Many laptops include a feature — selectable from the BIOS or from the Video
Display menu of the Control Panel — that allows you to set the LCD brightness
when running on AC power at a higher level than when the laptop’s running
on batteries. This can extend the usable life of the battery by a significant
percentage.Hardware failure
This is the worst possible scenario: most likely either the LCD display or the
video controller display. Neither is a happy circumstance, unless your machine
is still under warranty. (But then again, why has a relatively young machine
suffered a catastrophic failure?) Make sure you don’t have a high-tech lemon;
make sure any repairs come with a proper guarantee and keep a close eye on
your machine’s performance as it approaches the end of the warranty period.Under Windows, go to the Control Panel and check the Device Manager under
System Properties. Look for one of two things: a red X indicating that a device
has been disabled or has failed, or a yellow exclamation point indicating a
resource conflict or a problem with the associated driver.Resource conflicts don’t arise out of the air; if the display (or any other piece
of hardware) was working properly yesterday but not today, stop and con-
sider what has changed. Have you added any new hardware? Have you
changed settings? Have you updated or changed device drivers? Consider
going back in time by using System Restore. You can find the key to this
simple but essential tool in the Cheat Sheet.If you suspect a hardware failure, you can take a few steps to identify which
part is causing the problem. The first is to try to determine whether the LCD
or the video display adapter is at fault.- Check your instruction manual and locate the port — usually a nine-
pin female connector called a DB9 — on the machine.
Most laptops include the ability to output a video signal to a standard
computer monitor.- Bring your laptop to a desktop (or bring a monitor to the vicinity of
your portable computer) and attach the standard computer display to
the DB9 connector. - Turn on the monitor and use your laptop’s keyboard commands to
toggle the output from the built-in LCD display to the attached
monitor.
On some machines you press and hold the Fn or Function key together
with one of F keys at the top; other machines may require you to go into
the BIOS to enable the output to a monitor. Yet another method requires
selection from an on-screen utility, which could be problematic if you
can’t see the LCD display.
48 Part II: Explaining What Could Possibly Go Wrong