Dell latitude 830 completely black screen even on external monitor(it is used on a docking staion with external monitor almost exclusiveley), took out hard drive and put in pc,was able to retrieve data-- to be clear i get absolutely nothing on the lcd or the external monitor although laptop seems to boot (i think) thank you , have tried fn/f8. have tried swapping ram and leaving just A or just B ram. have tried without battery installed, with battery and only battery, on docking station and off.

Function Keys 'Fn'. One is Function Brighter + and one Darker -

How do I adjust the brightness on my Dell Latitude laptop?
You can press the following keys to adjust display brightness: Press and the up-arrow key to increase brightness on the integrated display only (not on an external monitor). Press and the down-arrow key to decrease brightness on the integrated display only (not on an external monitor).

Using the Display: Dell Latitude D630/D630c User's Guide

http://www.solano.edu/technology100218/data/D630/display.htm#:~:text=You%20can%20press%20the%20following,not%20on%20an%20external%20monitor).

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please use the following small secret. Disconnect the power adapter from the laptop.
2) Dissasembly the batteries from the laptop.
3) press the power button in ON with the adapter+battery disconnected from the computer. and maintain press the power button by EXACTLY 60 seconds.This liberate the ESD.
4) Try again.
God bless you

Are you sure that the display is not set for external monitor only? Also take bright flashlight and shine on the display. If you can see the images then the problem is with the back light and usually caused by a bad inverter. Some times you can get the back light or inverter bu most times it is easier and cheaper to replace the entire display.

Look for the key with the picture of a LCD / Screen press FN + that key. Usually F7. That should switch the display back to the laptop screen.

That's the inverter board on the monitor (the ones which gives power to the monitor) or the lamp on the monitor. Try to see if after it boots (prob after 5 minutes) you can see what's on the screen (even though it's really dark), if you can't see anything at all it means it's the screen. Also you can use it in the meantime by connecting another monitor and press FN (function) and F8 (probably twice) and you will see everything on the external monitor. I hope this helps.

I would suspect either the video card or your LCD screen.. A good test is to hook up an external monitor and see if that works. Be aware that when you start it up, you will have to hit the function key and special function key combo to switch it to the external display.
On the latitude, that is the Fn key plus the F8 key.

Make sure you have not accidentally used the FN+F5 key
That combination sets the laptop to use an external display.

If using that does not give you a display take a small torch (flashlight if in USA) and shine it at an angle on the laptop screen.
If you can see any sort of picture you would be looking at replacement of some minor parts to the laptop screen

Hope this gives you the information you need. If not add any extra information you may have and lets see if we can FixYa

Bob
Moderator

It would be very decent of you to consider the quality of our expert’s answers and judge them accordingly as you pass through FixYa.

Thank you

Sounds like you need a new video card. Thank goodness you were able to retrieve your data. The new USB flashsticks are great for backups.
Good Luck

Check your display setting on the laptop to choose which one will be the main or have a share view.

You will need to dock the closed laptop first, then use the power button on the dock to turn it on. This will result in the output to the monitor. Alternatively, if you have the laptop open, you can toggle between the laptop LCD and external monitor (or both) by holding the blue Fn key (on the laptop keyboard) and pressing F5. Best regards, torgo