Need external display cord for laptop.?

Question

I have an Acer laptop. Had it for 2 years and as of recent the monitor stopped working. Half of it shows at start up then it goes black, but I can slightly see the desktop if I shine my flashlight at an angle, its like looking at my desktop through a window with very very dark window tint (like a car).

MI was told its possible that the LCD burned out and the cheapest alternative would be to connect my laptop to a regular desktop monitor using the VGA port, but I dont have a cord and have had no luck looking it up. Where can I get one? Or maybe is there another name for the cord needed to connect my laptop to the computer monitor?

Answer 1

If your laptop has a vga connector (15 pin, usually blue) then you just need a standard vga monitor cable like the ones that connect from a pc to a monitor.  If you can still faintly see your desktop on the laptop then the screen is not burned out but the backlight (this is the screen backlight not the inverter) has failed.  This is much less expensive to fix than replacing the screen and any good repair shop should be able to sort it out.  Shop around and if they tell you it is the inverter then go somewhere else.  If they tell you it is the backlight then you should be ok.  Do not agree to send it away as any good shop should be able to fix it and, if not, a second hand screen would be the next best option.