220-801 · Question #839
A user reports that they walked away from their laptop for 30 minutes and when they came back the screen was very dim. The user tried moving the mouse and increasing the brightness setting, but…
The correct answer is C. Check if the laptop is now on battery power. When a laptop screen dims unexpectedly after being idle, the first check is whether the laptop switched to battery power, which triggers power management settings that automatically reduce display brightness.
Question
A user reports that they walked away from their laptop for 30 minutes and when they came back the screen was very dim. The user tried moving the mouse and increasing the brightness setting, but neither worked. Which of the following should the technician do FIRST?
Options
- APlug in an external monitor to test the video card.
- BRun a check disk scan to verify there is no corruption.
- CCheck if the laptop is now on battery power.
- DHave the LCD screen replaced with a known good screen.
How the community answered
(30 responses)- A3% (1)
- C93% (28)
- D3% (1)
Why each option
When a laptop screen dims unexpectedly after being idle, the first check is whether the laptop switched to battery power, which triggers power management settings that automatically reduce display brightness.
Testing with an external monitor is a hardware diagnostic step used to isolate GPU or LCD issues, which is premature before ruling out a power management cause.
Running Check Disk scans for file system and disk errors, which are completely unrelated to a screen brightness problem.
Windows power management plans automatically lower screen brightness when a laptop transitions from AC power to battery power to conserve energy. If the laptop was unplugged while the user was away, it would switch to battery mode and dim the screen - this is the most probable and easily verified cause before pursuing hardware diagnostics.
Replacing the LCD is a hardware repair action and should only be considered after all software and power-related causes have been eliminated.
Concept tested: Laptop power management and automatic brightness reduction on battery
Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/battery-saving-tips-for-windows-a850d64d-ee8e-c8c5-97ea-1f35b9f55b44
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