»

[andrew.]

I have a Dell Inspiron 1720 that was bought in late 2007. For a while now whenever I unplugged it from the mains the screen would go almost completely dark, and I was unable to make it brighter without turning it off and plugging it back in. This wasn't really a problem as it's such a big laptop I use it mainly as a desktop computer.

This morning however when I turned it on the left half of the screen had a dark reddish tint to it, but was normal on the right side. I turned it off for a few hours and turned it back on, but now it is completely dark again even though it is plugged in, I can still just about see my desktop + icons and what not, but can't make it any brighter.

Im guessing that it is just the LCD backlight that is broken, but annoyingly I only had warranty for 12 months. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice on how to fix this, is it easy or difficult? I'd rather try and sort it myself rather than sending it off.

Thanks for any help

[fatboy]

my laptop sceen dims when mains is disconnected, its just power saving function that you can adjust, although this may not be so with yours

[Chris]

For the first part of your post (for future reference) changing your power saving settings will sort the screen going dark problem when it's running on battery.

As for it's current issue you might be able to get it replaced for free, or almost free. Consumer law states that an item should be fit for purpose which includes lasting a reasonable amount of time before it breaks. You could argue that a laptop screen should reasonably last longer than 2 years without breaking like that.

Read up on consumers rights online and see what you can get. Otherwise the screen is usually a pricey part to repair, try North East Peripherals or Everest Technology for local repairs.

For DIY there's bound to be guides online somewhere. I don't have time to check properly, this one came up in the first search I did but I haven't had a chance to read it yet:
Inventgeek.com - LCD Backlight Fix - Overview

[Larsen B]

Originally Posted by fatboy

my laptop sceen dims when mains is disconnected, its just power saving function that you can adjust, although this may not be so with yours

I think there's something wrong with my laptop, because it goes dim when it's plugged in and brighter when it's running on battery.

[John W]

It's all a power saving function, but as your laptop gets older it will get dimmer and dimmer when it's unplugged to the point where you need to consider how stingy you are being and think about buying a new one.