Computer Repair-Tech

Steps for locating the right replacement screen before you purchase it
Improtant Note!
It is absolutely necessary to know the SIZE, RESOLUTION and BACKLIGHT TYPE in order to purchase the correct screen for a particular laptop.

Certain laptop models come in different screen sizes, resolutions and backlights. For instance, Dell M1330 may have LED or CCFL backlight. IBM-Lenovo ThinkPad T60 was released with either 15.4" or 15" or 14.1" screen size and these screens are not interchangeable. Macbook Pro 15.4" screens come in different resolutions and they are not interchangeable as well.

It is absolutely imperative that size, resolution and backlight of the original screen are the same as of the selected screen for purchase. Please examine carefully the screen description.
Manufacturers typically do not publish screen compatibility information and even if they do there are occasional mistakes in their manuals and specifications on their websites. Therefore the only sure way to get 100% correct screen is to check the size, resolution, and backlight.

NOTE: Screens for Dell laptops must be chosen by the laptop model number ( i.e. Inspiron 1525 ). Choosing by the original screen model number can lead to wrong selection.

Below are step by step instructions

Determining the correct resolution for replacement screen
It is imperative to confirm the screen resolution before submitting the order. There are numerous laptop models that come in more than one screen resolution type. One has to make sure that the screen he or she needs has the same resolution as the one he or she is about to purchase.

Screen or display resolution indicates the number of pixels on the laptop screen. In screen specifications resolution is expressed as number of columns by number of rows (1280x800) And a pixel is a little colored dot of light, many of which go together to make up what one sees on the computer monitor. One laptop model line could have been shipped with several resolutions' screens.
Below is a list of the most commonly used resolutions:

XGA 1024x768

SXGA 1280x1024

SXGA+ 1400x1050

UXGA 1600x1200

QXGA 2048x1536

WXGA 1280x720; 1280x768; 1280x800; 1360x768; 1366x768

WXGA+ 1440x900

WSXGA+ 1680x1050, 1680x945

WUXGA 1920x1200, 1920x1080

"W" - means wide screen with the Aspect Ratio 16:10 or 16:9.

There are several distinct ways to determine the screen resolution:

1. The most reliable source to determine the display resolution is the laptop manual, under the laptop specifications section.

2. Checking the laptop manufacturer's website and finding the laptop specifications in the Support & Help section using the laptop serial number or the model number. You can use any one of the publicly available search engines, like Google or Yahoo, to find your manufacturer's official website.

3. In case your laptop is still functional, you can check your resolution online, using free software. Note: this tool should be used sparingly, as an additional mean in determining your resolution as it is only accurate if you have not changed your default sccreen settings since the installation of your OS.

On-line Resolution Check
4. The best way to determine which screen one needs is to open the display and check the screen model number on the sticker on the back of the screen. You can use any one of the publicly available search engines, like Google or Yahoo, to find the screen model, and, consequently, the size and the resolution of your laptop screen.

Determine your LCD screen model number
To find out model number of any other laptop, you need to take the screen out of the laptop and check the back of the LCD screen.

On the back side of the screen you can see one or several labels with numbers. 99% of the screens on the market today have manufacturer's code and screen size included in the model number. For example, screen model number LTN154AT07 means that the screen is manufactured by Samsung and this screen's diagonal size is 15.4-inch.

Below is a list of LCD screen manufacturers with their abbreviations:
Acer - L
AU Optronics - B
Chi Me - N
Chunghwa - CLAA
HannStar - HSD
Hitachi - TX
IBM ( IDTech) - IT or IA
LG Philips - LP
LG Display - LP
Matsushita - ED
Mitsubishi - AA
NEC - NL
Quanta - QD
Samsung - LT or LTN
Sharp - LQ or LM
Sanyo / Torisan - TM or LMJK
Toshiba - LTM or LTD
Unipac - UB

Understanding what is a compatible LCD screen
Different types of screens are used by notebook manufacturers when assembling a single model of laptop, as a result, more than one type of screen can be used in the same laptop model. Consequently, using the same screen model and/or part number is not as pivotal as one would assume.

Furthermore, LCD screen manufacturers release new models of LCD screens every 3 to 5 months, and, as a result, one's original screen may be outdated and not available any longer. There are newer screen models on the market and they have better electrical and optical parameters, which one can check when comparing screen data sheets.

The important part is to know whether the screen is compatible with original one or not. Laptop manufacturers avoid sharing compatibility information. They nudge you to purchase screens directly from them, in process, charging ridiculously high prices for the compatible screen. We have been informed by some of our customers that they were quoted up to 10 times of our price!

Our research is based on our hands-on experience.

As a side note, if you are in need of a specific screen model for a project or specific application, please do not hesitate to contact us prior to ordering to make sure you get the exact part number you require.

What to expect from new screen? What does it come with?
The laptop LCD screens that you will purchase include only bare brand new laptop screens, in exactly the same condition and state as they left the vendor. Vendors do not include screen top shells, plastic frames, bezels, video cables, hinges, web cams, etc. Those are separate parts, which collectively can be referred to as "display assembly" and are separate from the screen panel itself.

When you receive the screen that you ordered from the vendor,you would take the old screen out and install the new one. All the parts except the old screen should end up exactly where they were before. In most cases, the CCFL inverter is not included, but some screen models do have that inverter attached, it should stay there during and after installation.

Laptop's built-in Web camera is a separate device and is not part of the LCD display but a part of screen assembly as mentioned above. Therefore, it is not included with the new screen purchase. The old webcam can be easily re-used with the new screen.

Correct backlight type for your new screen
The replacement screen must have exactly the same backlight type as the original (old) screen. Currently there are 2 major types of backlight for notebook LCD screens:

1. CCFL (Cold cathode fluorescent lamp)
a) 1-CCFL - contains 1 bulb
b) 2-CCFL - contains 2 bulbs
2. LED (Light emitting diode)

The CCFL backlight screens always need a high voltage inverter to power the bulb inside the screen. The LED screens use light emitting diodes to light up the screen. Most of the LED screens today require an inverter as well, and the inverters of the two types are completely different. Inverters of the LED screens are attached to the bottom of the screen.
One CCFL (also known as "single backlight") - has been and still is the most popular backlight type in laptop screens. The screen contains one bulb to light it up and has a pair of wires at the bottom finished with one white inverter connector that plugs into inverter board.

Two CCFL (also known as "dual backlight") - contains 2 bulbs, has 2 pairs of inverter cables and 2 inverter connectors. This type of backlight is less popular than 1-CCFL and is used in laptop screens of size 15.4-inch and larger

LED is the new type of backlight which allows the screen to consume less power (which equals longer battery life), does not heat up as much as CCFL based screen, and is thinner and lighter. In LED screens backlight power is supplied in one of three ways: through video connection, through a flat ribbon cable or through an attached inverter. Also note that in LED screens of different resolutions the video connector can be entirely different.

It is usually mentioned in the laptop specifications when the laptop screen has LED backlight.
To determine which backlight type screen is in your laptop you can remove and examine the screen - this is the best way. Alternatively you can check your laptop manual, check specifications online at your laptop manufacturer's Support section, or contact your laptop manufacturer.
LED screen can never be used to replace a CCFL screen

Matte and Glossy screen finish: almost the same

Laptop screens with glossy and matte screens are entirely interchangeable since the difference lies only in the type of the screen surface finish.

Conventionally, laptop screens have had a matte, anti-glare finish, to scatter the reflected light. This characteristic, however, has a a number of side effects, which include scattering the light from the display and increasing the blur. Additionally, it results in reduction of the contrast ratio, color intensity, and viewing angle.

Glossy screens use optical coating to reduce the amount of reflected external light. Their shiny surfaces reflect more light than matte displays, but they are less reflective than the uncoated glossy displays; reflections of external light sources are not diffused by glossy displays, so certain lighting conditions tend to favor a traditional, anti-glare screen. In controlled environments, such as darkened rooms, or rooms where all light sources are diffused, a glossy display may be more enjoyable for the viewer.

Glossy displays generate increasingly saturated colors, deeper blacks, brighter whites, and sharper images. This makes these types of displays more appropriate for general public use, which commonly uses laptops for viewing photos, watching movies, or browsing the web.

As a side note, in extremely bright conditions, where no direct light is facing the screen, such as outdoors, glossy displays can become more readable than matte displays due to their ability not to disperse the light around the screen.

Alternative glossy screen names by manufacturer

Acer - CrystalBrite
Acorn - Vybrio
AG Neovo - NeoV Optical Filter
Ahtec - Glare
Alienware - ClearView
Apple - Glossy
ASUS - ColorShine
Averatec - AveraBrite
Dell - TrueLife
Everex - DiamondBrite
Fujitsu - CrystalView, SuperFine
Gateway - UltraBrite
HP-Compaq BrightView
IBM-Lenovo VibrantView
LG - FineBrite
NEC OptiClear, SuperShine
Packard Bell - Diamond View
Sager - Super Clear
SONY - XBRITE, XBRITE-ECO, X-black, ClearBright, ClearPhoto LCD
Toshiba - Clear SuperView

LCD Screen Installation
IMPORTANT! Laptop internal parts, cables and sockets are very fragile and easy to crack, to rip off or to brake. Please be careful. It is also a good idea to use some sort of organizer to organize screws by the steps of disassembly so you can follow the process in reverse order when assembling the screen. Some manufacturers provide screw and parts maps to aid this process.

For links to instructions about Apple laptops scroll down to the bottom of this article.

FIRST TUTORIAL
We used Toshiba Satellite notebook for this tutorial, however, it can be easily adapted for most of other makes and models of laptops.
Preparation: make sure your laptop is unplugged and you have removed your battery. The entire process should take 15-20 minutes and require only a small Phillips screwdriver, a knife and a soft cloth.
1. Note locations of the screw covers (they are plastic or rubber). Usually they are on the top of bezel, the front-most part of screen assembly
2. Use a knife or other sharp object like an exacto blade to pick off all the screw covers from the front (and side if needed) of the display assembly.
3. Remove the screws that were uncovered during previous step. It would be helpful to put all the tiny screws and covers in one place, preferably small containers and grouped by the steps and order of removal.
4. When screws are removed try to unsnap the bezel by inserting your fingers between the bezel and the LCD screen. Start at the bottom with most laptops. Much force is not necessary but if you encounter difficulty, move a little bit further, try a different spot. The bezel will unsnap. You may need to slide laptop lid latch to completely remove the bezel.
5. Tilt the LCD screen forward and the screen lid backward. If you are unable to move the LCD screen you may have to remove screws holding screen brackets to the laptop screen lid. Watch out for wires and cables stuck underneath the LCD screen - such as of webcam or wireless antenna - and be sure not to damage them.
6. Remove the screws in the metal bracket framing on either side of the screen.
7. Place the screen on soft cloth on the keyboard.
8. You will notice a flat wide video cable. Remove a piece of tape (sometimes clear and hardly visible) that keeps video cable attached to the back of the screen. Pull the video cable connector out of the socket using finger nail.
The old screen has now been removed. Installation of the new screen is done by following these steps in reverse order.
SECOND TUTORIAL
We used Compaq notebook for this tutorial, however, it can be easily adapted for most of other makes and models of laptops.
Preparation: make sure your laptop is unplugged and you have removed your battery. The entire process should take 15-20 minutes and require only a small Phillips screwdriver, a knife and a soft cloth.
1. Note locations of the screw covers (they are plastic or rubber). Usually they are on the top of bezel, the front-most part of screen assembly
2. Use a knife or other sharp object like an exacto blade to pick off all the screw covers from the front (and side if needed) of the display assembly.
3. Remove the screws that were uncovered during previous step. It would be helpful to put all the tiny screws and covers in one place, preferably small containers and grouped by the steps and order of removal.
4. When screws are removed try to unsnap the bezel by inserting your fingers between the bezel and the LCD screen. Start at the bottom with most laptops. Much force is not necessary but if you encounter difficulty, move a little bit further, try a different spot. The bezel will unsnap. You may need to slide laptop lid latch to completely remove the bezel.
5. Tilt the LCD screen forward and the screen lid backward. If you are unable to move the LCD screen you may have to remove screws holding screen brackets to the laptop screen lid. Watch out for wires and cables stuck underneath the LCD screen - such as of webcam or wireless antena - and be sure not to damage them.
6. Remove the screws in the metal bracket framing on either side of the screen.
7. Place the screen on soft cloth on the keyboard.
8. You will notice a flat wide video cable. Remove a piece of tape (sometimes clear and hardly visible) that keeps video cable attached to the back of the screen. Pull the video cable connector out of the socket using finger nail.
9. The inverter board is a small device which provides the LCD screen's backlight bulb with power. The white inverter cable plug will need to be disconnected from the inverter socket by sliding it out. Try holding the white plug and not the inverter cables/wires. If you are unable to slide the cable out because the inverter is in a difficult position, you may need to first unscrew it.

Link to Dell Service Manuals
Once there, follow these steps:
Select Model>Laptops>Your Laptop model>Select product model>Manuals>Select language>Service manual>View

Links to Apple manuals, that can be downloaded for free:
- Macbook 13"
- Macbook Air
- Macbook Pro 15"
- Macbook Pro 17"
- PowerBook 17" and MacBook Pro 17" ( how to open the lid)
- PowerBook 15"
- PowerBook 17"

Quick fix tips for simple screen issues
Connectors:
A). Video signal connector receives "the image" from a laptop's video card via a ribbon video cable.

B). Backlight connector connected to the inverter (not all laptop screens come with an inverter attached) or hanging disconnected if the screen comes with no inverter attached.

C). Inverter power input connector.

There are two common variations of faulty screens:
1. Screens with faulty backlight.
2. Screens with faulty image display.

Issues with the image being displayed on the LCD of a laptop can be a result of various causes, ranging from having faulty video card, loose cables, bad motherboard, to having a faulty screen. In this case, one can usually see the screen lighted up, but it does so with a distorted image. NOTE! Pull out the battery and unplug AC adapter from the laptop prior to a new screen installation! This is needed to reset a video card to recognize your new screen. A video issue may also occur if a battery or a power adapter were connected during an installation.

Backlight issue may be caused by either a bad or loose cable, defective inverter, non-functioning backlight CCFL bulb or lack of power supply from the motherboard to an inverter.

One can do this simple backlight check:

First, plug connector B into the inverter. Connector C must be connected to the ribbon cable going from the video card. Connector A must be disconnected. Power up the laptop. If the backlight is OK, you will see white screen with no picture (see pictures below).

If there is no white screen, there may be one of the following issues:
- inverter is not powered up by the motherboard
- bad ribbon cable
- faulty inverter
- dead screen backlight bulb
What can be done if the new screen is not working?
we advise you to try our simple troubleshooting tips:

*ATTENTION* Disconnect the battery and AC adapter from the laptop prior to commencing installation of the new screen. By doing so, you will reset the video card so that it can recognize the new screen.

Step I:

Connect the old screen to the laptop to ensure that the laptop still works with it. Even if the screen is cracked, there must be a spot or a part of the screen with an image. At the very least, the screen must light up, indicating that the backlight is functional. If so, reinstall the new screen - it must have been a loose connection.

Step II:

Connect the new screen and if still has no image, check the following three connectors:

1. Video Cable - Screen Video Input
2. Inverter - Backlight Connector (Dell screens may come with this connector unplugged, please, make sure to reconnect it)
3. Inverter Power Cable - Power To Inverter from Motherboard

Additionally, check if the video cable is connected properly to the motherboard. This, in most cases, requires you to partially disassemble your laptop.

Plug in and then unplug all the above mentioned connections.

If the display is not operational, the problem in 99% of the instances is in the laptop-to-screen connections or somewhere else in the laptop.

If you still have no success getting the display to work, it needs to be sent to our warehouse to be inspected and tested at our lab. We will test the screen and recommend a replacement screen..

Laptop screen manufacturers
LCD laptop/notebook screens are manufactured solely by large corporations like AUO, Chi-Mei, Toshiba, Hannstar, Chunghwa, Samsung, LG Phillips, Sharp. These are globally recognized suppliers of electronic components. They manufacture an array of products, ranging from laptop internal cables, motherboards, LCD screens, hard drives, DVD drives to keyboards.

You may check their official websites to learn more about these manufacturers:

AUO
Chi Mei Optoelectronics
Samsung
Hannstar
Toshiba
LG Philips
Sharp
Hydis Hundai

Laptop Hard Drives Information

Identifing Your Hard Drive Type

WARNING: Having the correct model number of your laptop is NOT sufficient to correctly identify a replacement laptop hard drive that will be compatible with your laptop. In order to properly identify a compatible replacement, you will need to either check your laptop manual, OR remove your hard drive to verify the size and connection interface of your hard drive. Please click the link below to assist in collecting this information. If you can correctly identify your connection interface and the size profile of your hard drive, ANY hard drive meeting these specifications should be an acceptable compatible replacement for your current hard drive. For assistance identifying your hard drive type, please click the link below first, before you call us at 1-626-358-2751 or 1-626-974-5621.

Click Here for Laptop Hard Drives Info

Cell phone repairs and their LCD repairs

The difference between a cracked screen and a broken LCD screen.

If your screen has been damaged, it's sometimes hard to determine the extent of the damage. Below we have explained the difference between a damaged front screen and a broken LCD screen.

Front Screen - the glass screen is there to protect your LCD screen and to enhance your viewing pleasure.

LCD Screen - The LCD screen is a vital part of the device and is in place to supply the touch response function and improve the display features.

What Repair Do You Need?

Front Screen Repair - If you have cracked your front screen but everything is still functioning on the device and it lights up, then you will only require a front screen repair.

LCD Screen Repair - If your device is not lighting up and is not functioning properly, this is a huge indication you will require an LCD screen replacement/repair. Other signs include black or blurred spots,flickering, discoloured areas of your screen or the screen has black/dim areas.

It's important that you get a cracked screen repaired right away. Because eventually, this could get worse very quickly and then lead to more damage, that will add to the overall cost of the repair.

At Computer Repair-Tech, we repair a lot of cracked screens and broken LCD screens every week on a variety of different devices from Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge to Sony Xperia; you can call us about all our available screen repair options and other repair services.
Final statement about Laptop repairs by Computer Repair-Tech:
We know our stuff - we do many successful laptop repairs a month. If we think it is not worth fixing, we tell you honestly.

Virus removal / Spyware removal / Data recovery / Training / Backup / Printer help / Screen problems / Hard disk problems / Passwords removal / Memory upgrades / Hard drive upgrades / Cell phone repairs and their LCD repairs /

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