How to replace a Laptop Screen

How to take an LCD screen off of a laptop and reconnect a new one.

When the screen on a laptop breaks, it can be a very intimidating problem indeed for those who have never taken a laptop apart in the past before,

In this Instructable i hope to dispel a part of that mystery in an effort to empower you so you can repair your own laptop next time it breaks.

Things you will need
a small phillips head Screw driver
a few small cups or containers (for the many screws on your laptop)
a small flat head screw driver (for the plastic clips on the top bezel)
and a Replacement screen ( the most expensive part, but if you look in craigslist you can get a broken laptop with a working screen fairly easy and replace your broken machine with the working parts from the other broken laptop)

or you can go through your laptop manufacturer to order a new screen. (usually not cheap)

One more note. by perfoming these actions you will be voiding your warranty assuming you have any left on the machine. if you do have a warranty on the machine, just send it out to the Depot and get it fixed for free.
if you have no more warranty then forget the above and get ready to get our hands dirty =D the laptops already broken any way what more can you do to it =P

also, before touching any circuits or any thing its good to ground yourself to dispel any static electricity you may have on you. so touch some bare metal Or if you have it pull out your anti static strap and make good use of it.

Step 1: Pulling screws

start by flipping your laptop over and Removing the Battery and every screw on the screen side of your laptop (remember to pull the screws that are hiding Under the battery as well)

Then you will remove a keyboard screw which is normally in the middle of the laptop (it will commonly have a small image of a keyboard near it to make things easier for you)

the last thing we will do is disconnect the Wireless antenna wires.

On the HP dv9000 series the wireless card is kept under the same plate as the Memory which makes things easy for us since it gives us a little more room.

locate which little plate is hiding your wireless card (it doesn't hurt to open them all up and see what's under them all any way since this is a learning experience)

once you have located the card with the black and antenna wires snaking away from it Note which wire goes to which side of the card (I'm not sure how important it is to re attache them properly since their just clipped wires and they don't close any circuit but its good to re attache things the right way the first time haha)

OK now were ready to go to the top side of the laptop.

Comments

[dsteiner1]

Hey I lose my screen as I tip it up at this point I have to push the screen so far back I cant read it. Its like theres a loose wire or something. Has this happened b4. Thanks Don

[Bernyk]

My guess would be that the hinge connection is where the fault is happening like you suggested, if the model laptop is common enough you may be able to swap part a from another laptop found on craigslist or remove the plastic covering the Hines and locate where the fault is yourself and soder it back together if need be

[Schmidty16]

hey my screen on my dell laptop went bad but the rest of the computer works but the screen is black could i connect a moniter screen to my laptop and fix it

[Bernyk]

Yea if you've got an old or extra LCD/crt monitor hanging by just connect that to the monitor port on the laptop and if it does not immediately pop up holds function and hour the monitor toggle key (normally one of the F keys) til it shows up then go to screen/monitor/display settings and set it as your primary display boom problem solved

[madmans firework emporium]

i replaced my screen and my wireless stopped working

[Bernyk]

Chances are you've accidentally disconnected your wireless antenna wires which boarder your screen, you can gain access to the connection through one of the bottom doors on your laptop and make sure the wires didn't get pulled out there. However if they were not the wires may have broken which wouldn't be fun, check the hinge where they pass from the base to the screen which is where I think it would be most likely if that was the case. But lets hope its just disconnected :-)

[madmans firework emporium]

crap, would those be the 2 white ones?

[Bernyk]

I've always seen them one white and one black but they could very well both be white in your case... lol you don't make it sound good though what seems to have happened to them?

[madmans firework emporium]

im screwed, i traced them to the source, the previous owner had re4placed the black one with a white one partway, it broke again, oh well, call on the duct 6tape

[Bernyk]

Haha you can probably givensoldering the wires a shot, you may have better results than ductape..

[iamphantom]

How did you disassemble the hinges? My laptop has a plastic case around the outside of the screen like most do and the hinges are deep in a plastic hole. I cannot get to them and therefor cant remove the case. Any suggestions?

[Bernyk]

if you've removed all the screws you can get too, and the last screws are stuck around a corner that you cannot get your screw driver quite angled into then i would suggest looking for some hidden plastic snaps some where nearby or on the opposite side of the unit.

my rule of thumb is that some one put that unit together and had to screw that same screw in. sooo if you pry gently you can generally find the last two points of contact where the unit is resisting coming apart which leads to the other offending screws or plastic snaps which once removed ought to let you get to the blocked screw.

i hope this helps if you can share what model the laptop is or take a few pictures of it i can take a look and see if i have any further or more exact insight.

[ANDY!]

if hte screen plugs are the same, can u use that?

[Bernyk]

granted i am no official expert in the matter but i wouldnt see why not, 

the only issue i would think there might be is the screens not fitting on the laptops body, it might display fine, but whether it attaches back to the computer is another thing. 

but i say go for it! give it a shot and see how it turns out =D

[bornecw]

 Just a personal experience with this.  I was afraid I would crack the delicate plastic around the screen so I sent my laptop to a company in Houston.  They repaired it and sent it back very quickly.  It cost me about $100 plus shipping.  Their site is clb-llc.com/

[Bernyk]

 thanks for the Link at the end there, i've noticed the comments have become quite the useful resource for people in need of replacing their screens and where they can get it done. 

[jv0010]

Great article.  I contacted these guys who also have phone support http://www.laptopscreensaustralia.com.au - they advised what the correct screen was and I also received it within 3 days.

Believe me, it is easy to fix these problems.

[philuk2000]

Geat little article. The only problem generally people find is actually getting the replacement parts. Laptop manufacturers are stifflers for parts and for the less well known companies it's always difficult to source a good supply.

Phil.

http://www.stuckcomputer.co.uk

[RogerB]

After some searching I found a site called www.nylaptopparts.com that offer replacement laptop screens and parts , pretty good pricing and service , I would just recommend anyone that wants to replace their screen to make sure that you feel you have the confidence or make sure to have the installation instructions before getting a part it will save you much headaches (like in my case - aaargh!) so with the help of this article and some instruction I had my screen installed within an hour.

[Bernyk]

glad the article was of help, and thanks for the link im sure others will find that to be Very useful.

[Bernyk]

yea, the replacement parts are certainly necessary before you go and just Bust apart the computer haha there are not even a whole lot of small time computer shops (in my area atleast) that know how to get certain replacement parts at a cost that even make the repair worth it.. so links to websites and companies like that can be a real help to folks, thanks man

[tomo pauk]

Hi, fellas :) Perhaps off-topic, but I have a Compaq Evo N800v whose LCD displays only every second column of a picture. Any hints, like if this is LCD's fault, or the graphics card is to blame? The cable seems okay.

[Bernyk]

what i picture from what you say is like every other inch of the screen displaying picture, which owuld lead me to believe that its your card or your cable but probably part of the Video card or some silicone board, cause when its the screen it either takes out a whole side, or group of pixels,

but it could be the wires on the screen which would require a new screen aswell.. but i cant say for certain,

see how easy it is to find a broken one and swap out the video card, if the evo came with one that is. if its on the mobo and the card is bad then i have no suggestions lol

So best of luck =) hope it works out for you, if nothing else im sure you'll be better for the experience.

[tomo pauk]

I forgot to say that, when I attach an external monitor, the picture there is okay. The problem with LCD remains all the way. Every even/odd column is "broken", while every column inbetween is okay. So, a pixel wide problem, not an inch wide.

[Bernyk]

well then i would then say it is the cable connecting the screen to the gfx card, or the monitor, in which case a clean swap should be enough to solve the problem, =) assuming you can find one haha thats always the annoying part

[jj12305]

can you tell me how to back up your computer because i have the same one and is infected with viruses and i need lots of help(PS the taskbar or the blue line on the bottom is gon and all the short cuts are gone)

[Bernyk]

well unfortunately backing up your computer will take alot more than my simple instructions over the internet can supply. However, a nifty trick to get your Icons and the Start menu to show back up on your computer is to open the Task manager (by pressing Ctrl+Alt+del keys at the same time) that will open a blue window with a few options, Chose the task manager. a small gray window should pop up, go to File > New task > Explorer.exe and if your computer doesnt have TOOO many problems going on with it, your start menu and icons should reappear, if that doesnt work you may have to bring your computer over to a friends house or the IT department in your school or workplace... if you dont have access to those options.. you may have to buckle down and bring it into a computer shop and spend some money on it.

[lemonie]

Come on now, the picture in step 5 is the same one you've used in step 2. What's going on here? L

[Bernyk]

lil jonny did indeed run out of photo's of the laptop and it was in use a few miles away while i was writing this so i simply 'recycled' if you will =P but they are indeed the same photo, while writing i was thinking that i wish i had a few more photo's to show specific screws and placement of items rather then the 4 pictures i did have.
i hope you dont mind but i tried to do the best with what i had.

[lemonie]

Maybe you can just replace the one in 5 with the finished laptop at some point? L

[Bernyk]

the laptop has returned, ill grab my camera and go do it now =) standby for the update.

[lemonie]

Yea! Showing the desktop says "it's fixed" nice L

[Phil B]

When you buy a used laptop for the screen, must it be for the same brand and same model of laptop; or can a screen for another laptop from another maker be used? If a screen for a different make and model were to be used, can it be put into the old screen case so the hinges fit?

[Bernyk]

if the screen inside the plastic casing is the same and the power consumption and Pins for the cord are the same you very well could swap the actual LCD screen's however if the screen is manufactured by a different company or is a different model then no i wouldnt suggest using it as a replacement. but i had not thought about the possibility of using another HP monitor and swapping out its casing, thats certainly possible. just another few steps in the process is all i'd suppose