateway lappy is going on it's 6th year this september. of course i've already gotten a replacement monitor while it was under warranty due to about 15 bad pixels in the bottom right corner.

[yo soy el mejor]

Originally Posted by ZWANPHONY

you're a gam3r ? lOlz

my last roommate in arizona was and he had the craziest looking computer ever. it was an alienware computer and everything about it was huge and lit up blue. he was always up until 8am playing so i'd only see him as i was getting ready for work. all night long i'd hear him yelling into his headset mic. he took gaming very seriously. he let me play on his computer while he slept.

our living room had 3 computers and on some nights we (me. my then bf. and him) would drink and play cs or unreal tournament together. good times

[ZWANPHONY]

the A-ware specs look pretty good, i don't know much about video cards so i can't say if it has good support or what. the ram is decent for today's reqments, but i would think they would allow for 2gB ram...the hard drives seem awesome. the screen size is decent. the fullsize keyboard is nice. weight is prolly not an issue for you, but i think it might weigh 3/4 more than your current lappy. the processor is only 800 megahertz, and my old lappy has a 1.2gHz processor, so that one is kind of outdated...but i'm not sure if you really need a fast processor or not. it seems like you would for gaming... it wouldn't hurt to have faster clocking.

oh, the top of the a-ware is ugly. not a big deal, but if you're scared of looking geeky, then avoid a-ware by all means.

[ZWANPHONY]

Originally Posted by yo soy el mejor

my last roommate in arizona was and he had the craziest looking computer ever. it was an alienware computer and everything about it was huge and lit up blue. he was always up until 8am playing so i'd only see him as i was getting ready for work. all night long i'd hear him yelling into his headset mic. he took gaming very seriously. he let me play on his computer while he slept.

our living room had 3 computers and on some nights we (me. my then bf. and him) would drink and play cs or unreal tournament together. good times

yah i was kidding, it's fun, but there's no need to be that serious about it where it conflicts with everyday life. i love playing call of duty, and i have a new cd from christmas so that i can play, but i haven't even installed it yet because i don't have time for it right now.

g4m3r5 rule, sometimes.

[bardy]

yeah.. I guess if I was going to spend the money I'd want a kickass graphics card and a fast procesor. Guess this will take me a while to do research about!

[Elvis The Fat Years]

if i was broken would you spend money on me?

[bardy]

what about the cheaper version of this one

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...Dept=computers