Hi Derek,
Thanks so much for taking the time to post your helpful reply. From your
answer, it does rather sound like the screen is dieing but I did wonder
if there might have been a power supply issue or if there is a final
amplifier after the "video out" socket, (a bit like in the old TV's or
radio's).
I could try working on the video driver, would I access that from
control panel and look for something like up-date drivers? - sorry but I
am not too conversant with these things.
As I think you inferred, if it is a failing display I don't think it
would be sensible to replace it when new machines are so competitively
priced
Anyway thanks again for your generous help.
Regards,
John.

On 18/12/2014 18:49, Derek Buchanan wrote:
> John,
>       Just to cover the bases, while you have the laptop hooked up to
> your television you could try reloading the video driver.  I seriously
> doubt that is going to have any affect but it is worth documenting
> that you tried that.  My gut feeling is that the display on the laptop
> is going out and soon won't come back. If you have any warranty, then
> it is time to call, if not then how comfortable are you working on
> laptops?  If you elect to take it to a repair shop, don't expect it to
> be cheap.  I know certain Dell displays were going for $700, and I am
> not saying that there might not be other cheaper sources like E-Bay
> and the like.  At that point I would sit down and decide if it is
> worth putting money into fixing it or putting that same money toward a
> new laptop.
>
> Hopefully that helps a little,
> Derek Buchanan
>
> On Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 6:59 AM, John Clemence <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> Hi,
>> Not sure if I am posting correctly by simply hitting the reply button on
>> one of the emails from the group, but here goes.
>> We have a Packard Bell laptop model PAWF7, its running win 7 and the
>> display started intermittently going off, sometimes hitting the
>> brightness button repeatedly would bring the picture back temporarily. I
>> have tried using a pc lead to connect the laptop video to my television
>> and everything works perfectly via the tv screen. Would anyone on the
>> list have any suggestions what I could try to eliminate possible problem
>> areas.
>> Many thanks in anticipation of any suggestions.
>> Regards,
>> John Clemence.
>>
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