[ale] Laptop without LCD panel (running Linux)

[Alan Dobkin]

If it is running a recent version of Windows (e.g. 7 or 10), try 
pressing the Win-P key combination after it boots. Typically, pressing 
it twice will duplicate the primary display to the secondary output, and 
pressing it 4 times will send it only to the external video.

Similarly, you could try booting it off a Linux LiveCD or bootable USB 
drive and see if you can switch the video output at that point.


On 8/12/2018 11:17 PM, Beddingfield, Allen via Ale wrote:
> I can hit f2 to get into setup, to verify some output is going to the 
> broken LCD.  FN-F4 is supposed to switch to the external video, but it 
> does nothing here..  I've hit FN-F4, F4, ALT-F4, CTRL-F4, and no 
> output to VGA.
>
> This is a Toshiba Satellite L875-S7208, BTW.
>
>
> On 8/12/18 10:12 PM, Alex Carver via Ale wrote:
>> You should be able to switch the video at boot before the OS.  I've had
>> three laptops that all showed boot screens on external monitors.
>> Usually it takes flipping the output using the Fn key and one of the
>> upper row function keys during that period to make it switch.
>>
>> The signals on the cable to the LCD panel are not usually one of the
>> common formats.  It's typically something only the LCD driver itself
>> will understand so finding an adapter is not likely.
>>
>> On 2018-08-12 19:45, Beddingfield, Allen via Ale wrote:
>>> One of my co-workers gave me a laptop that his wife dropped and broke
>>> the display, and the entire assembly off the back (LCD is broken, rear
>>> cover busted, hinge broken free from it, etc..).  The laptop body 
>>> itself
>>> is fine.  I got on EBay and discovered that the entire display assembly
>>> is going to be about $150 to replace - not worth it.  So, I had another
>>> idea:  Open it up, remove the hinges, unplug the video/camera cable, 
>>> and
>>> remove the wireless cables.  My plan was to just plug in a monitor to
>>> the vga output, and use it for a computer, somewhat looking like an 80s
>>> console without the TV.  I tried that, but got no video output.  
>>> So..  I
>>> plugged in the broken video cable, and attached it to the broken LCD
>>> panel.  I was able to see enough of the output to see that the PC is
>>> booting up.  It looks like the switch to the external output is done in
>>> software AFTER Windows comes up.  So much for my idea of a small Linux
>>> machine.
>>> I'm wondering now if there is some sort of an adapter in existence that
>>> I can plug the video cable that goes into the back of the LCD panel to,
>>> and get VGA, DVI, HDMI, or some sort of useful output to connect a
>>> monitor to?
>>>
>>> Any ideas, anyone?
>>>
>>> Thanks.
>>> Allen B.