1. Small Crack In Laptop Screen
2. Dell Cracked Screen Repair
3. Small Crack In Laptop Screen

Small Crack In Laptop Screen

Over the past couple of years I have traveled a lot and took my work with me wherever I went. I worked from the most ridiculous and beautiful places all over North America and Europe. My office was wherever I set up my computer. And for a while my desktop felt like home. And then I broke my laptop screen. Disaster!

What do you do when you depend on your laptop; to look up information, submit work, and meet deadlines? Well, I am here to tell you that you will survive. A broken screen certainly isn’t the end of the world and it’s less pain than a broken hard drive in any case.

A laptop is such a compact unit that breaking one part makes the entire device useless. Yet it’s built in a modular fashion. Hence, many of its parts can be fixed or upgraded, including the hard driveHow To Upgrade Your Laptop In a Flash: Add a New Hard Drive & Increase RAMHow To Upgrade Your Laptop In a Flash: Add a New Hard Drive & Increase RAMLaptops are not as easy to upgrade as desktops. Many components are simply soldered on to the motherboard and others, though technically replaceable, are restricted by technical skill and cost. There are, however, two upgrades..Read More and RAMHow To Upgrade A Laptop's RAM, Step By StepHow To Upgrade A Laptop's RAM, Step By StepIs your laptop old, slow, and has the hardware never been upgraded? Working on a slow computer can be a real drag. Before you buy a completely new one, however, you should consider ways to..Read More. With the broken screen it’s not that easy, but it can still be repaired. But that’s not the only solution.

Your Options

Jan 22, 2016  The crack is very thin and looking straight at the screen it is almost invisible. It is much more pronounced when you view the screen from an angle. The touchscreen started acting up a little, but I am not the biggest fan of a touchscreen on a laptop so I disabled it, and I am really quite fine with it. Apr 09, 2015  A dying or cracked display doesn’t mean your laptop is a paperweight. For most laptops, a screen replacement takes $80 and an hour of your time at most. If you’re a DIYer, replacing a broken laptop screen yourself is a great way to save cash, as most computer repair shops will quote you $150 to.

When your laptop display breaks you have several options. You can attach the device to an external monitor, fix the display, or buy a new laptop. If you have read my feature story on consumption and electronic wasteThou Shalt Consume: The Story of Consumer Electronics [Feature]Thou Shalt Consume: The Story of Consumer Electronics [Feature]Every year, exhibitions around the world present new high tech devices; expensive toys that come with many promises. They aim to make our lives easier, more fun, super connected, and of course they are status..Read More, you already know what I did.

Attaching An External Monitor

I needed to work and I dreaded working from my old netbook, so I decided to attach an external monitor to my laptop. I first had to go out and buy one, but I had wanted a second monitor anyway, so that wasn’t a big deal. Using an external monitor is a quick fix that buys you time. At the very least, it lets you examine whether the rest of the laptop is really OK.

If you don’t have a spare monitor at home, you may be able to borrow one from a friend, buy it second hand, or get a good deal from a local store; TFTs aren’t that expensive. You might even find a free one via local classifieds like CraigsList. If you do decide to buy a new TFT5 Things You Should Know When Shopping for a Monitor5 Things You Should Know When Shopping for a MonitorComputer monitors are an often underestimated part of the computing experience. Geeks who don’t flinch at spending $500 on a tablet or $1,000 on a computer will often buy a monitor based exclusively on price..Read More, be sure to invest in a model that will be of use to you, even if you end up repairing the laptop or getting a new one later on.

Repairing The Broken Screen

Now that the screen is busted, you have nothing to lose. After attaching an external monitor, you will probably find that the display is in the way. At least that was my experience, so I removed it…

…and used a beheaded laptop for a short time. Suddenly, the webcam became much more useful! I think they should build laptops with webcams that can be pulled out. I really enjoyed having a webcam on a string.

When you remove the display, don’t be afraid, but be careful. Try not to break anything and document your every step. This will help you put the thing back together.

Dell Cracked Screen Repair

Take special note of how cables are wired, e.g. cables for the screen, the webcam and antennas. Also don’t forget to write down in which order you removed the parts, where you released screws (if any), and which ones went where. Finally, be sure to keep all the parts together and store them in a safe location.

To be honest, I neglected to document the dis-assembly. While reassembling the display, it happened twice that I figured out mistakes several steps down the line, meaning I had to go back and do them all over again. That’s enervating because breaking something as you’re putting in the new display would be a real drama.

But before you can think of putting everything back together, you first have to find a replacement display. I thought this would be hard, but in the end it wasn’t. Look at the back of the broken screen for a model number. Mine was LP156WF1 and it was an LG Display. You can use that number to search for a spare part.

Using the model number I searched on eBay and found several merchants that sold brand new displays. The price for my Full HD 15.6″ display was €77 (ca. US$100) plus shipping. In the US you will get a better deal. I ordered and within two days the display arrived.

If you were smarter than me and documented the dis-assembly, the reassembly will be a breeze. It will still take some time; just be patient and don’t forget to breathe. In the end, you will have your old laptop back!

Buying a New Laptop

Small Crack In Laptop Screen

Personally, I think it’s drastic to buy a whole new laptop if you just have a broken screen. Since my laptop was only a year old, this wasn’t an option at all. However, if your laptop is old and you really wanted to replace it anyways, go for it.

Before you trash the old one, note that you can salvage several valuable parts that still work, for example the hard drive or RAM. Whatever is left over after you removed the useful parts, should be recycled. Electronic waste contains a bunch of rare materials that do not belong onto the landfill or into an incinerator. Please recycle!

Take Home Message

A broken laptop display can be repaired and it is not that hard. You can even take a shot at replacing a damaged smartphone displayHow to Replace a Damaged Phone Screen DisplayHow to Replace a Damaged Phone Screen DisplayHere's how to DIY replace a damaged phone screen display. You don't have to pay for smartphone repairs if you break the screen!Read More!

Explore more about: Computer Maintenance, Computer Monitor, .

1. Lol reading this as a Software Engineer. Even girls can do it? Come on, you don't have to insult your own gender for the sake of tongue-in-cheek irony. Insult your own intellect! 'Even I can do it!'

2. I was at school and I dropped my laptop. It cracked really badly and now touch screen isn't working. I am really upset about it and these instructions seem really complicated. What can I do?

3. I have replaced several screens in other peoples laptops and i must say most are easy enough for anybody to do that has the will to learn my only suggestion to someone new to tech is although computers are fragile some tasks require you use some force (not much) but I don't know how many people who tell me they want to learn how to repair computers can manage to remove a screw or pop in some new ram because they think they are pressing too hard.

   P.S.
   I think the even girls can do it part was funny being that a girl wrote the article. People these days jump to conclusions so easily.

4. In late September of this year I fix hard drive for the second time in two years. One month later I come home to crack screen. I know for a fact that I did not drop it. I have no idea how this screen but it really put me behind on a lot of assignments.

5. Great article until the FEMALE author decided to put 'Even girls can do it!' You should've felt disgusted writing and posting that. Shows that you've been poisoned by a male dominated world.

6. 'Even girls can do it' is very offensive and makes me not want to recommend this website to 50% of the population (women) at all.

   • Ummm the person who wrote this article is a girl //www.makeuseof.com/tag/author/tinsie/

7. I'm not crazy about the phrase 'even girls can do it'. Be nice if that was deleted from the article, doncha think?

8. wow okay, great tutorial until the last bit. casual sexism much?

9. So my laptop's been buffed up a few times, and by now the screen has little black spots that've been appearing for a while now. I don't feel any heat coming from it, and it's really just blocking vision of parts of the screen. Is it dead pixels, or what?

10. I am using HP Pavilion since 2012. My laptop screen got damaged last week. It was small in size but it was in center of the screen. So I am getting irritate when I see something in Laptop. So please tell me Is it possible to remove that scratch without changing screen? Still i didn't contact any Outlet.

11. is it possible for a laptop screen to be broken beyond repair?

12. 'Even girls can do it' WTF, tongue in cheek or not, super lame comment, I'll never be reading you again

    • The author is female.

      • Why is it a slight if a guy says it, but nothing if a girl does? Reverse discrimination by women I'd say. It's not always a degrading cliché. Same as guys w/o maps. Doesn't bother me in the least.

13. Hi.is there any other way to fix a broken display dan replacing it? My sony viao screen's become white with coloured lines on one side n I can see the other half of my desktop background flicker and as two (above n below).wat do I do?

    • Gracy, I think your problem is that your screen has cracked partially, if the crack covers, half of your screen, expect the entire screen to be cracked by christmas. Basically, the only options you have are the ones listed above. The screen cannot be fixed at all, so those are basically your two options. The only reason that your screen is white with colored lines, and others are black, is mostly because of the type of the screen. LCD looks different than a LED, and you probably have a LED, as I believe when those crack, they turn white. I had a PSP screen entirely crack on me and it absolutely sucked because you could not find a PSP screen cheaper than $200, or a cheap PSP that had a working screen. It was a lot cheaper to just get a new PSP. In the case of a Sony Viao, I would HIGHLY recommend either getting an external screen, or finding another screen. I remember when I was looking for a Sony Viao how expensive they were, and it would not be worth it to go out and buy an entire new laptop when the only thing broken on it is the screen.

14. I have a laptop with a broken screen I also have someone who can fix it -well transfer data my data from my broken laptop to another and stuff I do want will be deleted. .problem is will they be able to see my pictures whilst doing this?

    

    • Lorraine,

      Are you wondering whether they will be able to look at photos you don't want them to see or whether it's possible to provide them with a screen, so they can see what they are doing? In short, yes for both.

      You can attach an external monitor to your laptop, so they can see what they are doing. And actually they have to in order to find and copy the files over. They won't automatically see the photos, but of course if they are curious, they might open a file to look at it, including an image / photo file.

      Other than staying with them and looking over their shoulder while they are copying your files or ask them not to open any of them (which might make them even more curious), there is not much you can do. Well, you could just do it yourself. It's not that hard.

15. when you say use a secondary screen temporarily can it be a screen from an old laptop? or does it have to be an independent screen? and you did the repair job yourself thats awesome. is there any special tools you can suggest? i have one month before school starts and need to get my sons netbook up and running again (it was only a few months old when he slammed it shut with his earbuds on the keys) thank you for writing in such a way it gives me confidance to at least try.
    thanks ever so much
    christine

    • I'm sure it's possible to somehow connect the screen from an old laptop, but I don't know how.

      I didn't use any special tools for the repair job. It also depends on your device. Various size and shapes screwdrivers will be helpful, if the manufacturer used screws for the assembly.

      Search for the model on Google or YouTube and see whether someone has attempted to change the screen on it. Maybe you can instructions or a manual that shows how the screen is assembled.

      Good luck!

      The following desktop and notebook nForce variants will no longer receive future driver updates:nForce 9 SeriesnForce 7 SeriesnForce 6 SeriesnForce 5 SeriesnForce Professional 2000 SeriesnForce Professional 3000 SeriesnForce 4 SeriesnForce 3 SeriesnForce 2 SeriesnForce 1 SeriesCustomers using an nForce based product may find legacy drivers available from our Software Downloads page. NVIDIA nForce Driver UpdatesNVIDIA has moved the nForce motherboard media and communications processors (MCPs) and motherboard GPUs (mGPUs) to a legacy driver support structure.

16. this is a great article! But i must say that in my case i cannot order online new screen, in my country there are no shops that sell stuff like this, all this due to political issues.. So my option is that i dismantle the entire thing, put it to old DVD case (in my case old VHS video recorder) and connect it permanently to TV with DVI/VGA cable and connect a wireless mouse and keyboard and that's it! it looks pretty cool!

17. I replaced a monitor on an old t42 lenovo. IBM has some AWESOME resources including videos of how to take things apart (can be saved to another computer) and the complete technician's manual. It is a little nerve-wracking but what a feeling of accomplishment when the who thing is put together and still works 3 yrs later.

    Ebay price of the monitor? $40 if I remember right. Totally worth it!

18. The problem with repairs is not always the time and know-how, but the cost of the actual part. If you cannot find the part for a good price, it is not worth it. For example: a $400 laptop, that is one year old, has a broken screen and you cannot find a screen for under $250-300 (retail), than maybe a new one would be nicer because you have the potential of getting the right one you need or something better. If you can find a screen for $100 or less, used or new, than 100 per cent go for it and repair it. Check out my blog for reviews and suggestions about electronics http://www.eztechspot.blogspot.ca .

19. Fortunately, this has never happened to a laptop of mine. BUT, if it does, now I have some ways to take care of it! Thank-you, Tina & m.u.o.com!

20. I had an 2009 Dell XPS and in 2010 the screen broke, it was about 3 months to find the spare screen, and the screen cover, because the dell model was impossible to open without broken it. The cover was about $20 in ebay and the screen was an used one lcd pane (Mine was led pane) but everything fit togheter and my lap was live again for about $120 (The repair in dell it cost more than $300)

21. Also there are USB cable for Attaching An External Monitor!

22. This was an excellent article until the next-to-last paragraph:

    'A broken laptop display can be repaired and it is not that hard. Even girls can do it!'

    Seriously, Tina? That second statement was irrelevant & unnecessary -- what would the reaction have been if you had said 'Even boys can do it!' instead?

    • Julia, that statement was tongue-in-cheek.

23. Wow wish i had known this a few years ago. Thanks i will attempt this if it happens to me again!

24. Thanks for the article. It's definitely a cheaper way than buying a new laptop.

25. I wish there was a way to replace a dead motherboard with a cheap one too. My old Sony Vaio rests in peace at home :( I did not accept spending 1000$ over an official replacement Sony motherboard that is at least a couple years old age.

    • Wow, that's insane. You could get a brand new Sony laptop for that money. Mine cost around that much.

      • Yes indeed. I think, it's also the fate of all dead laptop motherboards, manufacturers somehow make them overpriced.

        • Nevermind my ill-placed comment..

          I'm not sure why motherboards are so expensive by themselves. If you like to tinker, watch ebay for a cheap model of your laptop with a working motherboard. You might be able to build one working laptop from two broken ones. Then sell the remaining parts that work and congratulate yourself. :)

        • Actually your -deleted- comment was also valuable for me, I was thinking the same thing but never searched for it. My dead Vaio's screen was fabulous, it has real black screen with 1900x1200 resolution. I'd like to use its screen if possible. Many thanks Tina.

        • As Tina said, it's a good idea to look for your laptop on ebay with a broken display and you can salvage the mobo or if you need the screen then look for a machine with an bad mobo and salvage the screen. Patience is the most important part. I will not spend more than $50-$60 for a display and no more than $100.00 on a mobo. Also use as many creative search meathods as you can. Remember there are multiple models in one laptop family series.

26. is there a way to connect a VGA or DVI cable to the one that connects the laptops normal screen?

    • Why would you want to do that? You could just use the VGA or DVI port on your laptop. I'm not sure there is an adapter for the laptop's internal display connector. Don't see how that would be useful, but maybe you can explain.

      • i have an extra laptop screen and wanted to make it into a second monitor for for my normal setup.

        • Oh, I completely misunderstood. Well, a quick Google search should give you a few ideas. :) Apparently, some people sell kits on ebay.

        • Unfortunately, there are no adapters for attaching external monitors directly into laptops (where the connectors and the wiring are not entirely standardised anyway). As Tina says, most laptops have an external monitor connector anyway, which is a much simpler solution!