Compaq monitor help???

So my teenage daughter got a Compaq V3100 for Christmas a few years ago and the screen quit working (just stays black all the time), so I did the right thing (yeah right) and bought her another Compaq Presario CQ61 last year for Christmas. Well last month it started acting up and the screen (yet another Compaq with monitor issues) would only work if held in a very precise angle about 45* from open. Now, the screen is just black all the time.

I was told that I could hook up an external monitor to the laptop and still use it/extract data. I grabbed my old LiquidVideo LCD and plugged the video out cable into the port on the laptop. Tried on both of the broken Compaq laptops with no luck, the LCD shows, "No input". I tried pressing "Fn" and "f4" with no luck. Tried powering down and plugging the cable in them powering up, still no luck. Any ideas? Help please, she has finals thesis papers due next week and they are stored on the CQ61.

Reply 1 : Compaq monitor help???

1. Try the old generic laptop reset (does not reset the hard drive data!) noted at http://forums.cnet.com/7726-19681_102-3138013.html?tag=posts;msg3138013

2. Remove the HDD and use some adapter cable like http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=2020 to gain access to the files.

The PRECISE ANGLE is a clue it's a cable or connector issue. I think your grey haired electronics technicians would love to look at that model.
Bob

Reply 2 : Compaq monitor help???

Generally, the graphics card will only show the primary screen as default unless it's set to perform differently.. Therefore, although it should be possible to setup the remote monitor as the primary screen, or as a clone of the main screen, you must be able to see the screen to do so. You'll need to see the graphics card/monitor display properties to do so. That might be possible on a computer where the screen is able to be viewed.. Not possible when you can't do anything at all.

My daughter had a similar problem with an HP DV6000 series laptop.. After four years (not bad for a laptop), only the top half of the screen worked as designed. Pressing on the screen at a particular location or tilting it at just the right angle allowed for viewing. We changed the settings on the graphics dispaly and the remote monitor worked fine but we were still able to see parts of the screen when the changes were made. We recently replaced it with a new laptop.

Hope this helps.

Grif