Acer 3680 No display when computer is powered up. Tried the brightness buttons, did the Function F5 key combo to make sure it wasn't set to external display, it wasn't in sleep mode. Are there any other solutions or is this just a bad LCD panel.

Your laptop has at least 3 display options;

1) Laptop internal monitor ONLY
2) Laptop internal monitor AND external display device
3) External display device ONLY

Press the Fn key down, and hold it down. Tap once on the F5 key.
(The F5 key is the Display Toggle-Over key)

Still no? Hold the Fn key down again, and tap once more on the F5 key.
Also make sure the HDTV is set.

Regards,
joecoolvette

The following applies to Acer Laptops...

If the power indicator is lit but nothing appears on the screen - The computer's power management system automatically blanks the screen to save power. Press any key to turn the display on.
If pressing any key does not turn the display back on, check the following....
1. The brightness level might be too low. Press Fn and the right cursor key to increase brightness level
2. Display device might be set to an external monitor. Press Fn and F5 to toggle to the internal display
3. Backlight might be turned off. Press Fn and F6 to turn on the backlight.
4. If the Sleep indicator is lit, the computer is in Sleep mode. Press & release power button to resume.

The following applies to Acer Laptops. You did not specify the brand of laptop you had. If your laptop is not Acer, the specific keys mentioned may be different and you should adjust accordingly.

If the power indicator is lit but nothing appears on the screen - The computer's power management system automatically blanks the screen to save power. Press any key to turn the display on.
If pressing any key does not turn the display back on, check the following....
1. The brightness level might be too low. Press Fn and the right cursor key to increase brightness level
2. Display device might be set to an external monitor. Press Fn and F5 to toggle to the internal display
3. Backlight might be turned off. Press Fn and F6 to turn on the backlight.
4. If the Sleep indicator is lit, the computer is in Sleep mode. Press & release power button to resume.

Look at the power indicator:
If it is not lit, no power is being supplied to the computer. If the computer has a battery, it may be low and unable to power the computer. Connect the AC adapter to recharge the battey pack and make sure the AC adapter is properly plugged into the computer and to the AC power outlet.
If the power indicator is lit, check if a non-bootable (non-system) disk or USB thumbdrive is in the computer. If so, remove it and press Ctrl + Alt + Del to restart the system.

Pressing F2 by itself is only used to enter the system's BIOS on startup. If the power indicator is lit but nothing appears on the screen - The computer's power management system automatically blanks the screen to save power. Press any key to turn the display on.
If pressing any key does not turn the display back on, check the following....
1. The brightness level might be too low. Press Fn and the right cursor key to increase brightness level
2. Display device might be set to an external monitor. Press Fn and F5 to toggle to the internal display
3. Backlight might be turned off. Press Fn and F6 to turn on the backlight.
4. If the Sleep indicator is lit, the computer is in Sleep mode. Press & release power button to resume.

If using Vista, connect the external monitor try pressing Fn+ F5 or F6. If this doesn't work, try right-click desktop. select personalize, selct display setting at the bottom of list. in Display setting window click Identify Monitors on top right. if 2 pops up on external monitor, monitors are arranged properly. If external say 1 external is set as default and switch by clicking 1 and clicking pull down menu and select Generic PnP. then, set Resolution to high. Also make sure that Extend the desktop to this computer, isn't checked. Another test would be to check Exten Desktop to this Computer and select This is My Main Computer.
Otherwise you may want to try to Rollback the Driver for video card, an update from Microsoft my have been installed while your friend had it and these usually mess up video displays. You can also click Advanced Settings in Display Settings and click through the tabs that pop up to check operations and hardware acceleration settings.

You have to configure the settings for the external display (TV) in windows.(assuming that's your OS)
Go to control panel >display >properties >advanced and make sure the TV is selected and active as secondary display.

Verify that you get a picture on the TV when doing this, if you do - you're all set.
Restart the computer and the problem should be fixed.

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Try pressing Function F5.
Since you say the power light does come on it could be that the display somehow got set to use an external display like another monitor or projector.
This toggles between internal and external display

so..did it work on the external monitor?

Display Toggle - <Fn> + <F5> will toggle from external monitor
Screen Blank - <Fn> + <F6> will turn the LCD off

hope that helps.