- Joined
- Jan 9, 2012
A question, followed by some backstory: Is there a way within Windows Vista, which can be done without going into BIOS, to make a laptop's VGA output start before Windows has booted up?
Recently, my Dell studioXPS 1340 laptop's LCD screen decided to become so dim that I can't see anything unless the light is juuuuuuust right. I've been reading what I can on the issue, and it seems to be generally caused by
1. A broken inverter
2. Burnt out backlight bulb(s)
3. Something going full-on retarded and randomly turning off the backlight completely, which can be fixed by manually changing it in the BIOS
Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to and test my inverter and backlight ( And as you can probably infer from the thread title, I don't get to see the BIOS screen when I plug my computer into my friend's Westinghouse LCD monitor or his LG HDTV via VGA cable. The picture pops up once Windows starts up, but until then neither monitor nor TV can find a source. Since the external displays cannot find a source before Windows starts, I'm guessing the VGA doesn't start outputting information until Windows is up.
I've got two or so days of backing up data before I take my computer to someone who can open up my screen and actually test my inverter and/or backlight bulb(s). If someone out there happens to have an answer that could let me rule out the quick BIOS fix as an option before I take it in, I'd be most appreciative.
Recently, my Dell studioXPS 1340 laptop's LCD screen decided to become so dim that I can't see anything unless the light is juuuuuuust right. I've been reading what I can on the issue, and it seems to be generally caused by
1. A broken inverter
2. Burnt out backlight bulb(s)
3. Something going full-on retarded and randomly turning off the backlight completely, which can be fixed by manually changing it in the BIOS
Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to and test my inverter and backlight ( And as you can probably infer from the thread title, I don't get to see the BIOS screen when I plug my computer into my friend's Westinghouse LCD monitor or his LG HDTV via VGA cable. The picture pops up once Windows starts up, but until then neither monitor nor TV can find a source. Since the external displays cannot find a source before Windows starts, I'm guessing the VGA doesn't start outputting information until Windows is up.
I've got two or so days of backing up data before I take my computer to someone who can open up my screen and actually test my inverter and/or backlight bulb(s). If someone out there happens to have an answer that could let me rule out the quick BIOS fix as an option before I take it in, I'd be most appreciative.