I broke my T61p 4:3 14" LCD screen. repair suggetion?

Hi everyone.

This is my first post so be patient.

I got my T61p during the labor day sale. and one weeks ago I accidently drop the laptop and the LCD screen has a spider crack on it now. Everything else seems fine. actually I can still see 80% of the desktop on the LCD.

the good news is, it seem my AMEX card purhase protection plan will cover up to $1000 for repair.

I called IBM support, they quote me twice, first time $950, second time $750. which labor is included. (I still don't know what is the final price yet, but it seems $1k is enough to replace the LCD screen).

should I go IBM or screenTek? as I always heard people talking here about LG LCD is better than Samsung LCD. Is my 4:3 screen the same case? or that only apply to widescreen LCD? Since I am replacing the LCD screen anyway now, I of course want the BETTER one.

Thanks.

 

I'm curious, did you drop your laptop with the screen opened or closed?

 

As the AMEX ads say, "Membership has its privileges!" I believe Visa will cover up to 500 dollars and that doesn't cover personal accidents, just things like fire and theft. Since you have a 14" 4:3 display, you will probably get a TMD screen as the Samsung standard screens are extremely rare. The usual talk about LG and Samsung screens are for the widescreens.

 

For the standard screens I believe the options are TMD (Toshiba), Samsung, or Hydis. I've only used the TMD, but I like it. The other two are kinda rare.

 

EzServ has flat rate repairs on a number of items:

http://www-03.ibm.com/support/ezserv/pricing.jsp

Tier Price Description
Tier 1 $175 Keyboard, Reseat cards, SW Reloads
Tier 2 $275 Replace Plastic covers, Hard drive, DVD, CD-Rom, Misc. cards
Tier 3 $475 CPU, LCD, System Boards (only one, two or three is tier 4)
Tier 4 $575 Multiple Tier repairs (2 - 3) or more than one part in Tier 3

* Service also available for in warranty units damaged by drops or liquid spill at higher prices, and all prices are subject to applicable state and local taxes.

 

I'd eBay a 14" SXGA+ screen for around $70-200 and replace the LCD myself.

But since you have AMEX footing the bill, it'll probably be easier to file a claim by using a repair service like LaptopGuru linked above.

 

I'm in the same boat!
I just got my t61 a week ago, and unfortunately had an accident this morning which rendered my screen useless.

I am about to purchase one of those screens on ebay, but I was just wondering if there are any easy tutorials or articles online that can show me exactly how to replace the screen...

 

I also used AMEX to buy my ThinkPad, so I'm curious: will AMEX cover any accidental damage to the laptop? What about loss/theft? (one has to prove that, though) Any time limit? Thanks in advance.

 

I havent founf a tutorial but once you take the laptop apart it is fairly easy to do

 

i love amex..they will cover accidental damage/theft for the first 90 days...amex rocks!! on top of that they give you an extra year of warranty..so my standard 1 year..turns out to be a 2 year with amex! love em

 

curious, is this type of incident the reason to get the "thinkpad protection" coverage? Is this what it covers?

 

I thought the T61 was supposed to be super rugged?? Didn't they just have a webcast about this??

 

ok, if i stab a knife in the screen, can you expect it to not break?

these two guys broke their screens. in both cases, it was "abuse"

and think of all the other people who have dropped the laptop and escaped damage.

 

You can't expect the LCD panel to survive a drop every time from every possible angle..

As you read in his first post, the laptop still operates fine, he says he is able to still see 80% of the desktop with the broken LCD. That is actually pretty impressive that a fall that was able to break the LCD did not damage the harddrive or any other important components.

 

In my experience, it has. I love TPP for this purpose. I was given a T40 when I started school(well, I bought at a subsidized cost) and in the 3 years that I used it(I could have used it for 4, but I needed something with a bit more power to compile senior year), I cracked the LCD 3 or 4 times, had a dead motherboard, and a submerging(in 4" of water.. don't ask) of the machine. Each time, IBM-SERV fixed it under TPP.

Now, before you say I'm abusive, consider it was a school machine. 4" of water was in lab, someone knocked it right into the sink. Cracked LCDs happened in a variety of ways, usually "friendly", etc.

 

Sorry, I didn't realize he had stabbed his laptop.
It was a genuine question, I thought they had just had this big online demo of how they tortured a thinkpad. Anyway, I'm sure it is a great computer. I was mainly interested because I am returning my vostro 1700, and need an XP equipped laptop, and was thinking of getting the following T61 from Lenovo Canada:

Part Number: 64607EU

Price: $1,599.00
Business Lease:
$57/mo (36 mos)
Processor Operating
System
RAM
(std)

Hard Drive

Media

Wireless
Intel® Core 2 Duo T7300 - 2000MHz
Genuine Windows XP Professional

1024

160

DVD Recordable (Dual Layer) 24X Max

Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN

Operating System: Genuine Windows XP Professional Screen: 15.4 WSXGA+ TFT 1680x1050 Onboard Graphic Chipset: nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M Onboard Audio: Intel High Definition Audio Included Modem: 56Kbps data/14.4Kbps fax Hard Drive Controller: Serial ATA Onboard Network Contoller: Gigabit Ethernet- Integrated 10Mbps,100Mbps,1000M Battery Type: 6 Cell Lithium-Ion PCMCIA Support: 1 Type I/II (ExpressCard or SmartCard or 4-in-1 MediaCard Reader) External Speakers: 2 (Internal Speakers) Warranty: Three year parts and labor Wireless:Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN