I have an ASUS VivoBook 15 X510U with a broken built-in display, so I normally use a second monitor. The laptop sometimes starts normally and shows the ASUS logo, but other times the screen stays black and I have to restart it several times before getting an image. Now it remains completely blank even after around 50 restarts. I'm running Linux Mint with Wayland. Before the problem became permanent, I restarted the laptop because the desktop environment stopped working, so I'm not sure whether that is related. The BIOS appeared once, but after changing the boot priority, I can no longer open it. What should I try to determine whether this is a display-output, boot-configuration, or hardware problem?
2 Answers
Since the internal display is already damaged, first check whether the laptop is actually booting and simply sending video to the wrong output. Try the display-switch keyboard shortcut, usually Fn plus one of the function keys with a monitor icon, and test the external monitor while powering on. You can also try entering the BIOS; if the BIOS appears, the main hardware is probably starting and the issue may be related to display output or the boot configuration.
Connect the external monitor before turning the laptop on, then repeatedly tap the BIOS key as soon as you press the power button. On many ASUS laptops this is F2, while the boot menu may use Esc. If you changed the boot order, restore the default BIOS settings if you can get back in. Also try disconnecting power, removing the charger, holding the power button for about 30 seconds, and then starting it again. If there is still no ASUS logo or BIOS screen on either display, the problem may be hardware-related rather than Linux or Wayland.
I don’t have another laptop available to create a bootable installer, but I can test the monitor and keyboard shortcuts directly.
The BIOS did appear once, but after I changed the boot priority I could no longer get it to open. I’m not sure why that change affected it.