Question MSI GS65 Stealth Display Dysfunctional After Maintenance

[ScottyDoesKnow53]

Hi Friends!

I’m having a bit of trouble getting the monitor on my laptop to work. I have an MSI GS65 Stealth and had to replace a noisy fan. I opened up the case, unplugged some cables, made the repair and sealed up the case.

This is 100% of what my rig looks like when opened: youtube.com/watch?v=RISGYh5AjB4

Here’s a list of what I’ve diagnosed to be the problem and some attempts to fix the issue:

-Laptop seems fine apart from the display. Network card, graphics, CPU, etc all work fine when used with an external monitor

-Display is black when turning on laptop and normal operation. The only exception to this is when I try to access the Bios. I cannot see the BIOS on either my laptop’s monitor or external monitor, but the back light of the laptop monitor turns on. Same thing occurred when trying to run system restore. Monitor was black, but backlight was on.

-When in BIOS, for a few seconds, the screen flickers like it wants to turn on, but it slowly fades, leaving the backlight.

- I’ve checked display settings and my computer can not find the monitor. Device manager shows my external monitor, but not the laptop’s.

-I’ve tried hotkeys like FN+F2/F3

-I don’t think it is in how I reconnected the laptop. I’ve double and triple checked connections and all other functions work as they should.

-Built in chipset and GPU (1070) have had their drivers updated.

-I don’t think the monitor is done and ready for replacement, I think it is either missing the monitor’s drivers or I need to restore my system to an earlier point/complete reset. As I was going through my system following the initial fan repair, I noticed that I did need to re-install my trackpad drivers -likely because I disconnected it.

I need help in restoring my system or accessing my bios (I can’t see any options once the process starts). Alternatively, I think if I could track down the monitor’s driver, I might have a chance. Unfortunately, I don’t know the model of the monitor to begin looking.

Any ideas?

I’ve spent all day working on my laptop, I’m heading to bed, but I will try your solutions and get back promptly. Thanks for the help!

Quick stats:

2.2 GHz Intel Core i7-8750H Six-Core
16GB DDR4 | 256GB NMVe SSD
15.6" 1920 x 1080 144Hz Display
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB GDDR5)

Let me know what other info you need. Thanks again!

 

[13thmonkey]

This is not a software issue, 99% certain of that, this is an issue with the cable from the mobo/GPU to the screen. They are very delicate, it may have slipped out.

 

[ScottyDoesKnow53]

Thanks for the reply. I double checked this morning and made sure that the 40-Pin Ribbon cable was connected.

Let’s assume it’s hardware. How do I begin to diagnose if the issue is Motherboard, Ribbon cable, or screen related?

I’m reading that my GPUs (intel/motherboard and Nvidia 1070) are connected and my external monitor is going through the 1070.

I’ve checked RAM and it’s all being read by the system. The LCD is still receiving power because it has the backlight on when in BIOS/System recovery. I doubt there would be a separate cable that operates the backlight and not the rest of the LCD, right?

What other attempts can I make?

 

[13thmonkey]

there is a separate cable for the backlight, but it works... Something has not been assembled correctly, from the outside it's not really possible to tell. That's my opinion anyway.