My laptop screen is completely black but I can hear the fan running and the power light is on. It works fine on an external monitor. Is my screen dead?
Since external monitor works, the motherboard and GPU are fine. The problem is isolated to the display. Three possible causes: 1) Display cable (ribbon cable) has come loose or failed. Common on frequently opened laptops. Screen may flicker before going black. Repair: $50-100. 2) Backlight has failed. Shine a flashlight on the screen at an angle. If you faintly see the desktop, the backlight is dead but LCD is fine. Repair: $80-150. 3) LCD panel has failed. No image even with flashlight means full panel replacement: $100-250 depending on model. Before paying for repair, try: close laptop fully then open while watching the screen. If image briefly appears then goes black, the cable is the issue (cheapest fix). Also try pressing Fn + display toggle key (usually F4 or F7) in case you accidentally switched to external-only mode.
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