Laptop Screen Issues

Hello all,

I recently dropped my laptop on the ground and the display back-light stopped working (I could see the screen contents under bright light). I bought a new screen off eBay and installed it. But the new screen isn't working.

When the laptop starts, the screen is grayish white with a few vertical lines. After a few seconds, the vertical lines disappear but two narrow faint vertical patches come up. After a few minutes, the patches slowly become darker and the surrounding area slowly becomes blue and green. I tried removing and reconnecting the cables, but the problem remained.

FYI, the new screen didn't come with an inverter, so I had to use the one from the old screen.

Is the problem with the new screen or the inverter?

Thanks,
Anirudh

 

It's probably a DSDT issue with the new panel. Does the BIOS show up at all? Or when the new screen comes on, is it backlit at all?

 

No, the BIOS screen doesn't show up. The starting screen that I get is grayish white with vertical lines. And yes, the back-light is working. The screen is not dim.

 

Well, then the inverter is working if the screen is backlit. But there is some HW incompatibility with the new panel... try contacting the vendor and see what they recommend. What kind of notebook is it?

 

It's a Dell Vostro 1500. I'm not sure if this is an issue, but the old screen was model B154EW02, while the new one was B154EW02 V.6 (same model, different versions). Apart from that, everything else (size, resolution, aspect ratio) are the same.

 

I still believe it to be a DSDT issue with the BIOS not recognizing the panel properly. But I'm not sure there is a way to fix that, short of replacing the panel with the exact model number that came out of it. Have you tried pulling the CMOS battery, to reset the BIOS options?

 

I haven't done anything with the BIOS yet. Do I simply pull out the battery and put it back after a few seconds to reset the BIOS? Or is there more to it?

BTW, thanks for responding so quickly, XGX.

 

You're welcome! I love problems, it's gives me something to think about... But yea, just pull the main battery out, then pull the CMOS battery, then just for good measure.. push and hold the power button for about 10-15 secs with both batteries out. Then just plug them back in and see what that does for you.

 

Alright, I'll try resetting the BIOS and get back. I've also emailed the vendor, I think it's most likely that the new screen is faulty. The inverter is fine, so is the video cable, graphics card and motherboard. Don't see what else it could be.

Thanks again!

 

You are getting the CMOS battery, right, and not just the notebook's power supply battery out?

And you will probably need to leave it out for about 10 minutes or so.

 

Is it possible the graphics card/MB got damaged from the drop? If you hook the laptop up to a external screen, can you see everything fine on the external?