Laptop refuses to power desk monitor.

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It's a Dell Latitude D410, the least reliable computer I've ever used. It produces prodigious amounts of heat and when used away from the docking station, overheats easily and stops working, often refusing to switch off. The screen is okay for working in a hotel room but for office use it sits on a base, which connects it with a bigger monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Several times in recent months the screen has gone blank and refused to work. Toggling screens with Fn + F8 doesn't produce any result. The screen is not faulty because we've plugged in a known working screen - no change. The fault is not in the base station because if you undock the laptop and plug the screen straight into the computer you get the same result. Cables are all fine. Our IT bloke is at a loss to fix it and the tiny screen is doing my eyes in.

Any suggestions, anybody?
 
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Sockets and pins in ports can become worn over time, and since you use your laptop with a docking station then they'll wear that much more quickly.

All the information points to this being a laptop fault. Given how much you appear to despise the machine, and bearing in mind the astonishingly low price of a new one these days, I'd send it to The Big docking Station In The Sky before it lets you down big time.
 
I wish I could! Unfortunately it's a company laptop. My boss got rid of his by slamming the lid on a pen and breaking the screen. But he's notoriously clumsy anyway.

Coca Cola on the keyboard, perhaps?
 
RigidRaider said:
Coca Cola on the keyboard, perhaps?
That would be a shame. However - oops - accidents do happen... ;)

Keyboards can survive a CC spill, but the motherboard won't.
 
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RigidRaider said:
Er.... will that kill my laptop?
No, but it'll extend the life of it so that you can continue being irritated, and cost you no more than 20% of the cost of a new machine. :D
 
The problem is being caused by the graphics cards onboard the motherboard. No display on both monitors confirms this.

Solution - get the motherboard replaced or get the company to give you a new laptop.
 
It's not quite that simple though: when the desk monitor goes off, the laptop screen still works fine. As I wrote above, we've eliminated the monitor, the cable and the docking station so the fault has to be in the laptop.
 
Apologies - just reread you original post - it was late when i did my first reply :oops:

I assume you have checked the docker by using another laptop and monitor etc etc. The monitor is fine as are the cables. The only another thing that could cause it is the System board. The system board will have the graphics card onboard - plus on the underside is all the connections for the docking station.

As long you have throughly checked the docker, monitor and cables - then you are going to need a new system board.
 
saclarke1977 said:
The only another thing that could cause it is the System board.
No it isn't. I guess it's still late at night for you...
 
Softus said:
saclarke1977 said:
The only another thing that could cause it is the System board.
No it isn't. I guess it's still late at night for you...

When you have someone trying to help you with your problem it might prove useful if you remember just that. The person is trying to help. Manners.
 
cuthbert7454 said:
When you have someone trying to help you with your problem it might prove useful if you remember just that. The person is trying to help. Manners.
Would you like to elaborate?
 
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