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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November 11th, 2008 at 9:34 am
I have a strange problem. My screen also goes dim and I can faintly see the background. I changed the Inverter and it didnt fix the problem. I have a Toshiba A75.
Is my next move changing the LCD?
Thanks
November 7th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
I’ve got a HP Pavilion dv2500 – 18 months old – which doing similar things. Actually started within warranty time. One minutes it’s got dots and patters (cyan and red and green) , very often on black or nearly black pixels. White comes out pinkish often and a little flicker on the patterns!
Applying pressure to the left hand side (where the connector to the LCD sits from what I can make out)… sometimes works a bit. Seldomly, the whole screen gets totally messed up and becomes completely unusable with parts of the screen being compressed and moving.
My observation is that if the machine is generally warm, the problem goes away.
I can’t help suspecting it is the connectors (have opened up and fiddles with the LCD cable), but it really is strange… once the machine is nice and warm, it’s usually OK.
November 6th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Sorry I mistiped my email. I have a laptop with a problem similar to Example 9, but the band is horizontal and it ocuppies a little over half the screen. I’m pretty sure the LCD needs replacement but I want to be sure before ordering the part. What fo you think?
November 6th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I have a laptop with a problem similar to Example 9, but the band is horizontal and it ocuppies a little over half the screen. I’m pretty sure the LCD needs replacement but I want to be sure before ordering the part. What fo you think?
October 29th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I just recently Started noticing this happening. I got up and As usually got on my Laptop, But When I flipped it open the screen was black with a faint visual of what was on the screen, I could make it out, but not very well. As I moved the screen it would flash on, but then there are times it would flicker off again, At times where I can make it out and times where I could make nothing out. Anywho. this is becoming rather annoying having to continue to hold the screen so it does not turn off. If there was to be a bad connection between the LCD and the connection wire, is that something I could simply do here or would I have to take it to a shop? The only reason I ask is there is no…Professional places here in town to fix it. I think I’ve invested enough money in this little laptop to just end up tossing it. (Oh! and I have checked it with a monitor, there is nothing wrong internally that is causing this!)
Thanks!
-megan-
October 26th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
When I turn my laptop on it says what it says in your example #4 without the red lines. What do I do to fix it from there?
October 26th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I have a Display/LCD problem with my Dell XPS M1210. Actually it’s a Nvidia GEForceGo 7400 problem. After I restarted the notebook the screen goes blank. After I pull out the connector to the LCD and connect it to the CRT monitor then started using Safe Mode, the notebook seem to work. But before that I have to uninstall the GeForce Go 7400. I have to use the default vga adapter, not the Nvidia. So what’s the problem? The Nvdia, Motherboard or the LCD?. What is the solution? Please help!
October 26th, 2008 at 6:16 am
I have just purchased a replacment Dell 15.4″ lcd on Ebay. How do I know if it’s a good screen before I install it? I don’t want to be blamed for destroying it if it was already DOA in the first place. Is it that easy to burn out the lcd while installing it? Thank you for your help, it is really appreciated.
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:43 pm
What about example number 7 picture 3 how do i solve this problem cause I have a similar problem with my A45-S250 Toshiba Satellite computer. Thank you.
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:41 pm
i have a similar problem why don’t you try switch the output to monitor only using Function + F5 and wait. Then press Function + F5 3x. Most likely its time to replace the screen anyway. IF it works fine on the external monitor then it is the definitely the LCD screen.