The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    I scratched my laptop screen!

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by Central, Oct 9, 2006.

  1. Central

    Central Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    -4
    Messages:
    112
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I was propping up some sheet music which had a couple of staples in against my Inspiron 640m laptop. I've just discovered I have a nice big scratch in the middle of the screen, about 12mm long:

    [​IMG]

    Would there be any way of getting rid of this? (I know nothing about LCD screens and I REALLY don't want to buy a replacement.)

    Note that I can actually feel this scratch as I run my finger or my nail down the screen. It's not like the scratches you'd find on your iPod. The scratch is also always black-looking.

    PLEASE help me, I beg you! :p
     
  2. vespoli

    vespoli 402 NBR Reviewer

    Reputations:
    1,134
    Messages:
    3,401
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    Ouch...I dont know to be honest with you, deep scratches like that are almost impossible to get out.

    Do you by any chance have the accidental breakage insurance or CompleteCare?
     
  3. Central

    Central Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    -4
    Messages:
    112
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Nope, I just went with the standard 1-year warranty. :s I've heard people using waxes, transparent nail varnish and toothpaste for scratches, but I'm not sure if that's for my type of scratch. *cries* :p
     
  4. Leshii

    Leshii Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    31
    Messages:
    554
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    ouch! a deep scratch like that is pretty much impossible to get rid of. It will be always noticable even if you manage to somehow make it less visible. Human eyes can notice surprisingly small imperfections like a dead pixel, and this scratch is the size of the grand canyon. I would also be very careful with waxes and nail varnish if I were you...
     
  5. Central

    Central Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    -4
    Messages:
    112
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Okay, I give up. :p

    I'll just try to live with it I guess. I don't know how much it would cost to get the screen cover replaced (which is what the scratch is on) but if I get really desperate I'll try to find out. Thanks for all your help.

    When I'm rich I'll buy a Mac or something. :p
     
  6. drumfu

    drumfu super modfu

    Reputations:
    436
    Messages:
    3,651
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    you can look for a replacement on ebay, you may get lucky and find one for relatively cheap. the 640m is/was pretty popular so it may not be that hard. you can also google for a shop that parts out old/dead notebooks and find one cheap.

    LCDs rarely ever go bad, so if you can find a used one, you should good to go

    in terms of replacing it yourself, dell has very good detailed instructions on how to do it on their website.
     
  7. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

    Reputations:
    634
    Messages:
    3,637
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    a mac screen will still scratch...