2 repair shops telling me different problem with laptop??

[Athena]

Hi I'm new to here so hello and thanks in advance for any help which i would be really grateful for.

The screen on my laptop recently started flickering and making a low buzzing noise and then sometimes go black altogether. Although if you shone a torch on it you could see all the icons and move the cursor to turn it off.

Anyway, I took it to a repair shop and they said it needed a new screen and quoted a reasonable sounding price but I decided to get a second opinion and took it somewhere else. The second man said it was the graphics card. I don't know much about computers but aren't these two separate issues? How come they're saying different things?

The second issue now is that since I picked the laptop up from the second man the problem is worse and there's now a new problem where the cursor will not move at all. I've tried enabling the mouse but nothing happens.

Has anyone got any idea what the initial flickering screen problem could be and also why the cursor may suddenly stop working?

[Vr5fx]

Hi, and welcome to ExTS.

 

The symptoms you have described is the back light failing or failed, still being an image, but no brightness to see clearly with out the aid of a light source.

This could be one of two things, the light tube which is part of the screen, or the inverter which is located in the upper assembly of the lid.

You won't know for sure without replacing one of them. Inverters are cheaper compared to the screen.

 

Could you tell us the make and model of your laptop?

 

As for regarding the mouse cursor, another member may be able to assist, could you use a USB mouse for now?

 

-Vr

[KenB]

Hi Athena and welcome to ExTS :)

 

I agree with Vr5fx's diagnosis.

 

low buzzing noise and then sometimes go black altogether. Although if you shone a torch on it you could see all the icons

If you can see the icons in the background then you do not need a new screen - or video card.

[ chances are it is on-board video anyway ...so this would be a replacement motherboard ..........expensive ]

 

The buzzing was probably the inverter or back-light circuitry failing.

The flickering is typical of a failing inverter too.

 

It would seem that the two guys you took the laptop to didn't diagnose the problem very well - especially as this is a fairly common problem with laptops.

The guy who suggested "video card" was way off.

 

Take a look here - it explains what we are talking about re "Inverter" and replacement.

The job of the inverter is to convert DC current to AC that the backlight uses.

[Athena]

Hey guys thanks so much for the replies. The laptop is an acer aspire about 4 years old. Not got exact model details on me as I'm at work. Yeah to be honest I didn't trust either of these guys diagnosis and that's why I thought I'd post on here, not saying they've done it on purpose but I still felt they wanted to quote problems that would be expensive and worth their while. The problem I've got now is that I havent got a clue how to do it myself and don't know where else to take it. Most places charge to diagnose and after 2 places I'm not getting very far :( maybe somewhere like pc world will be a little more honest?? The other thing that has bothered me is that since taking to the last guy i can't use it all since the cursor doesn't move, although I havent yet tried plugging a mouse in but will do later. I may be being paranoid but Im worried the last guy I took it to did something as don't think he was very pleased I didn't want him to carry out the work when he'd looked at it. Obviously not got any proof of this and I'm probably just being paranoid but it's not great when your laptop comes back from the repair man in a worse state than when you took it in!!

[KenB]

it's not great when your laptop comes back from the repair man in a worse state than when you took it in!!

Not a good advert for him !

 

I am sure that the USB mouse will work.

 

I have an old Aspire 5735 - using it now :)

 

Can you get graphics on screen to want to use the mouse ?

[Athena]

Yeah it's not a great advert! And I do feel bad saying anything bad cos he actually seemed like a really nice guy but the fact is that one of them at the very least either doesn't know what they are doing or is being dishonest, as they have both diagnosed a different problem to each other. Either way it's not good, you should be able trust people. I'm going to try the mouse when I get in and I'll post back. The computer needs fixing whatever tho and it doesn't seem like a very good idea to use either of these so can anyone recommend anywhere, like is pc world any good, or is it mega expensive?

[Athena]

Plugged the mouse in and it works so at least I was able to turn it off. I'm not very pleased that the one on my laptop doesn't work now though, it worked perfectly before I took it to the second man >:(

[BreatGritain]

The trouble with using somewhere like PC world is the fact that it usually costs top dollar, and the person carrying out the repair is often less experienced than that of someone who owns their own computer shop (not always, obviously).

 

The trouble with using a local computer shop is you don't know if they're creating more work for themselves just to make more cash, you don't know if the guy is going to look through your personal files for anything of interest, and, frankly, if it's a pokey back-alley-next-to-24-hour-tattoo-parlour-opposite-night-club-but-just-far-enough-away-for-the-shop-front-to-be-dark-and-mysterious kinda shop, you don't know if the person has insurance that will cover your laptop if they do some accidental damage to it.

 

All said and done, if you really don't feel up to repairing the unit yourself, I would try find a local pc shop that seems trustable, read some online reveiews and get a feel for a place.

 

Until your screen is repaired, it's going to be difficult if not rather pointless to attempt to repair the mouse issue - chances are its just a driver, or it has been switched off using a keyboard shortbut (FN + f7, for example). Good luck.

[KenB]

can anyone recommend anywhere, like is pc world

We never recommend PC World or any other large concern.

Usually you get better service from the small one or two man business. ( but not in your case )

 

Where are you located ? Somebody here may be close and can recommend somebody.

 

You could have a look in yellow pages / internet - and knowing what you do now - describe the condition over the phone ( leave out the mouse-pad as it is not related )

If the guy comes back with "inverter or backlight" you know he is not pulling the wool over your eyes.

You could ask for a quote there and then.

They should be able to give you some idea.

 

Does it boot up normally sometimes ? or is the screen still in the dark ?

[Athena]

I'm in Sheffield if anyone can recommend anyone??? Sorry for the delay in posting back, having no laptop is rubbish :(

If all else fails I'll try describing it on the phone to someone as suggested and see what they say, sounds like a pretty good idea.

Just want to say a big thanks for the responses and advice on here too! Really has been very helpful.

[KenB]

I did a quick search ..... this may help.

click here

 

If you click on the link to the company there are reviews there too

Don't use PC-Callout or other big companies.

[Athena]

Thanks so much, really kind of u to take the time to do that. Think I'll give some of them a call. Was kind of wondering whether to do it myself after watching the video in that link but knowing me I'll just cause more damage! It's really helped me the advice I've received on here and given me a few options to think about so thanks guys! :)

[KenB]

You are welcome :)

 

Let us know what you decide and how you get on.

[Synapse]

Just want to add a quick note...anyone looking for a reputable PC engineer, look for Comptia A+ certification. Anyone that has studied and passed the A+ should know what they are doing, and also it shows they have taken time to gain the certification. It's not rocket science, but for computer repair it is a good place to start ;)