How to Replace LCD Screen on Laptop
June 29th, 2011 
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(Free Members Only) Here is a problem that a little spyware prevention might be able to help you with in a round-about way, broken LCD screens. Its getting more and more common to see broken LCD screens on laptops, usually with cracks and black liquid crystal oozing around the inside the screen. Especially after you get a spyware infection and get mad and punch the screen. Don’t laugh, it really happens!
Common Causes for Broken LCD Screens
- I sat on it
- I stepped on it
- I dropped it
- I left a pen on my keyboard and then closed the lid
- I stacked something heavy on top of it
- I punched it
- It got crushed in the overhead bin on the airplane
- I didn’t pack it good enough and it got damaged in shipment
Somewhat Good News and Bad News
Bad news first … Whatever the reason, it is the 2nd most expensive part in your laptop next to the motherboard, and many people have a tough time deciding if they want to repair it or not.
The good news is that the price of LCD screens has come down considerably in the last year, and that they are not that difficult to replace. I would say that if you can change a tire on your car that you should be able to replace an LCD Screen on most laptops. Below is a video from ScreenTek that show you step-by-step how to replace your LCD Screen.
ScreenTek is one of the vendors I use for quality replacement screens. They have most screens in-stock and they ship very fast, with reasonable shipping rates too … even to Hawaii!
But if you shop around for the absolute cheapest screen you can find, I can tell you that you might get what you pay for. I was approached by a vendor that offered low cost LCD Displays and tried them out, just to find out that the screen did not have the proper holes to match the mounting brackets. The screen worked, but I had to get out the Dremel tool. They also did not package it as well as ScreenTek, and the shipping was slower and more expensive.
Now I know that some people would just prefer to have a professional to do the job, which is always a good idea in the long run, but you will pay for the labor of course. Sometimes a broken screen comes with complications. One common problem I see accompanying a broken LCD Screen is:
Caution: If the crack is so bad you cannot see the video well enough to shutdown Windows properly, and end up just cutting the power off using the power switch or by pulling the battery out, you are very likely going to cause errors on your hard drive. Bad shutdowns can corrupt your Windows installation, and even permanently damage your hard drive, putting your data at risk.
If you can, connect your laptop to an external VGA/DVI/HDMI monitor, and use the proper function key (examp: F5) to switch the video to the ext monitor and then shut it down properly. You’ll at least be able to use your laptop this way until you can get it repaired.
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