Sony Vaio VGN-FE11H Screen Problem

[ahmedjohnson]

Hi Gang,

I have a two year old Sony Vaio VGN-FE11H. It was working fine over weekend and when I came round to turning it on today, the screen displayed nothing. Upon closer inspection I could see the Sony Vaio logo that comes on the moment you turn the unit on, the sound was fine too. The image was very very faint.

It went through the boot process, played me the windows startup sound and then nothing. I had a close look at the screen and could just about make out the desktop.

I fear that the screen has gone on me. Am I right in thinking this could be the invertor that has malfunctioned? If so, how easy is it to repair/replace and what kind of costs are we looking at. I have never had any problems with this machine and so am worried as to why the screen would just die on me like that. Is this a common occurence?

For info I managed to hook the laptop up to an external display and everything was working a-ok, just not on the screen of the Vaio itself.

Blencogo - you have helped me out greatly in the past, what's your diagnosis of this kind sir?

Many Thanks
Big Fella

[Blencogo]

Hi Big Fella.

Unfortunately it does sound like the inverter - and that sounds expensive! However, it may just be the connections to the Inverter and checking these should be your first step.

You will probably have to order a replacement inverter from the USA. Here is the parts list for your model: -

Nexttronics VGN-FE11 Parts List

You will see there are two inverters available depending on what make of screen you have. You will have to check with Nexttronics unless you can see the makers name. The Hitachi one is part number 144388812 and costs $116.25 - the QDI one is part number 144389211 and costs $79.95. Shipping will probably be about $10.

I attach the manual for your model at the bottom of this post - I think you can see the inverter at the bottom of the screen between the two hinges at the top of Page 9. It is a six inch by half inch circuit board inside a clear plastic tube. Check the Inverter connections before you spend any money!!

[ahmedjohnson]

Thank you very much Blencogo, knew you would have the answers and much more! Shall give Nextronics a call and see what's up. The manual is also a great help, thanks a lot.