Here I’m going to post some laptop screen photos showing bad video output. I’ll explain what was wrong with the screen and how I fixed it. I plan to ad more examples as soon as I get new pictures. If you have your own example (and know how to fix it) please let me know and I’ll post it too.
Here’s some help for finding a correct part for your laptop.
Other post related to troubleshooting laptop video problems:
How to troubleshoot and fix laptop video problems
Taking apart notebook LCD screen
Replacing LCD screen inverter
The newly installed screen is not working
Example 1.
Here’s a picture of Satellite M55 LCD screen I made this morning. I got this video output as soon as I started the laptop. There were a lot of vertical lines, and they were changing color without any pattern. To me it looked like Northern Lights (never seen in real life) 
. The external monitor worked fine.
As soon as I applied some tension to the screen it changed the pattern. Some horizontal lines appeared in the middle of the LCD.
Here’s the difference. When I torque the screen, the image appears but it’s distorted with some horizontal lines running across the screen.
Reseating the video cable didn’t make any change and the problem was fixed after I replaced the LCD screen.
Example 2.
I took this picture from Toshiba Satellite M65. I think that this example is very typical. One day you wake up, turn on the laptop and see one or a few hair-like vertical lines in different colors.
When you move the LCD screen some lines might disappear or more lines appear on the screen. A video output on an external screen would be perfect, without any lines. Unfortunately, these lines indicate a screen problem. I’ve never seen this kind of video output caused by a bad video cable or bad FL inverter board. My laptop was fixed after I replaced the LCD screen.
Example 3.
The photo below comes from Toshiba Satellite 5205. The laptop displays identical vertical lines all over the LCD screen as soon as I turn it on. Sometimes these lines are red, sometimes they are blue, sometimes they become wider and change color to white.
The same pattern appears on the external monitor. It displays same vertical lines. When the same video defect appears on both monitors – internal LCD screen and external screen, then most likely it happens because of a bad video card. On some laptops the video card is integrated into the system board, on other models it’s a separate module.
In this example, the vertical lines were caused by a failed video memory on the system board. I’ve tested the video memory with Microscope utility and it failed the test. In Toshiba Satellite 5205 the video memory is integrated into the system board. To fix the problem, I’ll have to replace the board. (We do not have equipment to replace the memory module itself).
Example 4.
Here’s another example of a bad LCD screen. My bad! It wasn’t the LCD screen problem.
As soon as I turned on the laptop, I was getting these reddish marks on the LCD screen but not on the external monitor. Reseating and replacing the video cable didn’t help. The problem disappeared when I installed my test LCD screen. Yes, for some reason I wasn’t able to reproduce the problem on my test LCD screen. But the reddish video appeared again as soon as I replaced the screen. I guess it happened because the system board had some kind of intermittent problem with onboard video or video connector. Long story short, I had to replace the system board and it fixed the problem. Yep, I misdiagnosed this laptop.
Example 5.
Here’s one more example of a faulty LCD screen. The left half of the screen works just fine but the right side is completely white.
Example 6.
Here’s another laptop with a bad LCD screen. This time it’s a tablet PC.
Example 7.
This screen looks like the screen on the example 1. I hooked up an external monitor and the external video works perfectly fine.
Here’s the difference. When I torque the screen, the image appears but it’s distorted with some horizontal lines running across the screen.
After a few seconds the image washes away.
I had to replace the LCD screen.
Example 8.
This laptop displays inverted colors right from the startup. As you see, the Toshiba logo is light green instead of red. The background is light gray instead of black. The Intel logo should be blue on a white background but it is red on a black background.
When your laptop displays inverted colors as on the picture above, this is an indication of a bad screen. You’ll have to replace the screen.
Example 9.
Here are two more screens. In both cases this problem is related to the LCD screen, witch means the screen has to be replaced.
On the image below you see a white band running from the top of the screen to the bottom. This band appears right from the laptop startup and runs through the logo too.
On the following image only the left side of the screen is working properly. This problem is caused by faulty LCD screen.
Are you looking for a new LCD screen for your laptop? Try here.
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September 17th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Hi. I would like to thank you for excellent job on your website, very educating. I’m looking for a confirmation if possible. I’m experiencing EXACTLY the same (May I say very unusual) problem with reversed colors on LCD of my Toshiba m115 (Your sample #8) I have fairly extensive experience with equipment and this is the first I see such defect. Did you have an opportunity to replace the cable and inverter on your machine first ? Perhaps you have swapped the whole LCD/Lid assembly ? It is hard to believe that otherwise fine display would be at fault here. Especially two EXACTLY same failures. Please let me know if you do recall this case. I could provide you with some additional pix to your portfolio regarding this case if you like. Would like to know as much as possible before throwing money down this tube
Thanks a bunch
September 15th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
karazamalazavragkas,
I don’t think your problem is related to the software, most likely it’s just a coincidence.
If your laptop works with an external monitor these vertical and horizontal lines appear on the laptop screen as soon as you turn on the laptop (even before Windows starts loading), it’s not a software problem.
Could be:
1. Loose connection between the video cable and LCD screen.
2. Bad video cable.
3. Bad LCD screen.
September 15th, 2008 at 11:56 am
My laptop screen god damaged after installing Magictune. After i install it, it asked for reboot and when it restarted then it was a white screen with vertical and horizontal lines here and there. Put on another screen and it works fine. How is it possible for a screen to be damaged because of software and is there any possible cure? Thanks in advance.
September 4th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Rosalyn,
You’ll have to test your laptop with an external monitor. Find out if the external video has the same problem.
If both internal and external screen has the same problem, most likely it’s related to the video card.
If the external video output is fine and you see lines only on the internal screen, it’s possible you have bad screen or video cable.
September 4th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Need your help. my laptop has a bad video on the lcd screen. It kinda looks like your first example only the vertical lines are all black with a white background. do I need to replace the lcd screen?
September 4th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Tony Clarke,
1. Make sure the video cable is seated properly. Reconnect the cable on the back of the LCD.
2. Could be bad motherboard. I’ve seen that before. The same white screen problem could be caused by bad LCD or motherboard. The only way to find out witch one is the culprit is testing the laptop with another known good working screen.
September 4th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Kermit,
I think you have a problem with the LCD screen and the screen has to be replaced.
September 3rd, 2008 at 11:49 am
I have an Acer Travelmate 4000 laptop that is approximately three years old. About 10 months ago, a few multi-colored vertical lines appeared towards the right side of the LCD. The lines continued to multiply over time and I now have approximately 75 vertical lines that occupy almost half of the LCD. Other than than this problem the laptop operates properly.
What is wrong with the laptop and how can it be repaired
September 2nd, 2008 at 10:31 pm
tony,
I could be wrong but I think it’s the VGA board problem and this board is not cheap. You’ll find the video card replacement instructions in this disassembly guide.
Spend your money wisely. I think it could be a better idea to spend this money for a new laptop.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:59 am
thanks cj…
It works fine now.