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Laptop Black Screen

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#1 ·
Hello everyone! I always find this site useful so I wanted to post this question before I head out and purchase a new laptop today.

I purchased an HP g7-1167dx ( http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c02880006 ) laptop 3 1/2 years ago. Paid $529.99 for it and have been EXTREMELY happy with it. Fast and did everything I wanted it to. I have always just closed the top and let it stay in sleep mode and would simply reopen it in the morning for another days use. I went to open it yesterday morning and I heard the fan & dvd drive "start up" like they always do, but then no image on the screen. I thought "well that has never happened". So my only option was to hold down the power button to reboot, which I did and the same thing happened.

After looking online I tried a "hard reset" or something along those lines that consisted of removing the battery, holding down the power button for 30-60 seconds, then plugging it in, booting up, then shutting down and then replacing the battery. That did not work. I swapped the memory module underneath the laptop, nothing either.

So after taking it to Best Buy Geek Squad, they removed the hard drive and tried a boot and still got nothing. He told me it is most likely the motherboard, which was an estimated $300 fix with parts and labor to send out for a fix. I decided to do some research and think about it. So my question is (sorry for taking so long to get to it) if the motherboard was fried would I still get power to the dvd drive & wifi button if that was the case? Because I do have power to those two. I should note that there is absolutely ZERO activity on the "hard drive activity light" that is on the outside of the case. So does this indeed sound like a motherboard issue? I just have NEVER had one go out in any machine I have ever owned. I was hoping maybe someone knew of a possible fix that I haven't tried yet before investing money today. Thanks for any suggestions. :confused:
 
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#2 ·
Another step you could take is plug in an external monitor to your laptop and boot as your normally would. Windows 7 should automatically detect there's another display plugged in and you should get a display up on the monitor. If this works then no you're motherboard is most certainly not fried. It could be an issue with the wiring internally that connects the motherboard to your lcd.
 
#3 ·
The Geeks Squad has a terrible history of service. They are the last place you should take a computer to for service or repairs. You should take your computer a Privately owned Computer Shop, check around, talk to friends to find one with a good reputation. The Geek Squad doesn't care about their customers, only fleecing them for as much money as they can. It may well be the Motherboard is damaged, but a second independent opinion could save you money.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for all the responses. I did try the external monitor prior to posting this thread, but forgot to mention it, sorry! Yeah no luck with that either. What I did do is used an online guide with pictures on how to take apart my laptop. I literally had everything out and disconnected other than the fan/heatsink/processor that was connected directly to the motherboard itself. I then assembled it once again making sure everything was connected, and no luck. What this did do though is give me experience with a laptop that I never had before hardware wise. Looks like a motherboard is $130 used and about $200 new when looking online...just not sure if this is worth it....gonna try to call a few shops in the morning to see if I can get lucky. Any trusted sites for motherboards that others have had good luck with? Thanks fellas.
 
#7 ·
One other thing you could try is disconnecting the Cmos battery for a few minutes which should reset the Bios and might fix it. It's a long shot but you have nothing to lose now.
 
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