Help please

[gus]

Hi
My son has a Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop. the screen has died, attached picture is best i can get. Is there any way of knowing if its just a screen that has died of if its a Graphics card problem. He thought laptop was behaving strangely before the screen went and that some files had gone from Itunes. When i reboot i can just see some of screen saying windows didnt shut down properly but i cant make it do anything else. i have tried attaching an external monitor but i cant get the laptop to connect to it. Any advice appreciated.

Sorry to post a Dell problem! i am a Novatech customer now!

Many thanks

[chrisjb]

Just to verify when you get to the screen saying windows did not shutdown properly is all the screen clear or parts of the screen missing.

[Nox]

That picture isn't very clear :( but it looks like screen damage. Can you get another pic without any reflection going on?

Nox

[Ratty]

That is definitely a broken LCD.

If you plug in an external monitor, is there a shortcut key eg. (FN+4) that switches from internal to external Displays?
95% of laptops have these buttons, i'll look for a manual for one.


EDIT---

After checking the manual, you need to press FN+F8 to switch between internal and external displays.

try that and let us know how you get on

[Mr Grapes]

+1 for broken screen
but try attaching an external monitor as ratty suggests.

even if Fn + F8 doesn't work, attach the external screen, and boot up with the lid closed. it *should* default to the external screen.
I'm 99.999% sure it's panel damage, as you can see the Liquid crystal leaking in the pic.

unlikely to be a warranty fix, so ebay might be your best bet for a replacement screen. I don't know for sure about that one, but Dell's are usually fairly simple to change things like screens.

here's the service manual
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1525/en/SM/display.htm#wp1179839

[gus]

Guys
Thank you for your advice. Managed to fire up via external monitor and laptop seems to be fine, apart from the screen of course. I meant to add earlier that the screen looked like a pot of multi coloured paint had exploded inside!

Quick look on the net and it looks around £80 for a new one

Im quite comfy using the service guides and have used them to help replace keyboard and clear out the fan muck in the past.

Any ideas what could have caused it to happen? Whatever your answers i have blamed the lad and told him he is paying!

Many thanks again

[Charlotte]

I might be wrong, but from the picture it looks like there has been pressure to the top/middle of the screen causing damage to it. Seen it a few times before.

[snakedoc]

It could also be a damaged ribbon cable or it may just not be inserted correctly. It's hard to tell from the image.

[Ratty]

I can see from the image that it is a broken screen, by looking at it, like charlotte said there looks to be impact damage to the top of the Screen which is where it has bled out, you can then see that there is a crack going to the left, one straight down the middle, then 2 to the right.

After working with LCD's for nearly 6 years they tend to stand out a mile.

[Hayling Laser Sailor]

Thats definatly a broken screen a mate had it not long ago it looked just like that.

[gus]

Hey Sailor
Did you repair yourself? If so where did you buy the replacement? If you got it repaired what were you charged??

Cheers

[IainK]

i fixed a scren like that a couple of months ago, was a toshiba Equium A200, got a replacement on ebay for £50 and fitter it myself, it was complicated to take apart though (because I was also replaceing the snapped hingers), but I think dells are easy, especially if it's just the screen, just undo a few screws around the bezel then pull the front off. Well worth it If you have a couple of hours to do it, a shop quoted me £180 parts and labour to replace mine :P

[gus]

Hi
Job done
New screen installed. Cost £77 and took me about an hour.
Thanks for your help.