Cracked Screen, need immediate help.

Long story short I tripped and fell today with my laptop in my backpack and that resulted in a fan style crack from the bottom of the screen to the top left of the center of the screen.

So my questions are:
Can I buy a new screen?
If so, where and how much.

Also, my warranty ran out approximatly 1 month ago so Dell won't help me.

If needed the specs are:
Dell E1505
Core Duo 2.0GHz
2GB DDR2 RAM
80GB 7200RPM HDD
256MB ATI Radeon Mobility X1400
15.6 "WSXGA screen(I think. I know the res is 1680x1050)

Thanks in advance to all that reply and I look forward to reading your replies.

Fry

 

Dell?

If you're able to, ask to buy more extended on-site warranty (2, 3 or 4 yrs) and you're golden. Not only should it cost less than a new computer, but also less than replacing the screen too.

Worth a try.


Considering the spec's on the machine though, I would be looking at a new system for what the screen will cost to replace (unless you're able to do it yourself).

Good luck.

 

It would cost ~$160-170USD to order a screen and install it myself.
Im going to call Dell and see how much it would cost to extend the warranty.
Im still keeping getting a new laptop as an option though.

 

For that cost, installed, a new notebook could be considered 'splurging'.

A client had a Dell and bought the warranty while telling them about the problem - good thing he bought it; M/B replaced twice under that warranty and they followed him half way around the world to service it too.

Money well spent if you're as happy with your current system as he was with his.

 

OK, Dell was no help. Even with the 1yr extended warranty(which was the only one available) there was no guarantee that the screen would be covered.
And I would have been out of a laptop for 4-6 weeks at a minimum.
So, I ordered a screen and found a pictorial detailed guide to replacing the screen and I'm going change it out myself.

 

Uhm a replacement screen for that laptop would run $80-$90.

Check ebay out, and look for a reliable seller (look at feedback). I've done dozens of LCD repairs using ebay vendors.
Replacing an LCD is pretty straight forward, however you need to be CAREFUL.
Inspect the design of your laptop, looking for disassembly guides for your specific model. Make sure all screws are off before you try removing anything!

 

Try to find a decent panel also. Samsung, and LG are two of the best... I had to order a cheap panel off of eBay for an older Acer of mine and it dithered really bad.

 

Pretty sure it's a 15.4'' widescreen, not the newer 15.6'' widescreen

 

Yes, it is a 15.4" screen, seems I made a typo.
I found an exact OEM replacement and ordered it last night. It cost a little more but it comes with a one year warranty that covers everything except intentional damage.

Yes, I probably could have found a cheaper one on ebay, but Im up against the clock here and I didn't have time to scour ebay to find an exact replacement that would ship within 2 bizz days.

There may have been such a screen on ebay but after the nightmare I've been through with all the problems this laptop has had in the last week I just didn't have the energy to go the ebay route.

Thanks for all the tips so far and if anyone else has some info I should know please don't heasatate to post.

Fry.

 

UPDATE:
screen came in. Unfortunately it's the wrong screen.
On top of that they want me to pay to ship it back to them.
Now I won't have a laptop for yet another week.

based on this experience with screenaid.com I give them a 0 out of 10 / no star review.

Hopefully I never have to replace a screen out of warranty again. I don't ever want to have to go through this again.

 

If you paid with paypal, start a dispute the vendors will likely contact you and arrange for free shipping/stuff. Make sure you have information the screen you ordered and make sure they claimed compatibility with your laptop otherwise if they said they for YOU to check the screen compatability your tough out of luck.

 

UPDATE:
got burned for a second time with screenaid.
So, Im going to cut my losses with them and get a refund and just eat the shipping charges.

If anyone knows where I can get a reliable "new" WSXGA+ screen for a Dell Inspiron E1505 please let me know.

 

maybe here ? not sure how reliable the service is
1505 LCD Screens (20) ScreenTek Inventory Search

 

They may be reliable but I'm hesitant to spend over $200USD on a new screen.

 

Philip do you have the old screen handy? If you flip it over what is the manufacturers name and model number? For example my HP screen has an HP part number but also a specific manufacturers name and number printer on the spec sticker on back of the screen, AU Optronics b141ew04 v.7

Funny thing about your post I ordered my screen on 8/11 got the wrong one by ordering by HP's number, sent it back, and just today got and installed the correct screen today, 9/20 so I know exactly how much of a PITA it is.

 

Dell model Laptop Screens

 

hey err..
if its a normal 15.4" screen then there are a bunch that would work....
for example my laptop was made for WSXGA like yours but i'm using a normal WXGA screen... I got it from a years old single core laptop in fact.

listen, i have another in usable condition, do you want me to express ship it to you for like 50$ total?
express is 1 day.

and if it doesnt work out i wont charge you more for return shipping

wish i had seen your post earlier so i could help
i cant believe how screen resellers steal peoples money like this!

 

I got a 1920X1200 to upgrade my P6831FX from these guys, they were excellent. Very helpful.

laptop part warehouse lap top at laptoppartswarehouse.com

 

how much was it >_>

 

Thanks for your offer but unless it's an exact replacement Im just going to keep looking until I find one wihtin price range.

 

It was $175+$22 shipping to Cal= $197. for a nice LG panel. I called and ordered to make sure they had the right one in stock, and the owner went out into the stock room, hand picked it, and shipped it that day. I went through hell and returns with ebay crap sellers b4 this, so these guys were a pleasant surprise.

 

OK, I've found two sites with potential screens:
laptopscreen.com

If anyone thinks either of these sites is worth trying please let me know.

 

Um no its not worth it.
I guess I can't make it any clearer...
There IS NOT an exact model for your laptop! It wasn't made for a particular screen, it was sold with it.

You can use whatever you want and it shouldn't cost you more than 75$ for any standard 15.4" ccfl.
These companies only exist to take as much money as they can from your ignorance.

 

You should consider taking niffcreature's offer. The pros: a cheap replacement, no return shipping hassle, a new screen.
Cons: hmmm....
Summary: I wish I could get a replacement screen that cheap when I need them. You are lucky he is offering. Too bad I don't need one, I'd snatch it up.

 

Actually I wasn't even trying to argue that I have a great deal to offer. In fact there are better:
EMACHINES M2350 15.4" WXGA LAPTOP LCD SCREEN - eBay (item 370430967818 end time Oct-10-10 16:19:53 PDT)

My screen has 2 dead pixels. That one might too however, and there would be nothing you could do.
I was mainly offering because I could get it delivered in 24 hours and not be an about anything.

I mean, the title of this thread does say "need immediate help"

the whole screen thing is just really ticking me off. if there was ever an ebay convention with sellers saying "screen will only work with such and such laptop" i would punch them in the face. not kidding.

If you order a new dell laptop and specify one screen you still could get a samsung, LG or something cheaper and have no control over it and the difference in quality would be huge.
Doesn't that mean something about how much one needs to replace their LCD with the exact same model?

 

I didn't mean to come off as rude or indignant about the screen offer.
I really do appreciate your offer niffcreature.
But the fact remains that I want a specific type of screen.
And to further clarify a point I tried to make earlier, I am looking for a WSXGA+ screen, ie; 1680x1050 resolution.

The reason I was harping about the screen beings an exact replacement is because not ALL screens have the proper mounts on the bottom, this was one of the big issues I had with screen aid.

And Im well aware that all laptop companies will likely have a screen from one of the major LCD screen making companies. That doesn't change the fact that if I take a screen from say an HP and try to fit it into my laptop that I won't have to do some modifications to the screen casing so that it will fit back into my Dell laptop.

And About the Title of this thread. I changed it since the situation has changed since the original post.

One last thing, maybe I am ignorant in the matters of LCD screens, I can't argue with that. But at least Im willing to post questions and learn. That is one of the purposes of NBR, is it not? So next time someone who is looking for help post something that to you seems downright stupid, perhaps you'll consider your word choice a little more carefully when commenting on the OPs replies. Personally, Im pretty easygoing by nature so I won't loose any sleep over anything said on NBR but I still find it rude and a blatant sign of insecurity to insult someone who is simply trying to learn and is maybe a bit slow at it. And before you try to call me a hypocrite, I was not by any way insinuating that you or anyone else here on NBR has personal issues with insecurity. I was merely making a statement about people world wide in general through a statistical sociological viewpoint. I have no evidence of anyone here being insecure, nor do I intend to seek to find any.

Again, thank you everyone here who has posted replies to my questions and comments. I value all of your opinions and insights. There are as always very helpful.

Fry.

 

Yeah, see actually we have the same misconceptions. I was trying to speak to the same "general public" when I have my annoyances about screen upgrades and more so the way pretty much everyone thinks their 'brand' knows more than they do.

I'm sorry if I come off as personally insulting i guess that happens often... As far as insulting the general public, I'm making no apologies.
I think everyone is REALLY stupid about screen upgrades. At this point however you one who is a fair amount less stupid.

I would say to you personally I don't know how easygoing it is to analyze insecurities but to tell the truth there is no reason NBR should be particularly easygoing if there is something to be gained from, well taking things very seriously. but thats just an opinion.

What exactly is it thats different about your screens mounting?
Most screens only have mounts on the sides and thats all they need. So unless your hinges dont have sufficient mounting holes, I'd say you could remove any bottom mounting hardware to use another screen.

I just bought a WSXGA panel actually. Once again I'm not just trying to sell stuff at random here, but If you still haven't figured out what you need once I get it, I'd be willing to help determine if its something you can use. At the very least maybe you'd know a different model to look out for.

 

The original screen I had has two screw holes at the bottom for mounting to the screen itself what I think is the inverter. I've seen the same thing happen with one of my old roommate's Inspiron 6400(which is the E1505 in business class disguise). The person he ordered from sent him a screen that didn't have the bottom mounting screw holes. At the time we figured nothing bad would happen if we just free floated the "inverter" under the screen. It worked find for about a semester but I guess the "inverter" eventually slid down a bit and it short circuited after the wires melted from touching too long. Or at least that's what it looked like after we opened it up. long story short, he got a new laptop after that.

Also, just to throw it out there, ~$100 is a decent price IMO especially since many other companies want (I kid you not) $235-250 for a 15.4" WSXGA screen that according to the site is for my laptop model.

And, after your enlightening words I did some research, I found out that most of the inspiron and lattitude models that were sold around the time I bought my laptop used the same screen which further proves one of the points you made earlier.

So in attempts you answer your response, the following model numbers should have the same screen:
E1505
6400
1550
E1501

there may be more but I haven't verified them yet.

Basically when I made the post earlier with the two sites on it, I was asking if anyone had an opinion on the chances I would get a fully functioning WSXGA screen from them. That is not a screen with the wrong res or a broken backlight or dead pixels.

I recently purchased a new laptop and it' will be delivered soon so the rush to get a new screen is no longer there but I would like to get my old laptop back to functioning relatively soon all the same.

again thanks for all the help so far.

 

Well I guess when all is said and done, you should just find the exact model.

Did you ever find that and post it? Someone suggest that you look on the back of your broken screen, which is a very good idea.
Theres a good chance someone will be selling the exact model number new on ebay and then theres no way you can get burned (no pun intended in relation to your friends situation)

I don't think shorted wires could melt something over time. a few thoughts on that:
-CCFLs are powered by an inverter because it takes 12v dc and transfers it to around 500v AC
-if 500v AC shorts, its not going to melt something over time, its probably going to create massive sparks for a few seconds.
-I assume your friend did not get a replacement screen of the exact model either, otherwise you wouldn't be in this situation, which leads me to believe that:
-Its more likely your friend had a cheap screen and bulb causing your inverter to create more heat, and at the same time the bottom mount is probably meant for some heat dissipation. These 2 things could easily melt plastic over time.

Isn't your bottom mount just screwed on?
I have one of those right here that i took off a screen... maybe its the top one, i remember one being riveted.

Those types of problems are remedied in my case by never using lcd bezels, i think they are useless, and if there was actually a short involved some electrical tape or plastic insulation shield that many inverters come with.
I just started using a different inverter not made for my laptop and I think I already broke the backlight control (stuck at full) but I'm monitoring the temperature cause its right here in front of me. Its working well enough that I feel i would know if something started to go seriously wrong.

oh and the price, well its even better if you find someone selling it for 500$

screens go for all kinds of prices, like the WSXGA one I just bought. Not sure yet how good it is except that it works and has no dead pixels or pressure marks, but for all I know it could be perfect condition and the same model as yours. It was 40$.

 

I'll take the screen back out of the laptop and post the actual screen model number tomorrow. For now, All I know is that its a Samsung screen.

Also, thanks for the electrical lesson. It was very interesting and free(the best kind of education IMHO).

 

Heat does sound like the culprit. You tend to get immediate results when things short out :wink: