Blank white screen on Powerbook G4

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Blank white screen on Powerbook G4

My laptop screen has suddenly gone blank. White background with faint blue smudges towards left. No icons, nothing showing. All icons show on my desktop monitor and I can access all documents and functions via the desktop monitor but nothing on the laptop screen. I have tried unplugging everything and restarting but no success...still a white screen on the laptop. Power light is not lit nor is fan functioning. What's going on? Thanks.

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PowerBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Mar 12, 2009 8:17 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 13, 2009 6:13 AM in response to viajera

viajera, welcome to Apple Discussions.

This G4 forum is primarily for G4 desktop Macs. Since your problem is probably hardware related, you will get more exposure to other PB G4 users if you post your question in the appropriate G4 PB forum on this page. http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=120

 Cheers, Tom 😉

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Answer 2

viajera Author

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Mar 13, 2009 7:00 AM in response to Texas Mac Man

Thanks very much for advising me to re-direct my (first every) query. Will hope for some enlightening comments.

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Answer 3

viajera Author

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Mar 13, 2009 7:30 AM in response to viajera

Correction re: my blank, white screen...the power light is on. I've read other threads and do not find a similar problem so will hope for a new angle to pursue. Thanks.

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Answer 4

eww

Level 9

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Mar 13, 2009 10:52 AM in response to viajera

Hi, viajera. What model is your laptop? Assuming it's a Powerbook G4 of some sort, this article will help you identify it precisely:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3065

I don't know of any kind of software problem that can cause what you describe, so I'm sure there is a hardware failure of some kind. Is the blank white display affected at all when you change its tilt angle? If what you see on the display changes even momentarily when you move it — whether or not a proper display image ever appears — you can be fairly confident that the video cable is damaged where it passes through the display hinge. If the machine has ever been dropped, and the hinge or the back of the case is visibly deformed in any way, this is almost certainly the problem.

It's also possible that the video cable is not securely connected inside the Powerbook's case or inside the display assembly. Where the connections are and how to access them varies a great deal from one Powerbook model to another, so knowing which one you have may be very helpful.

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Answer 5

viajera Author

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Mar 13, 2009 11:58 AM in response to eww

eww, I have followed the suggestions you made and consulted the article to further identify my computer model. I have a G4 DVI that features the video-out port which is where I have my desktop monitor connected. The blank, white screen on the desktop PC does not change if I alter the angle, nor has the computer been dropped nor are the hinges broken. There is no visible damage to the unit which sits on my desk 99% of the time. Any possible leads for me to follow? Thank you.

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