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.

    LCD repair

    Discussion in 'Gateway and eMachines' started by nochancemrp, Jul 21, 2010.

  1. nochancemrp

    nochancemrp Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    20
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    The other night I was watching a DVD in my Gateway P-172S FX laptop, when all of a sudden the screen dimmed to black, like it was on a light switch. We could still hear the audio, and figured maybe it was the screen saver... but it wasnt. Turning it on again, we could very faintly see the Gateway logo, and the Windows logo, followed by the login screen (sound was working as well). We hit enter and we can barely see anything. No pointer showed up either. The screeen looked like an oil blotch.

    I took out my screen and I plan to get a replacement. What could have caused this? When I had Ubuntu installed, it kept telling me my battery might be broken because of poor charging. Could this have been a factor? Could there be more factors?
     
  2. Omexis

    Omexis Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    60
    Messages:
    211
    Likes Received:
    36
    Trophy Points:
    41
    Sounds like the backlight of the LCD screen is faulty, i'm sure you can get a replacement for the backlight and you could check the backlight cable just in case.
     
  3. nochancemrp

    nochancemrp Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    20
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Well after the boot up, I could barely see anything. Just the windows start button. I found some pictures online, it's definitely a broken lcd. So here I am trying to find a mouse pointer without a backlight, on a cracked lcd screen. :rolleyes:

    If that's not the reason for the mouse pointer, what could it be?
     
  4. Bodin

    Bodin Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    22
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Not really sure about the cause but I had good experiences with screencountry.com

    Also if you had it plugged in, I don't think the battery would cause anything like this to happen.
     
  5. Omexis

    Omexis Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    60
    Messages:
    211
    Likes Received:
    36
    Trophy Points:
    41
    Do you have any light at all from the backlight? and you say the screen is cracked now? well thats most likely the reason, but LCD screens don't just crack at random, something must have caused it.
     
  6. nochancemrp

    nochancemrp Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    20
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Barely any light at all... You know when you get a new videogame, and they prompt you to adjust your settings until the image is barely visible? That's all I have. You have to get within a foot of the screen to make out the Gateway and Windows logos.

    I shouldn't have said cracked... The screen is still smooth, but the inside looks like it leaked.

    I even used the FN+Up arrow key to increase brightness, nothing...

    I'm about to order the same screen for about $150. Safe bet?
     
  7. nochancemrp

    nochancemrp Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    20
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Any chance it could be the inverter?
     
  8. Omexis

    Omexis Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    60
    Messages:
    211
    Likes Received:
    36
    Trophy Points:
    41
    yeah, when i meant the backlight i meant the inverter, sorry :)
     
  9. nochancemrp

    nochancemrp Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    20
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    My inverter # is 19.21072.101, they've got a ton of them on eBay. But the only thing different between mine and theirs is a 7 digit # that follows. Do I have to find a match or will any one do?
     
  10. Omexis

    Omexis Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    60
    Messages:
    211
    Likes Received:
    36
    Trophy Points:
    41
    As long as it matches your computer model number it should work, that 7 digit number might just be the serial number
     
  11. nochancemrp

    nochancemrp Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    20
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Sweet! Thanks, you've been a huge help and money saver. :)