Faulty Laptop Screen

[ChrisH]

I have a laptop given to a pupil a few weeks ago that has developed 2 vertical lines of dead pixels. I am just trying to detrmine whether this has been the result of user misuse or it's just a plain hardware fault. I only ask this as the screen looks a bit scuffed.

Is it possible to cause this damage or is it just a bad secreen?

[indie]

In my experience it could be down to either, I've seen old Dell Inspiron laptops fail like this but that was due to a design fault in the hinges. I've also seen it from miss use where staff have dropped the laptop etc.

 

Unless there's a sure fire way to prove the laptop was dropped you may have to absorb the cost of fixing it.

[Ric_]

Check for cheek marks on the laptop lid (I'm not talking about the face kind!) If the laptop has a 'nipple' also check for a mark in the middle of the display - these two signs would show that it has been sat on or otherwise squashed.

[Geoff]

Try pressing on the plastic bevel round the edges of the screen. If your dead pixels suddenly start working then you have some loose connections in the LCD panel.

[ChrisH]

Okeydokey I shall have a look at all of these when it comes vack round to me.

 

Thanks

 

Chris

[vjhalai]

From the symptoms you decribe it seems it could be one of three things wrong with the machine.

 

1) screen cable faulty (if you open and close the screen it is likely to flicker)

2) screen itself may have a fault ie the PCB board where the screen cable connects.

3) fault with a connection on the motherboard.

 

I have found a company who carry out repairs at a very competative price and deploy a no fix no fee sceme so theres nothing to lose. I have provided a link to their site below.

 

http://www.laptoprepairspecialist.co.uk

[TSCL]

Horizontal and Vertical TAB Faults

 

These are caused by a connection failure from the TAB that connects the transparent electrode layers to the video driver board.

 

TAB stands for Tape Automated Bonding, which is one of several methods employed in the LCD display manufacturing process to electrically connect hundreds of signal paths going to the rows and columns of electrodes in layer 6 (the transparent electrode layer) in the LCD display to the video ICs on the driver board that drive these electrodes.

 

If an LCD display is subjected to extreme heat or cold or physical shock, this could cause one or more TAB connections to fail inside the display. This failure requires replacement of the LCD display module itself.

 

If these connections were to fail, the effect would be that an entire row or column of pixels would fail to activate. In the examples below, a horizontal or vertical black line would appear on the display, while the rest of the display would appear normal. The horizontal failure runs from edge to edge; the vertical failure runs from top to bottom.

 

 

 

Depending on exactly how a tab connection fails, it could cause either a dark line defect or a bright line defect. In the examples below, a horizontal or vertical white or colored line would appear on the display, while the rest of the display would appear dark. As with the above failure, the horizontal failure runs from edge to edge; the vertical failure runs from top to bottom. Either way, the cause remains the same.

 

 

 

Whether the symptom is a white line, a black line, or a colored line, horizontal or vertical, the important thing to remember here is that TAB faults are resolved only by replacing the LCD display module itself, not by flexing the LCD display module, rubbing the display, or some other 'urban myth' method.

 

Taken from the applecare service source.

Looks Quite likely to be misuse/accidental damage.

[plexer]

We've had these go like this in the past from banks of laptops for the kids.

 

Ben

[AngryTechnician]

Taken from the applecare service source.

Looks Quite likely to be misuse/accidental damage.

 

In fairness, few manufacturers are going to say "Yeah, this just happens sometimes", because that makes it much easier for the user to claim on warranty!