1 1/2 year old dv4t screen failure and upgrade question

Hi, I need some help troublshooting my HP dv4t notebook PC.  First of all, let me mention that I am pretty good with computers as I have my CompTIA A+ and Network+ 2009 certifications and I work full time in a computer store as a repair technician but I need some help here diagnosing my problem.
My dv4t was probably one of the very first ones off the production line as a replacement for my old dv2500 which was given to me by a case manager about a year and a half or so ago.  Within the past few weeks, I have had intermittent backlight issues and then the picture on the screen itself would not come up or would be extremely scrambled.  I thought that it might have been the display cable so I went ahead and ordered a replacement and got it installed and now I have no video on the LCD at all.  The webcam does work, as does the light on the HP logo on the back of the notebook lid.  So I kind of have it narrowed down to either the motherboard or the LCD panel itself but I'm not sure which one it could be.  Does anybody have any ideas of which one is causing my problems?
By the way, I was only given a 1 year warranty, and this is my 4th HP laptop and the first one that actually outlasted it's one year warranty so I'm a bit frustrated that I can't seem to get a computer with any kind of a decent build quality on it.
Also, is it possible to request an upgrade for a component while it is being repaired?  I have the Lightscribe DVD burner currently and I'd like to step up to a blu-ray drive if it is possible.

Yes, I do get a picture with an external monitor.  I talked to HP customer service and they seem to think it is the motherboard.  Considering that I've already tried a new cable, I am thinking that it would be the motherboard.  One thing that happened yesterday when I was diagnosing the computer at work was the new display cable was actually smoking where the cable would normally go from the display assembly to the chassis of the notebook which makes me think even more that its a motherboard.
While I could probably fix it myself for almost half the price of the $398 quote I got from HP, its almost worth the extra money just to not gamble on a $200 part and guess wrong.  Money is tight for us right now and I'd hate to shell out for a motherboard and turn out that its actually a problem with the LCD panel itself.

Similar Messages

  • 3 year old set BBID password and security question and answer, i have 4 attempts left, what can i do??

     i cannot purchase any thing as i have  to log in usind BBID, my young son does not remember the password or the security question or the answer.please help

    How to change or reset a BlackBerry ID password
    Click here to Backup the data on your BlackBerry Device! It's important, and FREE!
    Click "Accept as Solution" if your problem is solved. To give thanks, click thumbs up
    Click to search the Knowledge Base at BTSC and click to Read The Fabulous Manuals
    BESAdmin's, please make a signature with your BES environment info.
    SIM Free BlackBerry Unlocking FAQ
    Follow me on Twitter @knottyrope
    Want to thank me? Buy my KnottyRope App here
    BES 12 and BES 5.0.4 with Exchange 2010 and SQL 2012 Hyper V

  • HT4356 Mavric doesn't support my 5 years old Big Screen Display, OR? Tried to connect my Mac Book Pro after installing Mavric, The Screen didn't work as before. I could only see the Desktop but not the movies for example. What can I do?

    Mavric doesn't support my 5 years old Big Screen Display, OR? Tried to connect my Mac Book Pro after installing Mavric, The Screen didn't work as before. I could only see the Desktop but not the movies for example.
    <E-mail Edited by Host>

    It appears what happened is the installer though it was looking at a empty drive and just went ahead and installed.
    I of course am assuming here you didn't use Disk Utility to format the drive first before installing, that would wipe out your files and programs for sure.
    So what to do, what to do.
    Well there is hope for you as long as the drive wasn't Filevaulted.
    I'll explain. When a hard drive writes data for the first time to a drive, it starts at the very top and works it's way down.
    When OS X was installed the first time, it was at the top of the drive, unless you upgraded then the upgraded OS X could have been written elsewhere.
    Now when you just reinstalled OS X, the new OS went on the top of the drive, overwriting any data that was there previously, so what was there you have lost forever which is about 8GB or so. If it was the previous OS there, then your more in luck because only the old OS X was overwritten.
    The remaining space on the drive still can have a copy of your files, provided it's not overwritten yet.
    It's because when a hard drive deletes data or reformats, it doesn't remove the data off the drive or overwrites it immediately, it's just made so it's SPACE is available for new files to be written there.
    So technically one can recover the deleted data off a non-encrypted/scrubbed hard drive with special software.
    The way it does this is it reads the 1's and 0's of the files themselves, and through a lot of figuring out, can tell what that file is and what it belongs too.
    So what you will have to do is this:
    Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive
    or if you don't have the skills, then take it to a local PC/Mac tech and they can do a direct image of the drive and then you can run Data Rescue on it to rebuild your files.

  • Hi, I have a 3 year old Macbook Pro 13" and I accidentally cracked the outer screen of my mac book, however the LCD panel is fine and works well. Please advise what to do

    Hi, I have a 3 year old Macbook Pro 13" and I accidentally cracked the outer screen of my mac book, however the LCD panel is fine and works well. Please advise what to do. I live in India and I have gone to authorised Apple technicians and they infomed me that I will have to replace the LCD panel as well even though it is not cracked, is this really true or can I just change the outer shell? Also they say that they cannot do it in India... can I do it myself at home?

    Since it is 3 years old find a local repair shop that can replace the glass Only. you may have to send it out to a Non Local shop for that but there are some that specialize in doiing that on Mac notebooks.
    Apple will ony replace the complete screen enclosure with all normal parts included, LCD, Camera, Aluminum housing and glass as one unit. Which is very expensive. Or you could just use it as a desktop system with external monitor and buy a new notebook.

  • My daughters Macbook's (3 years old) computer screen sometimes will waver and freeze and then turn white if not moved around. She was told that the replacement part would cost $600.  Do you know what's going on, and what is the replacement part?

    Mydaughters Macbook's (3 years old) computer screen sometimes will waver andfreeze and then turn white if not moved around. She was told that thereplacement part would cost $600.  Do youknow what's going on, and what is the replacement part? 

    Who told her that the replacement piece was $600?
    Ask those people which piece it is.

  • I've got a 7 year old 30gb video ipod and the headphone port no longer works! Please help :)

    I've got a 7 year old 30gb video ipod and the headphone port no longer works.
    I went to the Apple shop and they said it is now vintage and they can't fix my baby they offered me 10% to trade her in for a new model...
    what else can I try to save her?  I've tried cleaning and wiggling and restoring. Everything looks and feels ok.

    I've just found 'iPod Dock Connector Headphone Jack' on ebay it as an adapter that will connect my earphones via the wide ipod port better than 10% of something new

  • I have a macbook pro 1.5 years old ver10.7.5 and now having a problem with having to manually force quit after a hour or so of use to clear up memory(unit slows down) should I up grade iso if so to what

    I have a macbook pro 1.5 years old ver10.7.5 and now having a problem with having to manually force quit after a hour or so of use to clear up memory(unit slows down) should I up grade iso if so to what and what is the correct procedure?  Rick

    To determine if it is, boot into Safe Mode and see what happens. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455
    In the Activity Monitor, what are the Page Outs and Page Ins?

  • My macbook is 4 years old, i havent bought any upgrades but now i cant download the new itunes. Can i buy one upgrade and will it work or is there a way to get the new itunes?

    My macbook is 4 years old, i havent bought any upgrades but now i cant download the new itunes. Can i buy one upgrade and will it work or is there a way to get the new itunes?

    Even a four-year-old MacBook should have come with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Leopard can run the latest version of iTunes; it will download and install pretty much automatically if you run Software Update.
    You might first have to be sure that you are running the latest version of Leopard, which is 10.5.8. This, too, will download and install for you if you run Software Update. Just keep running Software Update until there is nothing left to download and install (you might have to run it more than once because some updates require previous updates to be installed first).
    If you have a version of Mac OS X earlier than 10.5, then you can't run the latest version of iTunes. You will need to buy a more recent version of Mac OS X. You must be running at least 10.4 Tiger, and you can upgrade directly to Snow Leopard from Tiger. Apple still sells Snow Leopard for about $30 and you might find it slightly less at a retailer or on eBay. After upgrading to Snow Leopard, you will be able to upgrade to Lion using the Mac App Store for another $30 or so if your MacBook meets the minimum system requirements.

  • 5 year old iMac, screen stays black on startup.

    This 5 year old iMac makes the seek optical drive sound when switched on, but does not chime, but I can hear the hard drive going afterwards.
    The screen just stays black, not a flicker.
    The problem is that it is located in a small pretty isolated town in NE Brazil, I will be going back out there later in the summer so if anyone has any helpful ideas it would be most welcome. Fortunately we have a full CCC clone of the hard drive and a working MBP so we haven't lost anything, but it would be very good to have it working again.
    Does it have a socket for an external monitor, I really cannot remember, as I have not seen it since November, I know the old round iMacs had one.
    The nearest Mac store is probably in Rio or Sao Paulo which are a good day travelling by  car and plane so there is no chance of getting it there.
    Any useful thoughts? I will be pleased to hear them, anything to try we can probably do over a week or so.
    Many thanks in advance

    Yes it shouldn't be that difficult. You can tell her to try some basic resets too, they won't hurt and might help. First is try resetting the SMC and PRAM. It's OK to do these multiple times, also trying to restarting in Safe Mode may work. For the SMC and PRAM resets I  will print the instructions below. To do a Safe Mode restart, hold down the Shift Key when the startup tone is heard, if she can see a progress bar appear release Shift key and let it fully boot. Then restart normally to test. If the screen is still black then the LCD or the graphics card has probably failed. In that case it's probably best to just replace the whole computer as the expense of repair will be difficult to justify.
    SMC RESET
    Shut down the computer.
    Unplug the computer's power cord and ALL peripherals.
    Wait 15 seconds.
    Attach the computers power cable.
    Wait another 5 seconds and press the power button to turn on the computer.
    PRAM RESET
    Shut down the computer.
    Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
    Turn on the computer.
    Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
    Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
    Release the keys.

  • Ipad disabled 6 year old daughter changed passcode and forgot it ipad not synced with any pc

    6 year old daughter changed passcode now ipad has disabled and wont sync

    Recovery Mode
    1. Disconnect the USB cable from the device, but leave the other end of the cable connected to your computer's USB port.
    2. Turn off the device: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds until the red slider appears, then slide the slider. Wait for the device to turn off.
    3.While pressing and holding the Home button, reconnect the USB cable to the device. The device should turn on.
    4. Continue holding the Home button until you see the "Connect to iTunes" screen. When this screen appears, release the Home button. iTunes should alert you that it has detected a device in recovery mode. Click OK, and then click Restore to restore the device.
    Note: Data will be lost. You may have to repeat the above many times.

  • I want to setup my 9 year old for family sharing and seperate iTunes account but do not have credit cards

    I am unable to setup a new iTunes account / family sharing for my 9 year old as I do not have credit cards, it seems that it is only possible to do so with a credit card, however I feel it is unfair that I would need to apply for a credit card just so that my child can be safe online

    Changing payment info : http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1918
    Or if you haven't created the account yet then there are instructions on this page for how to create one without giving credit card details : http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2534 (e.g. https://discussions.apple.com/message/24321860#24321860)

  • HT3680 My 3 year old iMac is freezing and I get a message "startup disk almost full for running applications. delete files..." Where do I find the startup disk and what should I delete?

    My 3 year old Mac is having trouble and freezes up from time to time lately. I get a message saying "startup disk almost full, delete files ..." something about having enough room for applications to function.  I know my startup disk is the Macintosh HD, but what kind of files do I need to delete and how much space do I need to free up?  In my "about this mac" area, it says I have 4.89gb free out of 319.21  So I am confused why I need to do this.

    You're less than 2% free and should always have at least 15% (my SWAG). Best is to get an ext FWHD and move stuff from the startup disk to it and delete it from that. Best things to move are movies, music, and photos, using the apps that manage those things.

  • Battery under 1 year old, used only 2months and d

    <FONT face=Verdana size=3>Hi, I have a mircro photo 8GB. I received it for Christmas, only used it two months. When I went to use it last week, the battery was dead. We put a battery in from my mother's micro and it worked fine. It even charged it. I purchased an extended warranty on the player, but they don't cover batteries. I called Creative and was told since it was past three months old, I would have to pay 2.00 to talk to them. I decided not to pay the 2.00 and get support through email. Well, here is the answer according to creative zen; The battery is under a year old so if it is dead, they will replace it. Now here is the interesting part. I will have to send in the whole player and the battery so they can verify it. It will cost me a non-refundable 25.00 to do this. Has anyone out there experienced this? What happened?

    yakyak,
    Your battery has a memory inside of it. The memory tells the computer how long to charge the battery until it's full. When the battery constantly gets only half charged, the memory gets corrupted. This is a problem with any device that uses a battery and gets charged. Cell phones always have this issue.
    I would first try to let your laptop go completely dead with the battery. Next plug in the power for 12+ hours without using it. This may not fix the issue because the memory may already be toast. You can call Apple and see if they will replace it again. The best way to preserve your battery is to always let the battery go dead before charging. This is not easy on a laptop. I have done this on my cellphone and after 3 years it still held about the same charge. I have not done this on my laptop but my laptop is almost always plugged into a power source.

  • My one year old touch screen laptop keyboard is dead - just does not work

    I have a Touch smart tx2-1370us notebook. The keypad has stopped compeltly functioning. it started with a couple of letters initially and within ten days the whole key pad is dead. the touch screen is functioning but slow. The system is also getting hung again and again.
    Please suggest how to make this work....
    By the way, i have tried removing the battery and putting it back.. that does not work.. at least not on my tablet.
    The HP Customer centre in india refused to help citing that this model is not available in India....

    If it was officially unlocked by the carrier it was originally locked to, then it should have been fine.
    If it was hacked in any way to make it function as if it were unlocked, then upon restore the iOS firmware failed to re-install correctly and it is now a brick - so in that case, yup, might as well toss it in the trash.

  • My Macbook Pro is about 5 years old.  Is it worth upgrading to the new OS?

    I have a Macbook Pro that is sort of old.  I haven't used it in more than a year because I had a laptop through work.  I recently lost my job and dusted off my macbook to use.  I will need to update to Snow Leopard in order to update to the current system.  Is it worth doing it on this laptop

    If you upgrade beyond 10.6, you will not be able to use some, if not all, of your apps.
    Therefore before you go beyond Snow Leopard look carefully at the apps you have that you will use. Upgrading apps is not inexpensive. This site offers a comprehensive compatibility table:
    http://roaringapps.com/apps?index=a

Maybe you are looking for

  • APEX Listener on WLS Server Basic

    Hi, Does APEX Listener technically comply with restrictions for WLS Server Basic? Those are specified here. Thanks in advance for clarification. Karin

  • Numbers on iPad no longer opens files from iCloud

    My wife uses her computer to update client files for work (running Mavericks), and her iPhone (iOS7).  The problem now is that she uses the iPad during work hours while she is working with clients.  We have the original iPad, which cannot update to i

  • Problem with posting goods receipt

    Hi Gurus, My PO is created for a material  with quantity 45000 nos. Overdelivery tolerance is 20%. Already GR is posted for 48000 nos and MIRO is posted for the same. Now, I want to post GR for the remianing qty ie. (45000*1.2) - 48000 = 6000 nos. Wh

  • Help with text box rasterization in adobe muse

    When ever I create a text box, add some text , highlight the text and try and create it into a hyperlink, it says that the text requires rasterization and that the hyperlink will not work. How do I 'rasterize' the text box which will allow me to conv

  • ODBC connection to CODA via  Easysoft ODBC drover

    I need to run a SQL statement on an Oracle 8i server which access data via an ODBC driver. The ODBC driver is the Easysoft driver for CODA ( a financial package. This works quite well using MS Access but I need to do the same on oracle. Any help appr