Dell xps 1330 screen light problem

Jay Dee

Hi,
I have a problem with my xps 1330 laptop.
If I close the laptop and reopen it later, all i have is a blank screen.
If you look closely you can just make out the "password" box.
If you power it off and re-start the screen comes back perfectly.

Any ideas?
jay

Jay Dee

Hi,

Anyone got any ideas?
It can't be good for the laptop to keep powering it off and re-starting again.

I can't seem to find any similar problems listed anywhere.

Freeman

What version of Windows is it? Are you resuming from Standy or Hibernation? From your description it sounds like a Power Saving setting in Windows or a Dell application. Would need more information about your Power settings. You said your screen works on a restart, do you notice any problems if the laptop is running for an hour or two continuously?

Jay Dee

Hi,

I am running Vista.

It would be from standby ( I close the cover without shut down, and reopen it later ), it used to have the Password box dispayed on opening.
Now that screen is black/blank.
You can just about make out the site of the Password box, but I don't know where the curser is. So I can't resume.
I power off, restart and the coulour is back.

I do not understand why closing and opening the laptop means I have a screen one minute and not the next ?

I have power setting at High performance.

Any help would be appreciated.

Jay

Freeman

I am glad to help if I can. Do you have the latest BIOS and Video Driver installed from the Dell website? What video card have you? It seems to be a common enough problem with Vista and afaik the solution has to do with the bios/video driver version and/or the power settings in Vista. If you have a driver from a third party website (nvidia, ati, intel) you should try the one from the Dell website instead, i.e. uninstall and install the dell one.

Jay Dee

Hi,

Thanks for the response.
The Video card is :
Nvidia GeForce 8400 M GS
It was preinstalled and I have not done any upgrades to it.
As for Bios etc, I dont know.
I download any windows updates as they appear, but I have not downloaded any from Dell.

Is this information of any use ?

Jay

Freeman

It might be worth trying the hibernate setting instead of standby, I prefer using that as it doesn't use up any battery power. It would be good to know if the laptop resumes from hibernation as well.

If you want to try and fix the standby issue, here are some things you can try or keep in mind:

If the video drivers and BIOS haven't been upgraded since dispatched from Dell, go to the download area and enter your service tag and see if there is a newer version there.

If you are new to BIOS updates, be aware that you can damage your computer if it is not done right. Make sure your laptop is plugged in and that it is the right BIOS for your laptop.

There is talk online that a number of hotfixes were released from Microsoft for various resume from standby issues. You would probably get most of these from a Service Pack release. I advise against hoxfixes because they are usually temporary and there is nearly always some trade off. When they release the service pack it usually has a better solution designed for the problem. What service pack have you got?

Jay Dee

Hi,

" What service pack have you got? "

How do I find out ?

I will check the dell site for upgrades later tonight.

Thanks

Jay

Freeman

No problem. Try clicking Start, typing winver and pressing enter. If you get no joy that way, see this kb article

Freeman

I will check the dell site for upgrades later tonight.

Thanks

Jay

Hi Jay. How did you get on? Need any more help?

Jay Dee

Hi,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.
I went to Dublin for the week-end and left the laptop behind.
I am now getting it returned this week.

I will get back to you ASAP

Jay