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This guide will help you replace the screen inverter in a Dell Latitude D800 laptop. As in most other models, the inverter board is mounted inside the display panel and located below the LCD screen.
You will find the display panel diagram in the service manual for Dell Latitude D800.
Screen inverter failure symptoms:
1. The laptop starts normally and video works fine for a while but after some time the screen goes very dark. You still can see the desktop but it’s very faint.
2. When you turn on the laptop, the screen lights up for a moment and goes off.
3. You can light up the screen for a short period of time by pressing on the lid close switch.
You can search for a new screen inverter for Dell Latitude D800 laptops here.
By the way, when the inverter board fails, you still can use the laptop with an external monitor connected to the VGA port.
1. Turn off the laptop.
2. Connect an external monitor.
3. Start the laptop, it should detect the external monitor automatically. If the external monitor is not detected, try switching video from internal to external mode using Fn+F8 key combination.
January 13th, 2012 at 11:42 am
@ HC,
What is your problem. No backlight or no video at all?
It’s possible your new WUXGA screen needs a new video cable.
January 12th, 2012 at 8:23 pm
Does the D800 have different inverters for different resolution screens?
A WUXGA screen isn’t working as replacement for a WXGA screen.
Does it need a different inverter or video card?
June 5th, 2011 at 9:03 am
@ alison,
Possible inverter or backlight lamp failure. I cannot tell without testing the laptop.
If the laptop starts failing like that more often, try replacing the inverter first.
June 2nd, 2011 at 6:16 am
When I started up my laptop this morning the screen was very dark, but the desktop was dimly visible. I restarted it a few times and on the third restart it worked fine–after I had turned it over to see if there might be a problem with the opening-and-closing mechanism of the top. I think I jostled something enough to make it work again–it seems like a physical problem. Is it likely to fail again? Is this probably an inverter problem?
March 23rd, 2011 at 12:23 pm
i replaced a backlight and inverter on a dell inspiron e1505. now when i turn it on i only have the top half of screen visible. the bottom is black during startup and greenish/striped when it boots up. i assume i did something wrong during install…………..
March 10th, 2011 at 11:32 pm
Paul,
You did really good troubleshooting the laptop.
If you have same flickering problem with another backlight lamp, most likely this is inverter failure.
I think replacing the inverter board should fix it.
March 9th, 2011 at 6:19 pm
skye,
I think you have two different problems.
1. A message about wrong adapter might appear when you are using a generic AC adapter. Are you using the original Dell AC adapter?
2. It’s possible the laptop will not boot in any mode because the operating system corrupted. Also, this could be hardware related problem but first I would try reinstalling OS. I cannot tell what is wrong without seeing the laptop.
March 9th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
hi, i have a dell latitude series d800, when i start the laptop a message comes on saying –
“the ac power adapter type cannot be determined. this will prevent optimal system performance.
strike f1 to continue, f2 to run the setup utility”
if i press f1 it goes to another page with a few options on it, “start windows normally” which i have tried, “last known good configuration”, also tried, and “safe mode with networking” also tried, each one of these options restarts the laptop and it goes back to where i first began. my knowledge is limited and i have no idea what to try. any suggestions would be appreciated. thanks.
March 6th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
Hi I have a Dell Lattitude D800,when i press power on,the screen image comes on as normal but the backlight flickers real quick (like strobes) for about 2 seconds then just goes out,when it flickers i can hear a real quick ticking noise,like the starter noise from a flouresant light ,but the laptop and screen image stays normal..any ideas ? i did keep the main ribbon plugged in to the dell screen then got a different screen and plugged the backlight in from the other screen,but the backlight on the other screen does the same,so i dont think its the backlight,so all i can assume is that the inverter has give up the ghost..
February 1st, 2011 at 10:20 pm
Justin London,
The LCD screen definitely broken and has to be replaced.
You can follow this guide for Inspiron 8600 laptop: http://www.insidemylaptop.com/files/dell-inspiron-8600-inverter-replacement.pdf
By the way, I would suggest searching for a new replacement screen using Dell part number from the back of the original screen. This way you’ll find a compatible screen and there shouldn’t be any mistake.