wilkes

call me 818-00278 $30.00

I made a mess of that last post, some corrections

fn+f4 or fn+f5 to select monitor, some will auto select if external monitor is attached at turn on

once in safe mode

As aunt Fol said on most laptops there is an option the bios to select the monitor used, you should also have an option from the keyboard usually fn=f4 of fn+f4 should be able to select main, external

or both

$500 seems a bit high for a screen, should be around $150-$200 plus 1 to 11/2 hours labor

I have used these folks to purchase screens, check them for priceing,

http://www.blisscomputers.net/

but before you buy check for someone local to install the screen

is the password for bios or for windows? the bios password is usually blank (enter key)

for windows press f8 while booting and choose safe Mode then log in as administrator whos password is also usually blank (enter key) one into safe mode you can delete or change the password in control panel

There is usually an option in the BIOS to boot to the external monitor - many people use their laptops that way, rarely using the built in LCD screen.

Thanks guys,

Tried the alternate monitor thing and there is a password prompt in between booting up and being able to enable that. It's always been that way, Since it was routine for me to do this I'm a little discouraged because I would think one of the combinations of trying to enter the password "blind" would have worked by now.

Next try: empty hard drive bay. Who knows.

Yes, replacement monitors are gawdawful expensive. $500 for this one. Yikes. Anyway I'd be happy to use it as a permanent "desktop" if the alternate monitor thing would work.

Predicador I will keep you in mind bud.

Really appreciate your guys input. Thanks & take care.

I do recommend trying an external monitor to see if it boots OK. Go to a friends house that has a desktop, and just borrow their cable for a few minutes.


Either way, it would only take an hour for someone to copy the data off onto DVD's for you, or for $20 or so you could turn the drive into an external drive, and just plug it into the USB port on your next one.

As long as the laptop was off, the harddrive is most likely OK. They can sustain a LOT of damage, are built for the drop, and these days they auto-park in an area where it won't hurt it beyond data salvage is the head does crash onto the platter - as long as the power was off! I know the Thinkpads actually have tilt/drop sensors, airbags, etc to protect the drives - others have similar.

i can give it a look im not expensive. If i think i can fix it im very cheap, Im in appalachian studying computer science so im always happy to help at a cheap price

First check to see if it will turn on, if so look for an external monitor plug (a "D" shaped plug with 3 rows of five pins) if you have the plug and it turns on try hooking up an external monitor and let us know what happens

unfortunately, a damaged lcd can be rather costly to replace. to retrieve your personal data, it is easiest to simply open up a desktop pc and connect the harddrive from your laptop (assuming of course that the pc supports multiple hard drives. on another note, it is possible that your harddrive may have suffered shock damage, and data may have been lost.

.... across the driveway

I realize there's a remote possibility the computer may work and it's just the monitor that's busted. Nice fantasy but I ain't holding my breath.

Advice needed: best way to retrieve data from my hard drive .... And / Or recommendations on who to use to do it in the event it turns out to be "above my pay grade"

Thanks in advance