USB to VGA adapter

[c9kay32]

I have a Toshiba laptop and I've been connecting it to an external monitor since the backlight went. However, now the laptop won't send a signal out to the external monitor. When I hold a flashlight to the laptops monitor I can see the display, so I'm assuming the video card is fine, leading me to believe that something has gone awry with the vga port. I've tried several different monitors and none work. I was told using a USB to VGA adapter, I could work around the VGA port, but I'm not sure in which direction to go in buying one. Any suggestions?

Also, the laptop is running Ubuntu, which may limit my sections. I've been looking around and every product relating to my problem is for a dual display. Will those work?

 

[~Darkseeker~]

I can ever see anything like that working personally.

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a 4-pin oriented digital interface for storage and peripherals. VGA (Video Graphics Array) is a 15-pin oriented analogue interface for connecting screens with a base res of 480x600. A laptop isn't going to output any video signal through USB, only through it's USB. The Graphics chip only sends signal to the built-in screen and the VGA port on the side.

It sounds to me, if no signal is getting out at all, that something had failed and it is failing POST, or the graphics have failed.

 

[c9kay32]

Basically the computer is dead then? There's nothing I can short of replacing the motherboard (all the cards are integrated)?

 

[~Darkseeker~]

how old is your laptop?


probably 5-6 out of 10 toshiba's we get in the shop are dead boards. They go on ebay spares or repair.

 

[c9kay32]

I got it in late '09, so not terribly old.

 

[~Darkseeker~]

do you know what model it is?

the ones in this series (that look like this) are prone to motherboard failures.

 

[hurts13]

my advice would be to open that thing up and check the VGA port, could just need resoldered.