You replaced the broken LCD screen in your laptop with a new screen but it’s not working. Does this sound like your problem? Let’s find out what could be wrong and how you can fix it.
First of all, I assume that your new LCD screen is compatible with the old one. Different screens require different video cables. Make sure you new screen is compatible with your laptop.
OK, let’s say you accidentally damaged the LCD screen in your laptop. A part of the screen still works fine but you cannot use it like that so you decided to replace the screen yourself. You can find LCD replacement instructions in service manuals or this DIY site.
You did some research and purchased a compatible screen, installed it into the laptop, turned it on and… The new screen is not working!!! What could be wrong?
Before you start to panic, check all cable connections again. Check connection between the video cable, LCD screen and inverter board. Reconnect cables just in case.
Take a closer look at the connection between the video cable and LCD screen. It’s possible you accidentally pulled the video cable from the connector during the screen installation.
The video cable has to be seated properly, all the way down.
Also, on some older LCD screens there are very thin pins inside the connector. Take a look inside the connector, make sure there are no damaged (bent) pins.
You can straighten bent pins with a very small screwdriver but this procedure requires a lot of patience and concentration.
Fortunately, most newer LCDs have a different type of connector, without fragile pins inside.
OK, you have reseated all connectors and cannot see anything wrong but the new screen still is not working. What’s next?
Remove the new screen and connect the old one. If the old one works properly (except the damaged area) but the new one is dead, apparently the new screen is defective and has to be replaced. Hopefully it has warranty.
Here’s another scenario. The new screen kinda works. You can see a very faint image but there is no backlight.
If that’s the case, disconnect the new screen from the inverter board and plug in the old screen instead, as it shown on the picture below. If the backlight inside the old screen lights up, apparently the new screen has defective backlight lamp and has to be replaced.
Related post: Laptop has bad video on the LCD screen. What is wrong?
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September 3rd, 2010 at 6:30 am
I have a Gateway ma7… I purchased a replacement screen on Ebay.. It fits perfectly and all of the adapters match up (Inverter and Video Cable) When I turn on the screen it does not work it just displays lines everywhere. I know the new screen is good. I “tricked” the PC into thinking it was powering the old screen and sitched to the new one and it displayed fine.. The old screen is phillips and the new is Samsung.. Is this a Driver or software issue?
August 29th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Paul,
It’s not common. If you replaced the video cable and did everything fine, the laptop should start properly.
Did you install the correct video cable, maybe you purchased a wrong cable?
August 25th, 2010 at 10:50 am
I think I have damaged the VGA cable on my laptop, as i was trying to replace the LCD screen due to in having a crack.
Now even when I attach the old LCD screen the laptop does not boot is this common? :O(
August 19th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
MattH:
Did you ever find the solution to your Lenovo SL400 faint display issue? I have the same thing with mine. Replaced backlight with no luck. Replaced the whole monitor with no luck. Help!!!!
August 16th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite A205-S5843. I installed the new screen(A205-S4607) according to your ScreenTex tutorial and my screen does not come on. I just saw a blue screen, then it went to black. the inverter wires seemed a bit short,
Please help.
July 27th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
My wife’s computer (Lenovo SL400) had the display go out. Was able to figure out that the backlight wasn’t working because there was a VERY faint image of the display when you look close. Replaced the inverter. Still no backlight. I then replaced the entire screen assembly. STILL no backlight. Had a friend who works for Dell come and check it out to see what I could be missing. He was at a loss too. Tried searching around the computer for a pinswitch (to turn on the display when the laptop is opened up) that might be stuck, but to no avail. No switch to be found.
What am I missing here?
July 20th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Slightly off-topic but is there a trick to turning laptop hinges when they’re not bolted in place? I have managed to get my two hinges lined up opposite ways and I can’t screw them back down like this. The hinges work so easily when they’re on the laptop but trying to turn them with your hand when they’re not bolted down is a nightmare
The hinges are still connected to the screen on this very-difficult-to-work-with laptop (Acer Aspire 6935G) and taking them off completely looks impossible.
July 3rd, 2010 at 6:51 pm
Could just be the laptop lid switch is jammed – check that first its always a first checkpoint before moving on. Usually a small microswitch – looks like a little piece of plastic in a hole – push it should move up and down.
Check by connecting an external monitor to make sure it isnt the graphics card in the laptop – some HP laptops i recently had a look at had that old fault of overheating graphics chip which eventually breaks itself free from the circuitboard due to insufficient cooling – Hp is already involved in litigation over this. If you get a display on the external screen im afraid it will likely require opening up the laptop and an engineer which usually (for good reason) is not cheap!
Could also be a loose cable – some laptops have faulty cable connections to the motherboard which eventually come loose after continual opening and closing of the screen/lid. Again that required opening up the laptop.
If the switch is not jammed closed then next suspect is the ccfl backlight – easily broken if you drop your laptop.
Next test would be the invertor – unfortunately these last two are not for beginners and would require opening up the screen and laptop to test them.
June 19th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
I have a toshiba laptop and the when I open the laptop the screen does not come on. What could be the problem? And how can it be fixed? I can here the fan kick in but no screen.Thanks for your help.
May 2nd, 2010 at 10:51 am
mica,
It depends. What is your laptop model number? Are you going to replace the broken screen yourself?