LCD screen
A laptop screen also known as LCD screen displays an image generated by the laptop video card. The LCD screen receives data signal from the video card through the LCD cable.
Laptop screens come in many different sizes and resolutions. In order to find the LCD screen size (in inches), you’ll have to measure the screen between the two diagonal corners.
Older laptops had mostly full screen LCD displays. Newer laptops have mostly widescreen LCD displays.
A backlight lamp (also known as CCFL bulb) is the main source of light in any LCD screen. The backlight lamp powers up by the inverter board.
The LCD screen mounts inside the laptop display panel between the screen bezel and display cover. The LCD screen is attached to the screen brackets (display brackets) which are permanently attached to the display hinges.
TYPICAL LCD SCREEN RELATED FAILURES
On the following images you’ll see some typical LCD screen related failures.
1. You can see image only on a part of the LCD screen. For example, only the top side of the screen works properly.
2. There is one or more thin multi color lines running down the screen.
3. There is a wide band running down the LCD screen. The
BUYING A NEW REPLACEMENT SCREEN
The LCD screen is one of the most expensive parts in a laptop computer. If your screen is damaged and you decide to replace it yourself, you’ll have to make sure to purchase a new screen compatible with your laptop. Hear are a few things to consider before buying a new screen:
1. Screen size.
2. Some laptops come with full size LCDs. Some laptops come with widescreen LCDs.
3. LCD screen could be matte or glossy.
4. Same size LCD screens may have different resolutions.
The best way to find a new replacement screen would be using the manufacturer’s part number or LCD screen model. Both could be found on the back side of the screen.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:19 am
alan,
I assume you installed a compatible LCD screen.
It’s either bad inverter board or your new LCD screen has a bad backlight lamp inside.
Why did you replace the old screen? Did it work at all? Did the old screen light up when you turn on the laptop?
Let’s say your old screen was broken but it was lighting up when you turn on the laptop. If you installed a new scree and it doesn’t light up, most likely you didn’t plug it properly (check all connections again) or it’s defective.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:14 am
John,
When the screen starts flickering the background turns gray color and there is no image at all? Can you get normal image on the external monitor even though the internal screen flickers?
Try updating the BIOS. I think Toshiba fixed this issue with the BIOS update.
Check out this article: Toshiba Satellite A105 screen turns black with gray horizontal lines
If you can see the screen and it’s bright (even though the image is garbled), the inverter and backlight work properly.
April 20th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
hello and thanks for reading, i do some work on occasion to laptops and i could use a second opinion. have a averatec 4100 laptop that i just replaced the old lcd with a ‘working version i bought from ebay’ when i boot it up to the bios i can barely see the lettering in the bios. i have hooked it up to a deskptop monitor and it works fine. any ideas? thanks!
April 20th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Hi Repair Man …sure could use your help!
I have a Toshiba Satellite A105-S2712. My laptop was “blue screening” after 30-45 minutes. It was diagnosed as a defective screen insofar as I was told it did not happen when hooked up to an external monitor.
After carefully replacing “old screen” with a brand new one, it no longer blue screens but now I am getting white horizontal lines flickering through the new screen. Again, this happens after 30 minutes and doesn’t go away.
I thought it might be the inverter, so I replaced it with a new inverter, taking care not to contaminate it, however the results are the same…continuous white flickering horizontal lines.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
April 12th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Josh,
You can sell the screen and other parts from your laptop.
Other than that, it’s pretty much useless.
April 8th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I just tore apart my hp laptop as the motherboard went up in it and it was cheaper just to buy a new laptop, anyways i was wondering if theres anything special that i can do with the screen or is it pritty much useless???
April 4th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Chris,
That means the problem is not related to the LCD screen. It’s either a software related problem or there is something wrong with the video card.
Try reinstalling the video driver. I doubt that it will help but you can try.
It’s very likely that the video card is integrated into the motherboard. When it fails, the whole motherboard has to be replaced.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:52 pm
I can get a picture on the monitor, but it gets the lines too. The lines on both the laptop and the monitor are not always there, either. they come and go without warning or reason.
April 2nd, 2009 at 5:39 pm
[...] Most newer laptops come with a build-in web camera also known as web cam. The web camera is located on the top of the display panel. Some people think the web camera is a part of the LCD screen but it’s not. The web camera is a separate module which is mounted inside the display panel above the LCD screen. [...]
March 31st, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Chris,
First of all, you’ll have to test the laptop with an external monitor.
Turn off the laptop, connect an external monitor and turn on the laptop. If the external monitor is not detected automatically, try switching video from the internal mode to external using the keyboard shortcut. The Fn key and another F_key.
I don’t know your laptop model and cannot tell witch shortcut to use but I hope you get the idea.
Now, find out if the external video is working fine or not. If you get the same problem on the external monitor and it’s not displaying the image properly, most likely you have a faulty video card.
If the external monitor works fine and the image is bad only on the laptop LCD, most likely your problem is related to the LCD screen or video cable.
Can you get any image on the external monitor or not?
March 31st, 2009 at 7:54 pm
My laptop has a heap of short horizontal lines running down the screen. they look like shorter, horizontal versions of the ones in the pic of the verticle lines but they are horizontal.
March 17th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
DVD Mike,
I don’t sell any parts. I’m just trying to provide some information about laptop parts and maybe troubleshoot some laptop problems.
March 17th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Hey all
These are really helpful money/time saving articles.Thanks
My question is this do you sell these listed parts,i dont see any price lists.
March 4th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Steve Thomson,
Here’s my guess. Every screen has a controller board connected to the LCD via many very thin traces. Apparently when one of the traces not making good connection with the LCD, the problem occurs.
March 4th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Can you tell me what causes screens to fail in the way depicted in example 3?
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:51 pm
We had a very thin line on LCD. My husband found instructions and replaced the LCD himself. Now the line is gone. It looked like one line on the fifth picture.
Lesley
January 31st, 2009 at 11:47 pm
[...] board, processor (CPU) and LCD screen are the most expensive parts in any laptop. In some cases, when one of these three parts fails, [...]
January 31st, 2009 at 10:22 am
[...] LCD screen mounts to the the screen mounting brackets which are permanently attached to the display hinges. [...]
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Robert,
Most likely you have a problem with the inverter board – a power supply for the LCD backlight lamp. I would definitely try replacing the inverter first. If it doesn’t help, apparently there is a problem with the backlight lamp which is located inside the LCD screen.
It’s very hard to replace the backlight lamp, so you’ll have to replace the whole LCD screen.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Maybe you can help me to find the problem?
My screen works fine, it’s bright and there are no lines as you showed in you pictures whatsoever.
But after about 15-30 minutes it becomes very dark. The laptop still works but the image is so dark that I can barely see it. After reastart it happens agian. Works fine for some time and after that goes dark.
Can you tell if I have to buy a new screen? Can I try something else withour spending so much money?
I found a new screen but it’s almost $200.
Thanks.