Just a few days ago my laptop was working perfectly fine then all of the sudden it had a smoky smell and the screen went black. I turned it off and waited a little bit and turned it back on. It starts up fine and can see everything on the screen and then it will go black again after a little bit. I have hooked it up to an external monitor and I can see everything that way. I have replaced the inverter but didn't change anything. Any idea's? Not sure what to try next.

Does it spin the disc - is there sound?

If your laptop appears to boot up and the hard disk LEDflashes, then the problem is probably a back light fault. This can be a faultyinverter or a faulty CCFL lamp. Please click on this link and follow myinstructions to identify the fault and possible fix :- http://www.fixya.com/support/r3598095-faulty_laptop_lcd_screen

if you activity lights on, try connecting to an external monitor or modern flat screen tv. if the screen is flashing then it is probably a screen issue. eg the invertor r screen has failed.

Cannot offer solution but my mine has also gone bad.  At first a black shadow appeared on the left side of the screen.  Took it to the authorized service center.  they kept it a few days, said nothing could be done.  Used it anyway for the next 5 years when suddenly it went black (or sometimes blue) after working perfectly for the first 5 minutes. A sharp rap next to the right speaker fixed it a few times, but no more.  Good luck. 

Bill

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Hi there,

Black screen is often caused by a defective screen. The easiest way to determine if you have a hardware or software problem is by performing a power drain. Please follow the steps below for additional instructions.

Power Drain:
1. Turn off the computer.

2. Unplug the AC adapter from the power outlet and take out the battery from the system.

3. Now, press the power button for about 15-20 seconds.

4. Put back the battery in and plug the AC adapter.

5. Turn on the system and try observing it.
--> If power drain did not work, you need to consult a repairman to have your screen be checked for possible damage.

Hope it helps.

Thank you for using FixYa.

I am having the same problem

the color pixels are different sections in the screen and the green section might be cracked

I think some parts or ram of your ThinkPad is damage by water.So this is my personal reference that go to the service center and check it by a hardware engineer.

i think there may be inverter problem.

Connect it to another PC, if you get the same result, the problem is the backlight, they go all of the time. I am constantly repairing these things in stores.