Common problems

Laptop screen stays black

You can hear the laptop running, the fan spins, a light glows, maybe it even chimes, but the screen stays black. The good news hiding in that description is that a machine making signs of life has usually turned on fine, and the fault is in how the picture reaches you, not in the laptop itself. That is normally one of three things: the backlight, the cable that feeds the screen, or the panel itself, and they are told apart with simple checks, not guesswork. Tell us exactly what you see and hear and we will find the real fault for free, then give you one fixed quote before anything is opened. If we cannot fix it, you pay nothing.

Call 0113 460 2103 Book a free diagnosis

No fix, no fee
We come to you
The diagnosis is always free
A real person who does the work, not a call centre

What it usually means

The likely causes, most common first

The backlight has failed, so the picture is actually there but unlit, the classic giveaway is a ghost of the desktop visible when you shine a torch at the screen
The display cable has worn where it runs through the hinge, so the picture flickers, dims or cuts out as the lid moves, and may come back at certain angles
The panel itself has failed or been damaged, so there is no picture at all even though the machine underneath is running normally
The laptop is not actually reaching the point of drawing a picture, a boot fault rather than a screen fault, which looks identical from the outside and is why we test rather than assume
A graphics fault on the board, less common than any of the above, and something we prove before we ever name it
The machine is running but asleep or stuck, where a forced restart brings it back and nothing is broken at all

Not sure which is yours? That is what the free diagnosis is for. Call and describe it.

What we do

How we find the real fault

You tell us on the phone what you see and hear, whether there are lights and fan noise, whether anything ever flashes up, and whether the picture changes as the lid moves, so we arrive ready for the right fault
We come to you across Leeds, at home or at work, or you can drop the laptop to us if that is easier
We plug in an external monitor, the single most telling check there is, because a picture on the external screen proves the machine is running and puts the fault squarely in the laptop's own display
We check for a ghost image with a light source, which separates a dead backlight from a dead panel, two different repairs at two different costs
We test the display cable and its run through the hinge, flexing the lid to catch the fault that only appears at certain angles
If there is no picture anywhere, we treat it as a boot fault instead and test the machine itself rather than selling you a screen it does not need
You get a fixed quote before any work begins, and if it cannot be fixed, or it is not worth the money, we say so and you pay nothing

Is it worth fixing?

An honest answer, before you spend anything

Usually, yes. A display cable is a small part, and a replacement screen for most laptops is a routine, well-priced repair next to the cost of a new machine, so a laptop that is healthy underneath is normally well worth putting a working picture back on. The honest exceptions are a top-end or unusual panel on an ageing laptop, where the part alone can push the sums the wrong way, and a black screen that turns out to be a board-level graphics fault, which is a bigger conversation. Either way you will know from the free diagnosis exactly which fault you have and what the repair costs before you decide, and if the machine is not worth it we will say so plainly.

This is a laptop screen replacement job. The diagnosis is free, then you get one fixed quote before any work starts. If we cannot fix it, there is nothing to pay.

Call 0113 460 2103 for a free diagnosis

Where we work

We come to you across Leeds

Home or work, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 7pm. There is no walk-in shop, so we come to the machine, or you can arrange to drop it to us. Start at computer repair in Leeds, or pick your area.

Questions

The things people ask

My laptop turns on but the screen stays black. Is it broken?

The machine is probably fine, and that is not just optimism. Fan noise, lights or a start-up sound mean the laptop has powered up and is running; what has failed is the path between the computer and your eyes, usually the backlight, the display cable or the panel. Those are display repairs, not a dead machine, and your files are untouched by any of them. The free diagnosis tells you which of the three you have, and you get a fixed quote for exactly that repair before anything is opened.

How do I tell if it is the screen or the whole laptop?

Plug in an external monitor or a TV over HDMI, and give the laptop a moment. If the picture appears on the external screen, the machine is running normally and the fault is in the laptop's own display, the backlight, the cable or the panel. If nothing appears there either, the laptop may not be reaching the point of drawing a picture at all, which is a boot fault rather than a screen fault. That one check is the most useful thing you can do before calling, and telling us the result points us straight at the right repair.

I can just about see the picture if I shine a torch at the screen. What is that?

That is the backlight, and spotting the ghost image is genuinely useful detective work. The panel is still drawing the picture, but the light behind it has failed, which is why the desktop is faintly there when light hits the glass at an angle. It matters because the fix is the lighting side of the display rather than the whole panel, and on many machines that is the smaller of the two repairs. Mention the torch test when you call and we will know exactly where to start.

The screen only goes black at certain lid angles. Why?

That points at the display cable, which carries the picture from the board to the screen and runs through the hinge, flexing every single time the lid opens and closes. Years of that can wear it until the connection only holds at some angles, so the picture flickers, dims or drops as the lid moves. It is one of the smaller display repairs, and worth doing promptly, because a cable that is failing at the hinge tends to get worse, not better, and it can take the enjoyment out of an otherwise healthy laptop.

Will I lose my files because the screen is dead?

No. The screen is only the window; your photos, documents and everything else live on the drive, which a display fault does not touch. Everything will still be there when a working picture is put back in front of it. Even if you decide the laptop is not worth repairing, the files can be moved off it to a new machine, so a black screen is not a data emergency, just an inconvenient one.

Is it worth replacing the screen, or should I buy a new laptop?

If the machine underneath is healthy, a display repair is usually well worth it: a cable is a small part, and most replacement panels cost sensibly next to a new laptop. The honest exceptions are an unusual or top-end panel on an ageing machine, where the part alone can tip the balance, and a fault that turns out to be the graphics on the board rather than the screen. The free diagnosis settles which fault yours is, and you decide with the real repair and a fixed quote in front of you rather than a guess.

Sound more like one of these?

Tell us what is wrong.

Call and describe the fault. We will diagnose it for free, give you a fixed quote before any work, and if we cannot fix it there is nothing to pay. A real person who does the work, not a call centre.

Call 0113 460 2103 Book a repair