Laptop Screen is completely gray - External monitor works fine?

[dude_56013]

So I've got a laptop from my friend right now. He said his mom "pushed a button" and that's what caused this. But I have my doubts.

It's a Gateway (exact model if you need it) M-Series and when you push the power button you get a gray screen. I plugged in a monitor to the VGA port and it works perfectly. I've tried Fn-keying to see if I could get it to work, but no go. Funny thing is, I can Fn-the screen brightness and it will change the brightness of the gray on the screen, but I can't get the laptop screen to work.

Any thoughts? Loose ribbon cable? It's probably not the motherboard if I can get an external monitor to work perfect. It's a pretty new laptop. Maybe only 1 1/2 years old...out of warranty of course. Has a C2D in it though.

 

[hockeygoalie5]

Uhh, any idea what button was pushed?

 

[azns13]

inverter could be bad.

 

[dude_56013]

No. But I don't think it was the button.

New development though. I have a feeling something may have been shorted out. I opened up the back case covers over the headsink, ram, and hdd. I found 5 loose metal holders of some sort. The laptop was repaired (new HDD) at GeekSquad according to my friend. Looks like the dipsh*ts didn't put it back together right when they did it. Pics when I upload them.

 

[Lennox]

There is a button probably on one of the "F" keys that looks like a small picture of a computer with a white screen on the back. It would probably be in a different color than the "F" key. If you need to, hold the "Fn" (function key) and press whatever button that looks like the computer and screen behind it.

Sources: My sister's laptop.

If that does not work, try unplugging the external screen, and restarting.

 

[dude_56013]

No no. I've already tried that. It does nothing. I don't think this was a button press that killed this screen.

 

[Lennox]

So all your mother did was press a button and it went gray? Weird, the button should of fixed it.. That's the weirdest thing...

Or maybe an OS error?

 

[dude_56013]

Like I said. It's my friend's. His mother "claimed" to have pushed a button and then this happened. But I have a feeling maybe she turned it ON and then saw that it was this way. Like I said, I don't think it was a button press.

It's now hanging at startup (using external monitor, obviously; vista load bar freezes. tried both sticks of ram separately). Hmm. This thing is rather f-ed up.

Edit: Now it's booting again. Must've not had the RAM seated.

 

[Lennox]

I had the startup hang before. A simple OS reformat fixed everything.

 

[dude_56013]

I don't think you are getting what I'm saying though.

Laptop: complete gray screen. from the moment you turn it on to the moment you turn it off. no bios/splash screen...nothing.

External monitor: everything is working a-ok. it's not a virus or spyware. everything looks to be in check.

I simply cannot get video on the laptops LCD. I don't really feel like tearing the dammed thing apart to look at the ribbon cable, but I guess that'll be the next thing in check. Because the screen looks to be okay. It's just not getting "signal" maybe? I don't know.