Is there a way to fix his? or do I have to buy a new monitor? If so, where can I find a cheap monitor to install it myself, it is very easy, I’ve done it before.

You have a failed LCD screen. This problem cannot be fixed. You have to replace it with a new LCD screen.
You can replace the screen yourself, here are instructions for you.
How to replace faulty LCD screen in Dell Inspiron 9400.
Did’d find a new LCD on eBay? That’s strange. There are tons of them.
You’ll find a link to new LCDs in the same guide I mentioned above.

Good luck!

I have a Del Inspiron 9400 laptop and a few months ago two very thin (one-pixel-wide) vertical lines appeared to the very left of my 17 inch screen, one green, one yellow. Since it was a minor nuisance I ignored it. Week by week, one or two more would appear gradually more and more to the right. then yesterday night after watching a moview and when the black screen at the end came up with all the credits rolling I closed the moview window and suddenly a huge white band about two inches wide appeared in the very middle of the screen.

I plugged in my laptop to an external monitor to see if my video card had died, but the image was fortunately/or unfortunately clear/normal. Is there a way to fix his? or do I have to buy a new monitor? If so, where can I find a cheap monitor to install it myself, it is very easy, I’ve done it before. I tried ebay, but there is nothing. I called Dell, but they only sell sch parts with a technician who must come to my house, or I must ship my laptop, both of which are out of the question for me, the first due to paying an unnecessary price, the second because they always mess up my files or erase my drives every time I’ve shipped my laptop, be that to install a new cd/dvd driv, or change my RAM, no matter how many times I told them not to touch my data.

Right now i am using only the very right side of the screen, but I fear it won’t be long until it dies too. I opened the laptop and checked the connection to the screen and the cables, and there was no change…

I have sourced a replacement and it is inbound.

Thanks for you kind assistance!

Kim

With a brand-new-never-installed cable I get the same results …

I have tested this laptop with another Dell 14.1 “XGA display assy and that one works as it should

So, it’s not a connection related problem. It’s not a cable related problem. The laptop works with another LCD screen.

I guess the LCD screen that came with your laptop is bad or cables you are getting are not compatible with the original LCD.

With a brand-new-never-installed cable I get the same results …

I even tried it on a different laptop … No Joy …

My initial thoughts on this mirror yours, that this ribbon cable is either defective or not the duplicate that it is supposed to be.

Thanks, LF … I will contact the Seller.

I have tested this laptop with another Dell 14.1″ XGA display assy and that one works as it should, so the cause(s) is isolated to the actual partially-assembled display assy.

Did you test this LCD with your new video cable? I’m thinking maybe the video cable is defective or not compatible with your original LCD screen.

I recently acquired a used Dell C640 off of eBay. The display does not work but the laptop drives an external display just fine.

When I disassembled the display assy, I found that the inverter plug had been separated from the ribbon cable … the seller fessed up to the botch when I asked specifically.

I just received & installed a used replacement flex cable. I put it all back together just enough to mount it, loose, on the laptop chassis and cranked it up.

The display works … to some degree.

The right ~25% of the display is black because the desktop is compressed towards the left. Vertically, the bottom ~third of the desktop ghostwraps around the top, images still in proper orientation (upright), btw … and all visual components on the desktop sport ghosts just below them, including the mouse pointer.

Can anyone here explain the possible cause(s) of this so that I may take steps to correct it?

BTW, I have tested this laptop with another Dell 14.1″ XGA display assy and that one works as it should, so the cause(s) is isolated to the actual partially-assembled display assy.

Thanks!

Kim