If the laptop has not had any trauma, a likely cause is the harness that
goes from the main part of the laptop to the display. The display may
have burned out, but it has been my experience that they usually start
to fade prior to failing. If I am not mistaken, your model of notebook
is several years old and after opening and closing it over and over
again, it just wears out.

I replaced one several years ago; I think that it was either a Zenith or
Radio Shack unit. Replacing the harness was easy, it was like a mylar
strip with thin copper cladding on it that just slid in and out of slits
on each half of the computer. The hard part was reassembling the
computer; I have large unsteady hands that while adequate for working on
both my car and desktop system repair, are inadequate for laptop repair.
It took me hours to put together what only took minutes to take apart. I
would never do it again!

In your case however, it may cost more than the unit is worth to have it
repaired at a shop and what the heck, it may be fun and educational to
try and fix it yourself.

Dennis Noble
361-808-9363



I have a Toshiba Satellite Pro CDS420 laptop.  The display panel appears
dead, but the laptop works fine when hooked up to a monitor.  Any
troubleshooting suggestions to confirm bad display panel or other
component?

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