Page 6 - Dell laptop - screen goes black - help!

I resolved my black monitor issue on a Dell Inspiron E1705 notebook by resetting the BIOS to default values. I had recently installed a snowglobe screen saver just before the meltdown. This also followed a Windows Update security patch. Would go blank just after desktop appeared following boot sequence. Good Luck.

I have had exactly the same problem. This is the 2nd Dell laptop I have had that went completely out on me within 3 years and both times the start was a problem with the battery. For both: battery wouldn't charge. Dell said needed new charger. Didn't help either time.
Here is my history for my screen goes black:
1. Dell Inspiron
2. battery problems.
3. clicking (like others reported) causing mild panic since previous Dell did same thing then died permanently.
3. spilled water on keyboard
4. some of the keys stopped working. used remote keyboard and everything fine.
5. At startup, started going black screen on occasion. This continued for some time till permanent. will run thru the Dell startup, then the windows startup, but once it gets to desktop, it blacks within about one minute.
6. I took to geek squad. they said couldn't attach another monitor to fix because they couldn't get in to set up for remote screen. (sorry, I am not tech saavy...hope you know what I mean)
7. Rare occasions, it would stay up till I could start "gotomypc" software. then, I could remote into computer and work with no problem despite screen being black.
8. last week haven't been able to keep screen up long enough to start gotomypc, so I am out of luck.
will contact last guy on list in hopes of help.
I bought a MAC this go round.

HI,

I bought a dell laptop a year back (warranty expired in feb).

Im facing this random screen blackout problem since 6 months…its a recurring problem as it happens for 4-5 days and then automatically pauses for some days i contacted dell they sent me a video driver but it didnt work and then they told me to reinstall my OS…but THAT DIDNT HELP EITHER
lately it just happened that while this problem occured my lappy wont start and when i pressed the power button “startup repair” would start and then it wud say windows is unable to repair so click finish to shut down!
I contacted a repair centre and he formatted my lappy for Rs.500 and told that the problem was probably due to dust and he has settld it so it wont occur again…BUT it occured again the same day…this time i noticed that while it occured the laptop was hot (after working 1.5hrs) and its fan was not working…in short im pissed and WANT THIS PROBLEM TO GO!!

I also find it worth mentioning that when i had contacted dell for this problem before the expiry of laptop's warranty, they said this black screen problem will be taken care of even after warranty expires since i have approached before it.

Immediate help would be immensely appreciated!

Pinkul Rastogi.

If your graphics chip is NVidia, then your laptop might fall under a class-action settlement that was made last year.

Do a search on "class-action settlement" nvidia and find the site which lists the eligible units.

I just logged on here and found this thread because i was having the same black out problem,screen would show for a second at start up then nothing,tried my TV screen as a monitor ..still nothing,,then i read this thread and tried the f8 f5 deal and it came right on...THANK YOU!! KUDOS to you my friend

Has anyone found a solution to dell laptop screens going black. This laptop dell inspiron has been doing this since it was bought.

its a common problem

its a common problem

It says "Dell" on it. Buy an ASUS and see what a laptop should be like. Fast,quiet,cool and dependable. Jus sayin.

I agree completely. I HATE Dell. I bought a new Asus laptop a few months back. I couldn't love it more.

Hi, everyone,

Hope someone can help.. When i switch my laptop on, the screen has started to flicker and has turned blank on several occasions.. I'm not technical minded, so if anyone can tell me stage by stage how to fix this, i would be grateful. On low wage so cant afford to send it to be fixed x

Catrina

Some Inspiron models have a small push switch that gets pressed when the lid is closed. Pressing the switch causes the screen to shut off. If the switch starts going bad, it can cause these symptoms. Replacing (or bypassing) the switch will fix it. You can sometimes check it by wiggling the small post without pressing it. If the screen flickers, it could be bad.