Laptop either circling the drain or $15 away from a new lease on life

[Worldslaziestbusker]

I have a Toshiba Satellite M50 which has served me well. It's no longer in constant use, but it is handy as a backup.
It is starting to act up, with the screen going blank about thirty seconds into the boot up when on AC and as much as half an hour after starting if on battery or in the unheated shed, leading me to suspect it is a heat related issue.
The computer is clearly still ticking over fine as my iPod will charge and update podcasts from the blank screen paperweight.
An external monitor was hooked up and was showing the computer's usual boot up sequence but then went blank after thirty seconds (Laptop on AC).
I have searched for the problem in tech forums and these suggest the inverter is bung. If I can follow the online instructions and open it without breaking the thing, this can be replaced with a part costing around $15, but the diagnosis is not conclusive and I write in hope one of the electronics buffs can offer advice.

Would the inverter being sus cause the external screen to go blank?

Other candidates for bungness include the cable connecting the LCD, but again, I don't know enough about it to understand whether or not this would affect the signal going to another monitor.


Just had an idea.
I will head to the shed and fire it up on battery and adjust the monitor brightness so if whatever is messing things up is due to heat, it will take longer to kick in even if running on AC. That might be me some time with it still usable, but won't cure the problem.

[ogham]

Originally Posted by Worldslaziestbusker

Would the inverter being sus cause the external screen to go blank?

Yes, as the inverter supplies power to the video card output, if it overheats (inverter) the performance drops and will eventually quit. I'd say you could be on the money, or the video card is kaput.
Clean your air vents and radiators if you can get at them, with cotton sticks and cleaning fluid (alcohol or spirit)

[Worldslaziestbusker]

Originally Posted by ogham

Yes, as the inverter supplies power to the video card output, if it overheats (inverter) the performance drops and will eventually quit. I'd say you could be on the money, or the video card is kaput.
Clean your air vents and radiators if you can get at them, with cotton sticks and cleaning fluid (alcohol or spirit)

Many thanks, Ogg. I will give your suggestions a go.
I have a supplier for the inverter but they don't ship to Australia, so am asking my brother in law to buy one and mail it to me.
Cheers
Matt

[ogham]

Protium I was thinking something like this

[ogham]

Sorry Protium this one

[ogham]

Some displays use CCFL or LED phosphor formulations, they might need that jump in volts.
A test Busker would be to shine a light on the screen when it goes dark, you should just be able to make out the display
The external screen should still work though

[Sir Patrick Crocodile]

Originally Posted by ogham

Some displays use CCFL or LED phosphor formulations, they might need that jump in volts.

dafuq?