Why is my damn screen blue!!!

[Jim Oaks]

I'm pissed.

My daughter was using my computer and now there is a 1-1/4" wide blue line going up the left side of my screen about 2 to 2-1/2 inches from the left edge.

It's a Toshiba laptop (I'll never buy Toshiba again), so I can't just get another monitor.

Anyone have any idea what causes this?

 

[Black_Splash]

Loose cable going to the monitor from possibly being dropped.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Loose cable??

I know I haven't dropped it...........

 

[martin]

I would first try and plug an external monitor into the back of the laptop and see if you get the same issue. This will tell you if it is the video card that is the problem or bad contact / LCD screen on the laptop.

Adam (martin's son)

 

[Snowplow]

Buy a Toughbook. I leave mine on the hood of my truck while working in the rain and it works just fine. There waterproof, can be dropped hard and will still work, and overall just hold up real well.

The only downside to them is the weight. But as a contractor who's notebook spends more time in the truck or on a job site, or in my truck with the GPS hooked up making maps as I wheel, its a great thing to have.

 

[Jim Oaks]

I would first try and plug an external monitor into the back of the laptop and see if you get the same issue. This will tell you if it is the video card that is the problem or bad contact / LCD screen on the laptop.

Adam (martin's son)

I plugged a monitor in. It didn't work at all. Am I suppose to change a setting to make an external monitor work?

 

[LearjetMinako]

At least its not a Hitachi. Hitachi hard drives make a good paper weight when they go out.

A few tips would be to install the lastest the video drivers. Check and see if any cables did come loose (if possible). Also try connecting to another monitor

On my old Dell XPS. When the video card was giving out. It would display broken tinted lines across the screen. New card, problem solved.

Edit: There should be a video setting for it to use the external display connector.

 

[Black_Splash]

I plugged a monitor in. It didn't work at all. Am I suppose to change a setting to make an external monitor work?

Yeah you have to tell it to use the monitor. Most laptops have a button on the keyboard that has a square box/reverse slant L or just a square box. Most of the time the icon on the keyboard is different colored and is used with a fn key.

 

[Will]

You may have to hit Fn-F5 to flip between LCD and external.

Laptops are basically shit. It brings up feelings of ancient evil in me just thinking about my old Dell. My Toshiba had a lot of problems--I sent it in 3x for overheating--they replaced everything several times. Turned out it was the hardrive burning it up. It's been trouble free since. I get the longest warranty they offer when I buy one.

My most reliable laptop was my old Compaq Armada from about 1998. I still use it when my other junk goes down. It's slow, but its sturdy.

 

[Simple_serf]

+1 on the compaq.

My old very early presario has held up to getting the crap pounded out of it in the shop (I have alot of obsolete teardown manuals on it), getting the hell beat out of it editing video in a field car, sitting on top of subwoofers (in use), etc. It still works fine.

I say get older cheap junk equipment (which my laptop is) and pound it into the ground. When you kill the $100 laptop, you don't feel as bad as when you kill the $2000 laptop.

 

[Jim Oaks]

My Toshiba laptop's had it's fan replaced atleast twice.

They're junk.

My Compaq Presario is still running from 1998. It's only Win 98 though.

It looks like a new screen is going to run me over $200.00.

Back to my blue screen ......... any other info on what causes it.

 

[smokey]

Ok Is the screen distorted or is it just chopped off by the blue band?
Have you tried a extrenal Monitor and if so is it on that one also?
What model is it that will help.

 

[Jim Oaks]

This is what it looks like:

http://www.therangerstation.com/images/toshibascreenshot.JPG

(I linked it since it's a big pic)

I hooked another monitor up and it worked fine.

It's a Toshiba Satellite A75-S211

 

[Jim Oaks]

That pic may look a little distorted. It's not. Just the blue strip that the page shows through.

 

[Natedog]

This is what it looks like:

http://www.therangerstation.com/images/toshibascreenshot.JPG

(I linked it since it's a big pic)

I hooked another monitor up and it worked fine.

It's a Toshiba Satellite A75-S211

It looks fine in that pic...not sure what blue line yer talking about...