Did my Dell Studio magnetize my Acer Aspire?

[RioDD]

Hello
I've had Acer Aspire 3690 for 3 years at home. Few days ago I got Dell Studio at work, I brought it home and I put it next to my Acer Aspire. This morning the acer monitor stopped working. When i turn it on, it only shows half of the Acer Logo screen, the half that is not next to the Dell. I cant get OS, I cant get BIOS, nothing. Than I noted the magnet on the Dell that is supposed to keep the laptop closed and it is very srtong(It can hold an heavy 10 cm long nailcutter)! What can I do to fix my Acer laptop? Did I move it too late? Please help!
Thanks

 

[RetiredChief]

(1) first have you tried going into the BIOS as this would verify screen display. Or have you tried booting to a bootable DVD.

(2) If screen appears normal in the above check, then the next thing is to check the HDD. Remove and try it in a 2nd computer. Do not try to boot from it you just want to see if you can read some of the files, ie dot TXT files and open som jpg files.

I'm not familiar with the "Dell Studio" does it produce a fluxuating Magnetic field or is the magnetic field constant. A fluxuating, or alternating Field can induce a voltage and damage electronic componets (ie ICs and Chips). A stong (Have to be very strong) constant Magnect field may damage the HDD. Note the strength of the magnetyic field is inversely proportional to the square of the distance

 

[RioDD]

1) yes I've tryed to enter the BIOS but it was all black. Then I took a flashlight and point it in the right down corner (one that was most far away) and I could hardly see where it was saying "Save and exit" in the BIOS. I can't boot by cd or dvd because I'll have to set the first boot device and there I cant see nothing.

2)While normal booting, I can see HDD activity, and even after a while I can see that it is checking the camera. Also, I can see first time part of the white screen with the aser logo, and after, near the end of hdd activity a short time blue (windows logon like blue) on the end of the screen. I have no idea if the screen can be damaged or magnetized or something else. About the magnet I was not aware untill i noted the damage on the other laptop. I didnt get any manual for the Dell yet, nothing about it, I was even wondering for 15 minutes how to turn it on.

 

[RetiredChief]

OK - the Dell studio is a laptop. It would NOT effect your other Laptop. The Dell will not produce a magnetic field nor an RF field sufficient to damage a 2nd laptop sitting next to it. My quess is that the LCD panel (or backlight) bit the dust and it is just coincidental.

As for booting to CD, you might try unplugging the HDD. The laptop should try to boot from the 1st device (HDD) when it finds it is not there it should try the 2nd boot device, normally the CD/DVD

as to the LCD panel:
http/www.blisscomputers.net/acer-aspire-3690-laptop-lcd-screen-15-4-wxga-glossy.aspx

Also another site (for Backlight and other parts)
http/www.answerblip.com/how-to-replace-lcd-display-on-acer-aspire-3690-2196-laptop

For how to disassembly instructions:
http/repair4laptop.org/disassembly_acer.html

Or for 8 Bucks
https/www.completeservicemanuals.com/acer/laptop-pc/aspire-3690-series-service-manual/prod_1269.html

Added: to get the dell manual just do a google for "Dell Studio manual" and walla
http/support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/1536/en/index.htm