[Starwind51]

Toshiba Laptop, aprox 8 years old
Windows XP

I have a laptop and a netbook, I'm using the netbook to describe the problem with the laptop.

I did a driver scan and the list of outdated drivers included two mice/mouses. I recognized one mouse by name, and since I have no intention of using either mice/mouses in the future I opened the Device Manager, looked for hidden mice. I uninstalled the drivers, carefully leaving my Synaptics pointing device.

Then I carefully looked for other hidden unused drivers. I looked up each one on at least two websites to see what they were and what other people had said about them. One group of drivers belonged to Computer Associates, a service I don't use any more so I uninstalled them. Another group belonged to Norton Symantec and since I don't use them either I uninstalled those drivers. Then I went to a website to look up the next group of hidden unused drivers and while looking at the website the screen went black.

All appropriate power buttons on the computer were still lit. With nothing on the screen to guide me, I pressed CNTRL-ALT-DEL to shut off the computer so I could reboot. The computer didn't respond, I tried it again, then had to use the power button to shut down.

I left the laptop off for a few minutes. The light that indicates the laptop is still plugged in to a power source was still lit, and when I pressed the power button the other power lights came on, and the computer seems to start up, but the screen stayed black. I left the computer alone till I guessed it went through the powering up cycle, then tried pressing CNTRL-ALT-DEL again, and again, the laptop didn't respond, so I used the power button to turn it off.

I am sure I didn't uninstall anything related to the screen or anything related to power commands.

Is there anything I can try to get my screen working? Is there a connection between not having visual and the machine not responding to the C-A-D command?

[LiveBrianD]

If it didn't even display anything upon booting up, chances are that it has nothing doing with you uninstalling drivers. That said, I wouldn't go uninstalling drivers just because a driver scanner said they were unused or outdated.

[Starwind51]

LiveBrianD, on 07 November 2012 - 04:59 PM, said:

If it didn't even display anything upon booting up, chances are that it has nothing doing with you uninstalling drivers. That said, I wouldn't go uninstalling drivers just because a driver scanner said they were unused or outdated.

The driver scanner simply gave me driver awareness. I uninstalled things I knew I had no need of. But back to the issue of the screen going black. Is there anything a novice can do to try to restore the screen function? If I can avoid a repair fee I'd really like to.

[LiveBrianD]

Does anything show up if you use an external monitor? Also, if you shine a flashlight at the screen, can you see anything? (this would indicate a bad backlight)

[Starwind51]

I have a cable to connect the laptop to a tv. When I didn't need that cable it was right in front of me, for about a year and a half. Now that I need it.... It's gonna take a while to find it. In fact I think I have cables for two different kinds of ports, but it's going to take a while to find either.

I don't think my laptop has a backlight. After a period of inactivity the screen saver would come on, but nothing ever dimmed, and sunlight would wash out the image on the screen. The screen never faced the sunlight, I just mean sunlight shining into the room. I likewise don't know where my good flashlight is, but I just tried a weak one, and I don't think I saw anything. I've tried rolling around on the touch pad, but I didn't see the cursor at all.

[LiveBrianD]

All LCD screens have a backlight (it's LED in newer ones, and CCFL in older ones) - the LCD itself doesn't generate any light, and thus it is unreadable by itself. (CRT and OLED screens are the exceptions, but those basically don't exist in laptops)

By the way, if your laptop has keys for enabling/disabling the external monitor, try pushing those. A TV will also work for this.

[Starwind51]

I have to find one of my cables in order to connect the laptop to a tv. When I said that was going to take a while, I was thinking more in the order of days, than minutes. I thought I knew where the cables were, but sad to day, they're not where I expected them to be. I appreciate you trying to help me.

[LincolnSpector]

Hi, Starwind.

While Brian is giving you some good advice, I'd like to go in another direction. Could you please answer this questions?

Do you see anything on the screen when you turn on the laptop? Do you see the manufacturer's logo? A message to press a key for setup? The first part of a Windows boot?

If you do see something, try booting into Safe Mode. Boot the computer, and before it would normally start loading Windows, press F8. Press it repeatedly. Hopefully, you'll get a boot menu, and you can pick Safe Mode.

If you can boot into Safe Mode, you can probably use System Restore to return Windows to its previous condition.

Once you've got the PC working again, I suggest you uninstall that driver scanner. Don't worry about drivers unless one of them appears to be giving you trouble.

Lincoln

[LiveBrianD]

That's what I was wondering about when I asked if there was ANYTHING onscreen upon booting, but he said there wasn't.

[snorg]

You can try this.
Unplug laptop from the wall power.
Take the battery out of laptop.
Plug the laptop into the wall.
Turn on the laptop, if it works ok power down and put the battery back in.