Notebook display assembly diagram. How an image appears on the screen.
Here is a simple diagram that will help you to understand how a notebook display assembly works and how an image appears on the screen. I’m not an artist and I tried my best drawing this diagram, so if you cannot see a laptop in this picture, don’t be mad. 
A generic display assembly includes a very few parts and knowing them will help you to understand witch part can cause a problem if you laptop video not working properly.
Video cable. A video signal from the motherboard goes to the LCD screen through the video cable. The video cable connects to the motherboard (or video card) through the connector 1. The video cable connects to the LCD screen through the connector 2. The video cable (in most cases) is also responsible for supplying a necessary voltage for the FL inverter board. The video cable connects to the FL inverter board at the point 3.
FL inverter board. This board is responsible for converting low voltage DC power (point 3) to high voltage AC (point 4), necessary to light up the backlight bulb. If the FL inverter board is bad, the LCD screen (backlight bulb) will not light up when you turn on the laptop, but you still should be able to see a very dim image on the screen.
Looking for a new screen, video cable or inverter board? Find it here.
CCFL (backlight bulb). When the backlight bulb lights up, you can see an images on the LCD screen. In most cases the backlight bulb is a part of the LCD screen and if it’s bad, the entire screen has to be replaced. By the way, some specialized repair shops can replace the backlight bulb itself.
Lid close switch. The lid close switch is a small button that locates close to the display hinges. On some newer models there is no button, because the switch is magnetic. You can set up your laptop to go to a hibernation mode or to a standby mode when the LCD is closed. It’s done through power management software. These modes are triggered when the display is closed and the lid close switch is pressed down. If the LCD screen on your laptop will not light up when you open the display assembly, check the lid close switch is stuck inside (it might happen because the switch is dirty).
Related articles:
Troubleshooting and fixing notebook video problems
How I took apart and repaired my notebook LCD screen with water damage - removing the LCD and taking it apart
Screen inverter replacement. Fixing laptop backlight problem. - replacing inverter board in an IBM ThinkPad laptop
Laptop has bad video on the screen. What is wrong?
Entry Filed under: Laptop Tips and Tricks
July 8th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
[…] Here’s a notebook display assembly diagram […]
July 9th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
I can’t yet believe that I stumbled across your troubleshooting incident regarding the HP NX5000 shutting down 3 seconds into the power up. I am working on a customers notebook as we speak. I checked and swapped out everything else. When I got to the last component, the video signal interface to the sys board, I carefully removed it and immediately walked over to my bench. I connected an external display to the video port and Voila - the display works and the PC powers up normally.
I have just one question. I have removed the 5 screws under the rubber plugs on the display side of the LCD Assembly and removed it from the laptop base. What kind of technique or tools do I use to seperate the top cover and the screen’s plastic frame. Am I missing something else, or do you just need to muscle it a bit more. Did you wedge something flat/rigid between the 2 pieces and pop them apart or what? I really don’t want to buy a new LCD panel if I can get inside and correct the cable connection.
I realize that it’s still possible there is something else within the Assembly’s guts that may have gone south. However, this has gone exactly like you described so I’ll be looking for that loose plug.
Thanks for posting the article my friend. And thanks in advance for the pending help getting the LCD Assembly opened up.
Bobb
July 9th, 2006 at 7:20 pm
Hey Bobb,
OK, I removed 5 screws under the rubber plugs first. After that I believe, I removed 2 screws on each display assembly side, you’ll find these screws under black seals. I don’t know if it’s necessary to remove screws on sides at this point, but I think it’ll make the entire display assembly looser. The worst part is that the LCD mask is glued to the screen. I was using a guitar pick. You place it between the mask and the screen and carefully move alone the side, separating the mask from the screen. Separate the mask on the bottom of the screen first (the closest side to the keyboard). Then you separate the mask from the screen on sides. Be careful, there are 3 plastic latches on each side of the LCD mask. I broke only 2 of them. 
Finally, finish up on the top. After the mask is removed, everything is easy.
I hate taking apart HP display assembly! It’s even worse then taking apart IBM display.
July 11th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
[…] This little button is the lid close switch and when you press on the switch it cuts off the power from the FL inverter board. After you depress the switch, the FL inverter board gets power again and it light up the backlight bulb in the screen. Here is a generic laptop display diagram. I think that you are having a problem with the FL inverter board. This board fails often and usually when it fails, it behaves exactly as you described above. Even though you have no backlight, you still have to be able to see some data on the screen. It would be a regular image but very dim. For more troubleshooting steps check out my post about laptop video problems. Posted by Laptop Freak on July 11th, 2006 Filed in Video Problems […]
July 11th, 2006 at 11:58 pm
Hey… very cool article, and excellent site! I am totally adding your feed into my google! Very cool site!!!
July 18th, 2006 at 11:14 am
That adhesive around the LCD frame is so strong it’s difficult to tell if you’ve missed a screw removal or what. Everything went well, although I think I busted 2-3 of the assembly catches/snaps too. My connector behind the LCD panel wasn’t really disconnected. But it wasn’t totally in place either. I disconnected nearly all the way and reseated it. AOK after that. Amazing!!! The owner is with the State Dept and rebound for Iraq. This PC goes thru some real hard knocks. I told her that this will fix it forever or for this week. We’ll see.
Again, thank you very much for your input and tips.
July 23rd, 2006 at 9:16 pm
Last week, my IBM T30 LCD screen needed a wiggle to display an image. This week, display is completely gone. the LCD is always lit but no image. All connectors on your diagram (1-4) has been reseated but no improvement. Any idea? Thanks.
July 26th, 2006 at 3:59 am
Men! thanks for such a powerful website. i got a dell inspiron 9300 with dispay problems, there are some vertical lines of varring coluors on the screen the problem has been on for about a month now it the lines are increasing periodically, also now the screen size has reduced from the original 17inches to about 15 inches how can i fix it?
July 26th, 2006 at 7:33 pm
Liza,
Before you replace parts, start the laptop with an external monitor attached. If you get a video output on the external monitor, then most likely the system board is good and you have a problem somewhere inside the display assembly. If not, then you might have a problem with the system board.
I think it could be a bad video cable. I would try to replace it first. You have a good chance to fix the problem and the video cable is not as expensive as a new screen. If it doesn’t help, then you might have a problem with the screen (very expensive repair).
July 26th, 2006 at 9:35 pm
Ngbede,
First of all, try to reload the video driver.
You can try to fix the lines on the screen by reseating the video cable on the system board (or video card). It’s connector #1 on the diagram above. I think you might have a bad video cable problem because the lines are changing the size. When you have vertical lines because of a bad LCD screen, they usually stay the same size all the time. Have you tried to connect an external monitor? Does it work fine?
August 17th, 2006 at 5:23 pm
I have a Dell Lattitude C810, the LCD has a vertical red line two inches from the left and a vertical blue line one inch from the right.
If I move the hinges a third and forth red line appear on the screen does this mean the LCD is bad or the cable?
I hooked up a CRT monitor and no lines appeared.
Email let me know.
August 17th, 2006 at 5:28 pm
Victor,
most likely the LCD screen is bad.
August 18th, 2006 at 8:16 am
The laptop also says “invalid time and date” and asks you to fix it in bios every time i unplug the laptop. Is there a cmos battery to replace in the C810 or is the regular battery needs to be replaced?
August 18th, 2006 at 8:32 am
Victor,
I think you’ll have to replace the reserve battery. Here’s a quote from Dell Latitude C810 service manual:
Follow Dell Latitude C810 service manual to replace the battery.
September 5th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
My ibm thinkpad t21 screen is very dim, can just see the screen, but it’s bad. Just seen your bit about the button near the hinge which hibenates it. So I’m going to go and have a look.
Someone said to me that it might be the backlight. Is this expensive to repair if it is?
thanks
September 5th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
A dim laptop screen might be caused by a failed FL inverter or a failed backlight bulb on the screen. I would say that most likely the FL inverter is bad and replacing it is not as expensive as replacing the screen. Check out this post that covers troubleshooting laptop video problems in more details.
A new FL inverter will cost you probable somewhere around $20 (from eBay). You’ll find a disassembly guide for IBM ThinkPad here.
September 7th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
Well it definately isn’t the lid button anyway. So must be what you said. How long roughly would it last if I replaced it? I can’t afford a new laptop, so this one has to go til the death
(Plus it’s 2nd hand, 2nd hand! Person I bought it off is lucky(?) to have a uni grant so bought one for like £800 :-0 )
September 7th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
Charz,
). Some sellers on eBay offer a new inverter for $9.50!!!! ($3.49 inverter and $6 shipping). Under $10 for a new inverter that’s the best price I’ve ever seen. It might last you forever or just for a few days, nobody knows.
If a new fl inverter fixes your backlight problem, you might consider yourself very lucky. Because it also could be a screen problem (you don’t want to know how much a new screen is
September 8th, 2006 at 1:34 pm
I’ll try anything!
I think I will look for one and see if a friend can fix it for me as he is good with computers, not sure about laptops, but they’re sameish.
Cheers for your help
September 9th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
ok i have a dell inspiron1150 i read the artical of fixing the dim screen ok when i first turn the computer on i see the dell name for a sec then its all dim i looked for swicth no luck in fiding one but i see talked about magnet which i did find whats the magnet pull a switch from insode the computer or is there something else wrong with it . it did it before but i left it alone foe few days then it worked but the time its staying dim .need some help dont really want to get a new one
September 16th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
Please help me im hopeless with computers!!!
I have a dell inspiron 6000. I turned the laptop on this morning and straight away there was a single vertical yellow line about 3 pixels thick right down the middle of the screen. This line is present through all the programs and ive tried rebooting the computer.
I have no experience to start taking the computer apart: is there anything i could try before taking the computer in to see a tecnician.
Please help
Sophie x
September 17th, 2006 at 6:09 pm
Sophie,
I guess that a bad LCD screen. Take a look at the third picture on this post, your line looks the same, right? The screen should be replaced and it’s necessary to take the laptop apart. So, I think there is nothing that you can do yourself. Screens are expensive, and it could be more cost effective to buy a new laptop then to replace the screen.
October 15th, 2006 at 10:30 pm
First of all, thanks for the great site!
I had the same problem as ngbede. I have a Toshiba P35 with a 17” widescreen LCD. One day, a vertical line appeared at my LCD and since then they increase day by day… They start at one color and progress to white… One component of the RGB is always turned on for the entire line, but others components continue to work for some time and then they all turn on.
I read something on the web about a “LCD driver” (not the software driver) that may be damaged if overheated. I had problems with overheat caused by a dirty heat sink.
What can I do to fix this? My local tech tried to play with the cables with no sucess.
October 16th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
Rodrigo,
Check out my post related to a bad laptop video. Does your screen look like example 2 in the post? If yes, then most likely it’s the screen problem.
October 16th, 2006 at 9:07 pm
Thanks cj… It looks like that… But now I have way more lines than that! hehehehe…
So my only hope is to replace my entire LCD? Do you know what causes this problem? I don’t want that to happen again!
October 18th, 2006 at 7:42 pm
Rodrigo,
It’s not your fault that you have these lines and unfortunately you cannot be safe from this problem in the future, it might happen again on any other screen. I’m almost positive that’s a bad screen, I cannot be sure 100% without looking at the screen.
October 21st, 2006 at 5:16 pm
I have a toshiba satalite p35-605 17 in laptop and i bought a cable to connect to the tv. I have tried to get it to display on the tv for hours, but its not working. I used the fn f5 key and altered settings in the properties but nothing seems to work. the tv screen will flicker, but doesnt do anything else. if anyone knows what might be the problem let me know. I have tested the cord with other computers and it works fine. thanks
jon
October 23rd, 2006 at 10:35 am
[…] If you take a look at the generic notebook display assembly diagram, you’ll see that there are four parts that can cause the backlight failure: lid close switch, video cable, FL inverter board, CCFL (backlight bulb) itself. Let’s go through them one by one. […]
October 23rd, 2006 at 6:05 pm
Jon,
Have you tried connecting the laptop to the TV first and restarting the laptop? I would also try reducing the laptop screen resolution to minimum, probably 800×600.
October 24th, 2006 at 6:13 pm
I made a STUPID mistake. One of the kids I taught put my clear top to my pen drive on my laptop next to the track pad. I had a call to leave school to pick up my own child. I closed the lid not knowing the clear top was there. Once I got home and opened my laptop–OMG Screen damage big time. I can hook the laptop up to another monitor and use that screen- but the laptops screen is a mess of prple and red lines with a nice black leaf shaoped blob where the cler top pressed against the screen. I am in the processes of transfering data!!!
Anyone have any idea on the cost to repair the screen??? I have an Inspiron 6000 that is one year and 4 months old.
October 24th, 2006 at 10:27 pm
Kirish,
You’ll have to replace the entire screen not just repair it. If you decide to replace it yourself, you can use this Dell Inspiron 6000 service manual. The best price for a new screen you can find here, just search for “Inspiron 6000 screen”. You can find one for about $230-250.
If you take it to a laptop repair shop, you will have to pay $100-120 for labor plus a new screen. The screen will be more expensive if you buy it through the service center.
There is another option, you can call directly to Dell and ask them. I have no idea how much they will charge for the screen replacement.
November 1st, 2006 at 2:14 pm
i need help on how 2 fix the dell latitude cpi when i try n switch it on nothin happens and the batty wont charge and when i plug the charger in nothing happens can you help me plz email me back on how 2 fix this problem and what i can do? txt back mark
November 1st, 2006 at 8:20 pm
Mark,
Did you test the adapter itself? May be it’s bad?
November 7th, 2006 at 8:16 am
I have a Dell 9300 that I have ordered a replacement lcd for after line started developing randomly over the past month. For laughs, I called Dell to see what they would charge to fix it.
They gave me a 499.00 figure to replace the lcd and “run diagnostics” on the laptop to tell me of any other problems. *Note: No other problems if found would have been covered under that 499.00 price tag..that was just for them to replace the monitor and check everything out.
I bought a replacement lcd online for 230.00 and did it myself. Shop around a bit and you can find a lcd at a decent price and do it yourself. This isnt hard, just take your time and have a small screwdriver!
November 10th, 2006 at 1:21 am
i was wonder can you hook up a labtop lcd to an dvd player?
November 14th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
I have a dell inspiron 1300 and the entire right hand side of my screen is busted! How much will the repair/replacement cost? And where do I take it?
November 22nd, 2006 at 7:53 pm
I have a Dell Inspiron 6000. It starts up well but usually at the point I type in the password it goes dark. Get a good picture when I hook it up to another monitor. If the bulb is bad would I see all the windows start up? If it is the inverter I have the same question… I live in the jungle of Indonesia so taking it in for repairs is not reasonable. Is there an online hardware diagnostic out there? Would like to do a cheap fix here. Looking online for possible parts….are all Inspiron 6000 inverters compatible? Is there a way to know if something found here is compatible? If it’s the bulb, it’s hopeless right? Could it be the video card? Like only part of it fried?
November 26th, 2006 at 6:21 pm
Jeff,
Even if you have a bad inverter or bad backlight bulb, you still should be able to see a faint imaged on the screen. Can you see a faint image after the screen goes black? If yes, then probably you have a failed inverter board. Yes, it could be a bad backlight bulb but I would replace the inverter first, because inverter board failures are more common then backlight bulb failures. Here’s Dell Inspiron 6000 service manual, it has laptop disassembly instructions. I don’t think that there is an online hardware diagnostic that can help you to narrow down the problem. The only way I know is replacing the inverter board and see if it fixes the problem.
I don’t know. I think it would be a good idea to open up the display assembly, find a part number on the inverter board and search for a replacement by the part number.
The backlight bulb is located inside the screen. I’ve never replaced the bulb myself but some companies offer this service. I replace the entire screen.
Usually a failed video card would affect the video output on both screens – laptop LCD and external monitor. You mentioned that the external video is fine, so I assume the video card works fine.
November 28th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
[…] I think that you might have a faulty FL inverter board. Take a look at the laptop display assembly diagram. The backlight bulb lights up when it’s getting enough power form the FL inverter board. The inverter board acts as a power supply for the backlight bulb, it converts low voltage DC power to high voltage AC power. If there is something wrong with the inverter board, the backlight will not light up. I think the high pitch noise is coming from the FL inverter board and I would try replacing this board first. Here’s guide for taking apart the display assembly on a Satellite A65 laptop. It’s not for your laptop, but all steps should be pretty similar. If you follow steps 1-6 you should be able to replace the inverter board yourself. If you are not confident, take the laptop to a repair shop because you can damage it. BTW, when you have a faulty display inverter board, you still should be able to see a very faint image on the laptop screen. Can you? […]
November 29th, 2006 at 7:14 am
This helped me a lot.
On my laptop, the FL inverter going bad haven’t made the light just dim, but totally black. It would only be visible by reflecting some external light on it, such as ambient or a flashlight (with that I can even work a little on it).
Anyway, maybe you should add that, at least as far as my research went from here, most of the cases when you can still see an image with no backlight, it is FL inverter problem, since it’s really rare for the CCFL to go bad.
What I don’t understand is why regular LCD monitors (for desktops) doesn’t give so many problems as laptop does. Maybe they don’t use FL inverters…
December 1st, 2006 at 8:23 am
I have a question how do I get to the back light on a sony vaio fxa-59…. They want $20 for the light vs. $450+ for a completly new monitor or a completly new PC
December 3rd, 2006 at 1:35 am
Brad,
What’s wrong with your Sony laptop? Are you sure that you have a bad backlight and not a faulty inverter board? The backlight bulb is located inside the LCD screen. I know that it’s possible to replace the bulb (never done it myself) but it takes a lot of time. First you have to remove the screen and then disassemble the screen.
I work mostly with Toshiba laptops and created a few disassembly guides for Toshibas. Some of those guides show how to remove the LCD screen. There shouldn’t be much difference between Toshiba and Sony laptops. Read through a few guides and you’ll see how to remove the screen. After that you just have to figure out how take it apart.
December 5th, 2006 at 4:38 am
Help! The bottom 2-3 inches of the screen on my Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop changes to grey with a bunch of lines in it. When it’s like this, nothing can be seen and the cursor does not work in this. I press on the left side of the screen in this area, functionality pretty much returns; however, the moment I take my thumb off, the image starts to fade and then it turns grey again with no functionality. Thank you!
December 7th, 2006 at 2:16 am
I m having a problem with my lcd it boots fine but here is a dark screen on my ibm p3 it works fine with an external monitor but it can not play the vedio files (songs) while i plug into the external monitor .Here is a white line also on the laptop screen in the left side of it.I can feel a dim light in it but no any display what kind of problem is it can i sort it out my self,plz reply immiediate.
thank u
sumit solomon
December 10th, 2006 at 9:52 pm
hi thanks for the information… Now I’m i had a pob with the laptop is it might the power prob with the screen… i gonna try.. and let know the stiuation….
thanks
December 15th, 2006 at 11:49 am
Hello, I have a Compaq Presario R3000, and about a month ago, the screen went dim and then ultimately out. I’ve troubleshooted it first by replacing the backlight - no luck, then the inverter - no luck. When hooked up to an external monitor - it’s fine. That only leaves the harness that connects the inverter to the main board, right? Or could the main board sitll be the culprit even though it functions fine with an external monitor?
Thanks in advance,
Ryan
December 15th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
Regarding my post below, I should also add that, when i shine an independent light source into the lcd with the laptop on, it shows fine, so I’ve rule out the LCD as a cause also.
-Ryan
December 18th, 2006 at 8:42 pm
Ryan,
It’s rear but it’s possible. I’ve seen that before 2 or 3 times. It’s possible that the video harness itself is fine, but the motherboard has a faulty connector the harness plugs into. I would probably go with replacing the video harness next. It gives you 50% chance and it’s much cheaper then replacing the motherboard.
It means that data signal is coming from the motherboard to the LCD screen , but there is no power coming to the inverter board and as a result the backlight bulb will not light up. I’m not really familiar with Compaq laptops and not sure 100% if the video harness caries both the data signal for the LCD and power for the inverter, most likely it does. If that’s the same harness, I would probably try replacing it. Sorry man, cannot give you better advice.
December 20th, 2006 at 10:36 am
I have a 4 year old Sony Vaio screen was dim now only lights for a second when I open or manually use the close switch. Do you sell bulbs? Mike
December 23rd, 2006 at 5:16 pm
[…] I think you might have a failed screen inverter (FL inverter); this problem is very common with laptops. The inverter board acts as a power supply for the LCD screen backlight bulb, it converts low voltage DC power into high voltage AC. On most laptops the inverter board is located inside the display assembly below the LCD screen and you can get access to it if you remove the screen bezel (LCD mask). […]
December 24th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite P35-S611 laptop, which is 1.5 years old. Recently, I noticed a vertical purple line that comes up every so often. Does it mean that my LCD monitor is gonna die? What needs to be replaced?
Thanks for a prompt answer
December 25th, 2006 at 12:20 am
Ok now heres my situation,I have a old 2001 Ibm thinkpad a21m laptop…..the video cable which connects the lcd screen to the laptop motherboard was damaged,in damage i mean it was puctured.How can I fix it “Myself”? and if its not possible for me to fix it.How much would you think it would run me for? thankyou
December 25th, 2006 at 8:30 pm
Asteros,
It depends. Connect an external monitor and set the laptop to output video on both screens – laptop LCD and external monitor. Wait until the video fails. If the vertical line appears only on the laptop LCD but not on the external monitor, then most likely you have a bad LCD screen and have to replace it. If the line appears on both screens, then you have a bad video card, in this model it’s integrated into the system board. You’ll have to replace the system board.
I think you have a bad screen.
December 25th, 2006 at 8:48 pm
Shawn Moss,
If you feel comfortable taking the laptop apart, you can fix it yourself. Here’s a link to IBM ThinkPad A21m hardware maintenance manual, this manual has step by step disassembly instructions. You can find a new video cable relatively cheap - $15-20 here.
December 29th, 2006 at 7:15 am
I have been checking a Presario X1000 notebook. It was working, hang up, mu client restarted it and it never came on again. No video, no sound. The first thing I noticed was that the cpu fan sopped spinning 3 seconds after I turned the notebook on. It has the video card on another board, I pushed the card by the superior part, near wher the screen connector is, and the notebook started normally, I reainstalled Windows XP and I installed Max OS X for intel on it. But if you merely hit the notebook or put it too strong on the table, the same problem again, I was as at the beginning. I have cleaned the video card contacts with contact cleaner and nothing. The video card has two sockets to the right side of it, I cleaned the connector sockets and nothing. Any idea?
January 1st, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Your instructions are great!
Based on what I’ve ready I may have a stuck lid close switch. The laptop is a fairly new Gateway 7326 which I’m guessing has a magnetic switch. I just can’t find it! Any ideas on where I should look or how to find it?
January 2nd, 2007 at 10:39 pm
I have a DELL Inspiron 8200. At first, monitor would start to display distorted lines until they consumed the screen. Initially, a firm yet loving thud would clear it up. Pressing around the keyboard varied the distortion patterns. Now, soon after startup, screen quickly distorts then goes blank (not dim, completely blank). I hooked up an external monitor and that works fine. I took it to a friend and naturally it worked fine for hours…got it home and problem back. I’d really like to fix it if I can.
January 3rd, 2007 at 5:49 am
I have an old compaq armada 7800. Recently the screen goes all discoloured(reminds me of a mood ring) and the screen goes white. If i squeeze the sides sometimes the image will come back or sometimes freeze. Should I take it apart ? Is there a way to tighten the frame because it seems like the squeezing of it sometimes helps
January 3rd, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Hi,
Your instructions are great — thanks!
I am getting a faint screen on my satellite A45-S150. It happened after I dropped my laptop on the floor.
I have followed some of your instructions, and so far have been successfully able to dismantle the LCD. However, I have no clue what I should do next. Should I
1.) check whether the lid close switch is “closed”? If so, where can I find such a switch on Toshiba Satellite A45-S150? Is it magnetic?
2.) check the FL invertor board? If so, how can I check if it is working fine or not?
As usual, your feedback will be invaluable.
January 6th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Hi, Laptop Repair Guy: I have a Toshiba model 1955 laptop. In trying to correct an overheating problem, I disassembled most of the computer before cleaning the air blower chamber, because I had trouble with the cover screws, and thought I could take the whole bottom pan off. Had I read your site first, I would not have made the mistake.
After I assembled the computer, the overheating problem is solved, but the screen does not light up, even though it was working fine before the repair. I presume there is a faulty connection somewhere that sends power to the screen even though I the only cable I disconnected was the one to the hard drive, but the system seems to be powering up fine. Can you give me some idea of where to look for the problem, or how to test to verify if the connections to the screen are feeding signal and power to the screen?..
Thanks for your help. Tom Erickson..
January 6th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Hi, Laptop Repair guy: Here is the answer to my own question regarding my Toshiba laptop model 1955, that after disassembling, the system seemed to power up fine, except that the screen remained black, and appeared not to be getting power. I read your instructions for checking connections to the strip wire between mother board and screen, and found that there is a removable snap-on plastic cover over the screen hinge section, under which the wires that come from the motherboard are plugged into a socket. Apparently in manipulating the screen, the plug came partially out of the socket, causing a false contact to the screen. I pushed the plug down into the socket, and as soon as I powered up, my screen started to function properly. Thanks for informative site, that helped me solve the repair problems.
January 7th, 2007 at 5:15 am
I have an Amilo Fujitsu Siemens with no backlight (I can see the imagine but very dim). It is possible to change only the converter ? Or I have to replace the hole LCD ? I have no high voltage (1500 V)
January 10th, 2007 at 4:57 am
I just followed your advice and replaced the FL inverter board which fixed my Acer Aspire 1804wsmi which had a dark screen with graphics which were just visible. Thanks Laptop Repair Guy !
January 13th, 2007 at 9:19 am
I recently replaced the lcd on my dell 9300 which had the typical vertical lines and eventually half the screen was blocked out. i bought a new replacement off ebay and it’s great other this one problem. When it runs on the battery the screen is very bright and seems to be normal but when it runs on ac it goes dim. I can still read everything but has to be in an almost dark room. What do you think is causing this unusual problem. by the way with the old screen this problem was just the opposite. thanks.
January 13th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Scott Smith,
You have an intermittent problem with video and very likely it happens because of a loose video harness. Check if both ends of the video harness are seated properly. Check the connection on the motherboard/video graphics card first because it’s easier to access and after that check the connection on the LCD screen. Here are instructions for removing and replacing parts on Dell Inspiron 8200.
January 14th, 2007 at 10:02 am
Thank you very much cj2600…I’ll give it a try.
January 14th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Jyoti,
First of all, I would open up the display assembly and check if both connectors on the inverter board. Make sure the connectors are seated properly, reseat them just in case. If reseating cables will not help, most likely you have a problem with the CCFL tube (backlight bulb). Probably it’s been damaged.
By the way, may be the screen lights up for a moment when you turn on the laptop or it stays black right from the beginning?
January 14th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Daniel Vizante,
January 17th, 2007 at 7:31 am
pls send me details on how to troubleshoot when the screen is flickering.
thank you
January 17th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Jim,
Check the power management settings, you’ll find it in control panel. May be the brightness is set to minimum when the laptop runs on AC power? I believe on some Dell laptops you can also adjust brightness in BIOS. Enter the BIOS setup and check if there are any settings for it.
Finally, try upgrading/reflashing the BIOS.
January 22nd, 2007 at 8:08 am
Hi, I have a Dell Inspiron 3800 with scrambled graphics when running WindowsXP. A diagnostic cd tells me it is the fault of the video memory. I managed to order a new graphics card from an online auction site and install it, but it didn’t fix my problem… Perhaps the video memory is on the motherboard (system board)? Does anyone have a resource to find the video ram? I can even tell you the memory address that’s gone bad!
Thanks in advance for any help here.
January 22nd, 2007 at 10:41 am
Hello, I have a dell xps m170 and I am having a problem with the monitor. I was playing some games last night and all of a sudden it went black but it was still on it did not turn completely off (the screen was glowing black not like just a non powered LCD). The computer itself was also still on because I could hear the game sound. It did this twice last night and I let it set for around 20-30 mins and then it would work again. I figured it was due to overheating, but today I was just surfing the web and the laptop had been on for about 5 hours and then it did the same thing again. Now I have not gotten the screen to work. It has a glow but it is just black. I hooked up a normal monitor to it and it worked fine. I ran the diagnostics test and it found no problems but I do not know if that checks the lcd when I have it hooked up to another monitor. Any information would help.
January 26th, 2007 at 9:17 am
[…] Originally Posted by dsrtrcr01 OK I found the bulbs. There are 4 of them. IS there a way to test them out of the computer? Just weird to me that all 4 would go out at the same time. Unless they are like christmas lights were if 1 goes out the others wont work? Yeah, you can remove them from the display, plug them back into the inverter and power the monitor up. You are right though, that all 4 of them would die at the same time would be weird. Id probably suspect the inverter or possibly the main board that feeds the power to the inverter. It would be a money gamble to just replace the inverter without knowing for sure. If you have a multimeter, you can test out for dc voltage into the inverter (the multipin connecter). This site below has a picture of what the pins are, as I suspect monitors to be similar to laptop screens. Also, you could try contacting a place to see if they would be willing to test it for you, just send in your inverter and lights, possibly a local place… laptop inverter repair Some more info Laptop Repair Help Notebook display assembly diagram. How an image appears on the screen. __________________ Roger 05 Tacoma 4×4 TRD DC Off-Road K&N Intake/AEM Filter, XM Satellite, Retrax Tonneau Cover […]
January 26th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
Hi all.!
I have a toshiba a100-906 laptop and I have a strange problem with my guitar and my laptop’s monitor. When i was playing in front of an old crt i had electomagnetic noise to my guitar. When i was playing in front of an lg tft monitor everything was quiet as it should be. today i tried to play in front of my new lappy and guess what…NOISE!! I couldn’t explain what and how and why but after reading about the FL inverter i think that this thing is causing so much noise once again. :/ And i’m afraid that i can’t do anything about it…
Are all those things i say right? Anyone with the same experience?
Thanks
Nikos
January 31st, 2007 at 12:12 am
[…] Notebook display assembly diagram. How image appears on the screen. […]
February 1st, 2007 at 2:58 pm
i have a tiny laptop,It does not charge with or with out the battery the power supply seems ok but im not sure is there any way for to check it thanks
February 3rd, 2007 at 9:41 pm
I got a Dell latitude Cpx I would like to know if you can help me and show me where is the FLInverter on this laptop. I could see the screen but I got to shine a flashlight on it. I hope to hear from anyone that could help me. Thank you.
February 5th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Carmen,
I’m not familiar with this model but usually you can find inverter inside the display assembly, below the LCD screen. Here’s an example of replacing a failed inverter board on an IBM notebook.
February 10th, 2007 at 12:03 am
how do I reset nvram on a toshiba satellite 1955 with no video post
February 10th, 2007 at 7:41 am
Great site and drawing of the laptop!
I have Dell inspiron 8100 that has the equivalent of snow…colored lines with mixed, squiggling color, but still able to read display. The problem comes and goes, unrelated to how long laptop is on.
Can you help? Thanks!
February 11th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Marilyn,
Test the laptop with an external monitor. If you get the same problem on the external video, probably you have a bad video card.
February 11th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
No I could see it on the external monitor. They say it’s the FL inverter but I just don’t know where to find that in the dell latitude Cpx
February 23rd, 2007 at 2:40 pm
I have a Systemax laptop (yeah I know) and the screen went dark a while ago. I can see the image faintly and it does work with an external monitor. I looked online for a replacement inverter but I couldn’t find one. I eventually found one that is close to the same (website says it can act as a replacement for mine). I bought it and got it today. After plugging it in, the screen sitll doesn’t work. It stays dark the entire boot up/etc process. Is it the bulb? I don’t mind trying to open the lcd… I just want to sorta be sure about it before I do.
February 24th, 2007 at 11:34 am
nevermind. i checked the part number on the inverter i got in the mail and it’s not the one i need. i contacted the guy and should hopefully be able to get the part soon.
February 24th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
I have a Dell Inspiron 6000 with a WSXGA screen.
Since 2 weeks I’ve been having a problem where the backlight intermittently doesn’t come on when I boot up my laptop.
Sometimes after toggling through the CRT/LCD switch, the backlight will turn on again.
Any suggestions?
February 25th, 2007 at 2:22 am
Apoorv,
Probably it’s just a bad LCD inverter. Try replacing the inverter board.
February 25th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
I want to know is the Fl Inverter inside the LCD screen. I have a Dell Latitude Cpx.
March 3rd, 2007 at 12:37 am
Hi there..
im suffering the same fate as many here- vertical lines on my laptop (which is not so old). i specifically bought it for the display quality - nec ’super shine view technology’ crap… and now im stuck with multiple vertical lines on the lcd. the problem is they’re clustered to 3-4 very very close ones.. like one thick line, and they disappear if i put ‘pressure’ on the lcd at some angles. please tell me this could still be a bad ribbon cable. to be very honest, it was just one to begin with - but seeing that putting downward pressure made it go away, i ‘jerked’ my screen somewhat hard 2-3 times.. and now im stuck with this thick one.. dnt tell me how stupid that was, ‘cos i already knw.
also, would u be able to help me with the service manual for disassembly , it’s an nec versa m540 (i knw its sold as packard bell in europe).
March 3rd, 2007 at 7:14 am
Dude - you fixed my laptop! Thank you SO much for giving me the idea to f**k around with the lid close switch - you just saved me a fortune!
March 3rd, 2007 at 8:32 pm
lostnrestless,
I think there is nothing wrong with the video cable and you have a problem with the LCD screen. Sorry, cannot help with disassembly guides for Nec laptops, I work mostly with Toshiba laptops.
March 4th, 2007 at 1:40 am
thanks for ur reply…can i bother u one more time, this time with more specific details:
with help frm ur posts i managed to take out my lcd screen.. to reach the ribbon cable at the back (thanks for improving my knowledge of laptop hardware by leaps n bounds btw!). i was fiddling around with the ribbon cable when i noticed this - if i take out the ribbon cable and power up the display is pure white (ccfl bulb) but WITHOUT those annoying lines. is that to be expected? to rephrase, since those lines come up only when the ribbon cable is plugged, im wondering if it could ’still’ be the ribbon cable??
also no angles/pressure does anything anymore after i’ve tinkered with the ribbon cable on the backside. the lines are now like a shaded area about 7 pixels wide.
thanks again mate.
March 4th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
lostnrestless,
Yes. On some models the display will go white when you unplug the data cable from the screen. The lines disappear because there is no signal coming to the LCD.
From my experience, when you have a bad video cable it will affect image on the entire screen. You can get no video at all, corrupted video, bad colors, etc… but across the entire screen.
If you have a few vertical lines running across the screen, as it shown in the example 2 in this post, then most likely you have a problem with the screen itself.
March 6th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Hi there,
I want to buy/assemble a LCD desktop monitor like the one I have in my notebook (15.4″, WSXGA+).
Can you possibly give me any further reference, please?
Thank you so much.
March 7th, 2007 at 10:22 am
i ahve mercury green320 laptop it have problem no dispaly.no beeb,power is on,but no beeb comes & no desplay.
March 8th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Hey. I know problems are posted all the time, but I am still in need of help. Earlier I thought that the inverter I ordered was the wrong one, so I ordered a different one. The screen still doesn’t light up though. The only thing I remember from the night it stopped working was a distinct burning smell from the back of the laptop (near the fan). Do you think this could be the CCFL tube or something else? I’ll probably end up getting it repaired unless it’s something sorta easy to fix. Thanks for any help.
March 10th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
mangesh vasiya,
check the memory module, try reseating it. If it will not help, swap it with a known good memory stick and test again.
March 10th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Clinton,
Did you test the laptop with an external monitor, can you get any external video? Can you see a faint image on the LCD screen? If you have a bad CCFL tube the laptop still should work with an external screen and you should make out a faint image on the laptop LCD.
March 12th, 2007 at 8:58 am
i have a notebook 2800t which only displays the backlight and has no image showing. i have tried connecting it to a external monitor and it shows up to the xp screen fine then it turns the screen off but continues to boot on the laptop… i have also tried booting it in safemode and vga mode and the external works fine but as soon as you try to put the resolution up in vga mode it turns off. id love any help on trying to get the laptop screen or at least the external working (as i really cant afford a new screen) any help would be very appreciated thanks!
March 12th, 2007 at 10:53 am
CJ,
Yeah, I’ve used it with an external monitor so I know the video card (etc) still works. I can also see a faint image on the screen (which is how I know it’s not the lcd screen itself). I’m probably going to take the screen apart later today to check the bulb size and order a new one. I have a friend that has a soldering gun so I should be able to mount it once I get it. If you have any further ideas on what it could be, I would greatly appreciate the info. Thanks.
March 17th, 2007 at 8:54 am
Hello i am having m,ajor problems with turning on my computer.it satrted when i insatlled a program call system mechanics 7.0 .It was to advanced and i did not know how to use it.Any it cleaned away my web roser and i could not get on the internet.So i went back and reinstalled everything that was removed from my computer.Shortly after that my lap top made ths crazy beeping noise and it would not stop.Orange light came on too.i shut off manually .Then i went to turn on again and it would start for about 3 sec.then shut off.know i can not turn it on at all.I bought this from a friend and there is no warrenty i live in the deep north.And would cost alot to send away.Is this a mojor problem or can i fix this my self .Is my computer completely destroyed by a virus that i re installed ?please for the love of god get back to me please.
March 24th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
I have a toshiba a15-127 with a sharp lq150×1lhc3 a lcd. I am having difficulty finding a backlight tube online. Is a separate tube available? Thanks for your help, Mike
March 27th, 2007 at 9:07 am
I have a HP Pavilion N3270 with a faulty screen. It is very faint when the laptop boots up, and then goes blank. An external monitor works OK, and when I switch between the laptop screen and the monitor, the laptop screen appears OK for about 1-2 seconds, and then goes blank.
Thanks for your help
March 28th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
I have a problem with the user here when he logged in he find that the keyboard is not function but when another user logged in the computer just function properly. what is the problem can you help me? with this
April 4th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Hello,
I have a Spartan laptop with 17″ display and since this was a fairly pricey unit, my heart stopped when the display failed! I was picturing a fairly expensive repair or worse…
I followed the numerous posts here, regarding failed lcd displays and finaly, the culprit was a simple one: a stuck lid switch (the laptop simply thought the lid was closed and had shut down the lcd display to save power.)
I am relieved and I just wanted to say thank you very much! You guys are great
A very relieved laptop user.
Mustapha
P.s., I do “security” at a local bar and have to charge admission fee’s for our events and you guys can only guess how boring it can get. Well, I usually take along my laptop to help maintain sanity and in between checking id’s and charging admission, I usually browse the web or spend time going through youtube.com video’s. If my laptop had broken, well… it would have meant very boring shifts and ensuing madness
April 7th, 2007 at 3:08 am
Dear Fellow
I have removed the laptop screen and wish to use the said screen as monitor but there is a problem that the connectors which are pluged in the motherboard i have placed out.But how can i use them, there are 2 kinds of connector, one is Vedio n the other i for 12 Volt supply. Can anyone let me know that how could i connect both of them
April 8th, 2007 at 10:41 am
i am having a similar problem, although it is not due to a bad backlight. my problem lies with the lid close switch. if i rapidly push the switch for a few eventually it will come on and stay on for a while. i hahe torn the whole thing down to the board itself to check the connection for the switch itself and the connection seems good, and no broken traces. so i have determined the problem to be my lid switch. any ideas where i can buy a new switch?
April 8th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Josh Porter,
Looks like a screen inverter problem to me. I think there is nothing wrong with the lid close switch and most likely you have a faulty inverter board. I would try replacing the inverter first, it might help you to fix the laptop.
April 10th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Hello i have a IBM R60e (im pretty sure) and i use it for playing games but recently when playing games the screen will bugg out when it is moved from a flat position and the only way i can get to go back to normal is by shutting down the Pc all together. PLEASE HELP!
April 10th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
Hi Laptoprepairguy,
i have a broken thinkpad a31 and i would like to use it’s display as an external monitor. Do you know where i can get any information about the display-cable layout? Or the layout of the header?
Thanks for your help,
Falk
April 10th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Aaron N,
What do you mean by “screen will bugg out”? The backlight goes off, the video disappears, the image changes colors or what?
April 10th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Falk Werner,
I doubt that you can use the laptop display as an external monitor. I don’t know how you can do that.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
The screen gets cluttered with garbaged pictures that are all fuzzy and the colors are all messed up, its kind of hard to explain but thats what it generally looks like but some time it will just be black.
April 16th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Aaron N,
Sometimes you might experience this problem because the video cable doesn’t make a good connection with the motherboard or LCD screen. Check the connections first, make sure the video cable makes a good connection with the screen and system board.
Check video on an external monitor. If you get the same fuzzy picture and messed up colors on the external screen, you might have a bad video card.
April 16th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Thx Cj for the info, unfortunately i have no experience with laptops so i dont know where to start in checking the connection or how to take the laptop apart if you could help me out with that it would be great, ill also check on the external monitor.
April 17th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
Did you ever get anywhere with this problem? I have the same problem.
April 20th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
[…] Here’s a notebook display assembly diagram […]
April 23rd, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Hello again i have hooked up my laptop to an external monitor and it works perfectly so now i need to know how i can re-connect the video cable to the laptop display screen but for now i have it hooked up to a docking station so take ur time
April 24th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Aaron N,
IBM hardware maintenance guides have detailed disassembly instructions. You have an IBM ThinkPad R60e, right? Download the manual and take a look at pages 88 (video cable connects to the motherboard) and 111 (video cable connected to the back of the LCD screen). It’s not easy, if you feel uncomfortable tearing it apart, take the laptop to a repair shop.
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:15 am
thx again cj ill probably take the laptop to a repair guy how much would fixing this kind of problem cost? do u know?
May 3rd, 2007 at 4:07 am
I have a sony vaiopcg9522. It starts upon moniter good but laptopLCD show lining . Get a good picture when I hook it up to another monitor. If the bulb is bad would I see all the windows start up? If it is the inverter I have the same question… I live in the jungle of Indonesia so taking
May 7th, 2007 at 5:21 am
applet computer,
If the laptop LCD is still bright and you can see an image on it (even bad image), there is nothing wrong with the backlight bulb or inverter.
May 11th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
I have a Compaq Presario R3000, and a couple of weeks ago I inadvertantly left it on hibernate while I was out of town for a week. When I tried to reboot, it initializes… goes until the Windows XP screen and then starts over..
I’ve tried booting from my XP disk, and that didn’t work.. I tried to upgrade to Media Center, and that didn’t work… So I figure it is a hardware issue.. Somebody.. Anybody PLEASE HELP!
May 12th, 2007 at 11:22 am
I have the toshiba M35X…i corrected the power jack problem but the laptop would not boot up now. The blue light on the power switch tuns on but goes off in 3-4 seconds.
After reding the reviews i have opened and closed the laptop 10 times to check all coneecctions and everything looks fine.
could a problem in display monitor other than connections cause it? how can i identify the problem? PLease help…
Bhupi.
May 13th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Brian,
What did you mean by that? Are you getting errors during the upgrade or what?
Run tests for memory and hard drive. You can use Memtest86+ and Hitachi’s drive fitness tests, you’ll find links on the right side.
May 13th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
Bhupi,
Did you remove the processor during disassembly? If you did, make sure the processor is seated properly and the socket is LOCKED.
May 14th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Need help. I have a inspiron 9300 with a dim/faint screen. On boot, the dell logo displays normally. Then the screen goes dim. External monitor works fine. Dell diagnostics error is “Error accessing the lcd inverter”. My dell has a philips LCD LP171wx2 17 inch WXGA+ and my inverter board is a K08I020. Dell is no help and wants to charge me $500! Everytime I contact them it seems like everyone is working on commision-Way to lose customers Michael. I purchased a replacement screen with inverter on ebay mistakenly advertised as a 9300, but it is actually a screen and inverter for a 9400-philips LCD LP171wx2 (same screen) and inverter K08I025. When I attach the 9400 setup to my 9300 I get nothing-not even the dell logo. If I swap inverters I get the dell logo again but the new (9400) screen goes dim like the original problem. BTW the 9300 screen is dim including logo with the K08I025 (9400) inverter. So, my questions are:
1. Are these inverters compatable?
2. Do you think it is worth purchasing a K08I020 inverter (cant find any new ones on the internet)?
3. Are inverters specific for a particular motherboard/video card?
4. Do you think my problem can still be the motherboard or video card?
Thanks
May 16th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
George,
Sorry, cannot give you a lot of help with Dells, I work mostly with Toshiba, IBM and business HP laptops.
I would say the inverter is specific for a particular screen. Both your screens are similar, so I guess both inverters should work. It’s possible the 9400 setup uses a different video cable, that’s why you are getting nothing on the screen with the 9400 setup.
Not sure what is wrong with your laptop but I would try this. Install the 9300 setup back as it used to be. If you turn on the laptop, the Dell logo appears and then the backlight goes off, right? Now unplug one cable from the inverter board (K08I020) - the cable witch goes to the 9300 screen backlight lamp(the data cable still should be attached to the screen) and instead plug the cable with goes to the 9400 screen backlight lamp. In other words you’ll get two screens connected to the same laptop, the data channel still would be connected to the 9300 screen but the inverter board will supply power for the 9400 backlight lamp. Turn on the laptop and check how the 9400 backlight lamp works. If it still turns on for a while and then goes off, I would try to find and replace the original K08I020 inverter, it might be yo