Replce LCD or video card?

I have an HP - ZD8060US.
I was recently driving with the computer on and all of a sudden the screen
went out.
Now, all I see is lines going all the way across the entire screen. It
sounds like Windows boots but I can't see anything.

I plugged in an external monitor into the video card.
The external monitor works fine until I leave the computer at idle for a
while. Then all of a sudden the external monitor will go out too.
If I reboot everything is fine with the external, never the LCD on the
laptop it self though, and everything will be fine as long as I'm working on
the computer and it doesn't idle for too long.

I'm wandering if the video card may have gone out while I was driving with
the computer on and if perhaps the LCD on the laptop is fine.
This laptop has a separate ATI 128.

What would be the best way of finding out what's wrong and if it's the video
card, the LCD on the laptop, or if it's perhaps both.

Thanks

JS

The video card is probably ok. The CRT is probably going out because of
some power saving setting in the laptop itself or Windows. If it works
as long as you are actively using it, that is almost certainly the
reason that the CRT is going out.

[Hint: Both with DOS only (floppy or bootable DOS CD) and see if the
external monitor goes out (with no use after booting). If it does, look
for a setting in the BIOS. If it does not, then it's a Windows setting.
There could be both a BIOS AND a Windows setting.

If there is a real problem here, its likely in the LCD display panel,
but this could be a simple cable problem as well (cable from the base to
the LCD in the lid) ... maybe just a loose connector. The first step is
disassembly, reseating and inspection.

Jay Stevens wrote:
> I have an HP - ZD8060US.
> I was recently driving with the computer on and all of a sudden the screen
> went out.
> Now, all I see is lines going all the way across the entire screen. It
> sounds like Windows boots but I can't see anything.
>
> I plugged in an external monitor into the video card.
> The external monitor works fine until I leave the computer at idle for a
> while. Then all of a sudden the external monitor will go out too.
> If I reboot everything is fine with the external, never the LCD on the
> laptop it self though, and everything will be fine as long as I'm working on
> the computer and it doesn't idle for too long.
>
> I'm wandering if the video card may have gone out while I was driving with
> the computer on and if perhaps the LCD on the laptop is fine.
> This laptop has a separate ATI 128.
>
> What would be the best way of finding out what's wrong and if it's the video
> card, the LCD on the laptop, or if it's perhaps both.
>
> Thanks
>
> JS
>
>