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I have an LG VX9100. The screen went white on both screens. I need this to work so I can transfer my contacts to a new phone. Also, if the screen problem can't be fixed, is there a way for my contact information on the hard drive can be restored & retrieved ??
I'd be more than happy to assist you. Who is your cell phone provider? Does your phone use a SIM card? If your contacts are stored on a SIM card swapping the SIM from one phone to the next would retain your contacts.
Do you have your new phone handy?
Answer what you can, we'll go from there.
My provider is Verizon. This phone has a slot on its side "micro SD" , but no card had ever been in there.
MicroSD and SIM cards are differnt. Unfortunately Verizon is a CDMA provider and doesn't use SIM cards (except for their new 4G phones).
Your phone doesn't take a SIM card. So that idea is out. Verizon does typically have a tool that's generic and can backup your contacts provided the phone at least works (even if the screen doesn't work).
Unfortunately that's the only option you have at this point. I'm sure that's probably not the answer you want to hear, but it's the truth no less.
Again Verizon should have a generic backup tool to remove your contacts from the phone. Verizon does vigorous testing and has the best tool out of all the carriers for backing up all models of devices.
What I haven't touched on repairs yet. Your phone's LCD is most likely damaged. This assumes you did a battery pull already and the screen remains blank.
There are some fairly cheap alternatives to repair the screen.
This site: http://www.repairsuniverse.com/lg-env2-lcd-screen-replacement-display-vx9100.html
I have referred people to before they do great work repairing phones, or you can order the part(s) and try for yourself if you're feeling confident. If you choose to have them repair it, add screen to car, then go to checkout, there should be an option to send in for repair or just ship part.
If Verizon's "generic back up tool" can't retrieve the data, is there someplace I can take the phone / hard drive an have the information restored ??
Unfortunately it's not like a phone's hard drive. It's internal flash storage media built into the phone. So it doesn't quite work the same. If you had a microSD card or SIM already inserted this would be easy.
Unfortunately your options are Verizon back up tool (I have faith in that). I have a lot of faith because this phone was designed specifically for Verizon and doesn't run a popular OS like Google's Android OS, or iPhone's iOS. Your other option is repairing the phone then transferring the contacts. By the way LG offers a repair service as well. But I'd expect a long wait time using them.
I wish I had more for you. This is one of those typical situations where we only think about backups when it's too late. We've all been guilty of it.
Suggestion for your next phone. Get an Android phone or iPhone. These sync to the cloud (Internet) with services like Gmail, or Apple's Mobile Me. This means if you ever replace your phone you just log into your account from your phone and your contacts and all other information is restored over the Internet. No need to remember to back-up or sync your phone manually.
Experience: 15 years of information technology experience, including mobile computing devices.