My Dell Inspiron 1420 was dropped, and the LCD is broken. Every thing else is doing ok. Is broken LCD harmful for eyes? From where can I buy a screen with the lowest price, and can I replace it myself? I have basic electronic knowledge.
I don’t think that broken LCD is harmful for eyes, it’s just hard to use the laptop with a broken screen. You can easily replace the LCD screen yourself if you follow disassembly steps in this service manual for Dell Inspiron 1420 series laptop.
By the way, it is not necessary to remove the whole display assembly from the laptop. Simply remove the display bezel, disconnect the LCD screen and replace it with a new one.
You can find a new LCD screen online but I think the cheapest price will be here.
My daughter has an Acer Aspire 3100 which fell over a couple of weeks ago. It sounded just like an HDD failure to me so I bought a replacement drive and fitted it. I then tried to restore the system using the restore disk that I had created when originally setting it up for her. Everything seemed to go fine until it got to a point where the message at the bottom of the screen said it was loading Windows - when it hung - no activity at all. I immediately assumed it was a problem with the boot disk and tried a Window upgrade disc - similar result, I scrounged a Dell XP system disc from work - no go. Then I popped the old HDD into a remote enclosure to see if it worked - and it did, nothing wrong with it - so it wasn’t the HDD… My local laptop shop had a look and said - it’s the motherboard or the video card (but the Acer splash screen appears when you try to boot it). So, as a last thing to try I set the BIOS to boot from a USB HDD and connected the original hard drive, in its new remote housing, and the thing immediately booted not to Windows but to DOS! It says Windows 98 but it comes up with the C prompt. It says there is only one file on the disc… So I am utterly confused! Can I save this machine?
Here something you can try in order to narrow down the problem.
I dropped my laptop from a TV tray (about 2ft) onto a hardwood floor and now it won’t reboot. It just turns on then the screen says “PXE-E61: Media Test Failure Check Cable.” It’s still under accident protection at best buy and they said it was either the motherboard or HDD that was shot and that there doesn’t seem to be a way to recover my files. They said they could send it to their data recovery center but they want $500-$1k to recover the files since they said it would be difficult to recover the files. Could the mother board or HDD really be shot or could just be the connections need to be reseated? If it is the HDD or motherboard is paying $500-$1k my only option of recovering my files?
First of all, check the hard drive. It’s possible that the hard dive simply got disconnected from the motherboard. Reconnect the hard drive and see if it helps. On most laptops you can access the hard drive from the door on the bottom or on the side.
If the hard drive still not detected find out if the hard drive makes any strange sounds when the laptop is turned on. If the hard drive is clicking or making other repetitive sounds, like it’s trying but cannot start, you will not be able to recover data at home. You’ll have to use recovery room service in order to get data back and it can be very expensive, easily over $1K.
If the hard drive is not spinning at all or it spins but not detected by the laptop, it’s possible that there is a problem with the motherboard. You can try accessing the hard drive using an external USB enclosure. It might work.
I bought my daughter second hand IBM t30 laptop, she dropped it now there is no picture just black screen, plugged in external monitor and laptop works no problem, had the screen out and everything looks ok there is no cracks or damage to the screen so what do you recommend I do next?
p.s when i start laptop you get a mixture of colors on screen for about 1 second then black screen.
First of all I would check the video cable. It’s possible that one of the ends got loose.
- Check connection between the video cable and the motherboard, you’ll find this connector if you remove the keyboard.
- Check connection between the video cable and the LCD screen. You’ll have to disassemble the display panel and take a look on the back side of the screen.
Reseat both connections, it might help. If it doesn’t help, most likely the LCD screen has been damaged and has to be replaced.
I got a Dell 1100 and after a fall of like +- 4 feet on a tile floor the laptop video does not work anymore. What I did is:
1. I hooked up the laptop hdd to another computer and looks to turn on and work fine
2. I did hook up a monitor to the laptop still no video
3. Then I took of almost everything mouse pad/housing, cpu, video card, lcd, memory even the dvd and battery
4. I did replace everything on the board one by one but not the hdd or lcd, hooked up to a monitor
5. Turned the laptop on and I did see a black screen a messages that it was missing the hdd that was good I guess
6. I hooked up the lcd and yes it was working this was great right?
7. turned off the laptop and I did try to reboot with this time the hard drive and yes I was working fine
I worked a little bit with the laptop that was still flat on the floor all open so at night I turned it off did put everything back together parts and the housing and when I turned it on nothing just a black screen, and all the sound from the hard drive, cooling fan sounds normal but just no video I even replaced the video card and still nothing what can I do?
Did you test the laptop with an external monitor after you assembled everything together? Even though the laptop LCD screen is black you still might get video on the external monitor. It means the most likely there is nothing wrong with the motherboard and the problem is somewhere inside the laptop display assembly. It’s possible that the video cable got loose after the fall. Open up the laptop display and check the video cable connection, reseat the cable and test the laptop again.
If the problem still exists even after you reseat the video cable on the back of the LCD screen, you’ll have to take the laptop apart and check all connections again. Make sure the CPU is seated properly and it’s locked in the socket. Minimize the laptop to the barebone system: motherboard(with video card), CPU and memory, make sure it works with an external monitor. Start assembling everything back and TEST AFTER EACH STEP. Installed the top cover – test, installed keyboard – test, installed LCD – test, etc…
I dropped my Toshiba Satellite M30 this morning while it was turned off. The only exterior physical damage I observed was at the right corner of the laptop (where the AC power plug is) which showed strained plastic marks. When I turned on my laptop, everything ran fine EXCEPT for the LCD screen. The colors are all inverted (i.e. the black is white and white is black, etc.). It looks like those negatives on a photo film.
I then proceeded to read some related problems on the internet such as one LCD screen being very white, and some guy suggested resetting the flex cable, but I don’t know how to reset a cable. Another guy suggested that the LCD contacts within the cells may have been dislodged in which case a replacement LCD panel is needed (which sucks). I really hope this problem is repairable without having to buy new expensive parts. I have basic experience with electronics, so a detailed (non-laymen) diagnosis would be preferred. Please advice.
I agree with the guy who recommended reseating the flex cable. That’s the first thing that you should try. Not properly seated video cable can cause all kind of weird problems. The video cable has connectors on both sides. One side is connected to the motherboard, you’ll find this connector under the keyboard. The other side is connected to the back of the LCD screen, it would be necessary to open the laptop display. I would attempt reseating the video cable on the motherboard first, because it’s easier to access.
Here’s a guide I’ve created for taking apart Toshiba Satellite M35 notebook (I guess it’s the same as Satellite M30). Follow steps 8,9,10 and 11 to remove the keyboard. It’s not necessary to disconnect the keyboard from the motherboard, just flip it over and place on the palmrest. You can see the video cable on the step 11; it’s a flat black cable. Make sure it’s plugged all the way down into the connector, reseat it if needed. Test the laptop now. If the problem is fixed, you are done. If not, you’ll have to open up the display assembly and reseat the video cable on the screen.
Here’s a guide for Toshiba Satellite M35X display disassembly, it would be different then Satellite M35 but pretty close. Open it up and reseat the video cable on the back of the screen. Take a look at the step 7, it shows the video cable connector. Test it again.
If you still experience the same video issue, then apparently the screen has been damaged and you’ll have to replace the screen.
I have a Toshiba A45-S121 laptop that I dropped off a coffee table onto a floor covered with carpet. It will no longer boot. When I power it up, the backlight goes on, the fan goes on, and I see the HD light blink a bit. Nothing else - no video, no HD activity, no beeps. I took the cover assembly off and reseated all the flex cables, and tried another HD I had. Still nothing. I think the motherboard is dead.
Why do you think the laptop has a dead motherboard? Because it will not boot up?
When I repair dropped laptops, first of all I reseat all connectors inside and very often it fixes the problem. I hope you didn’t crack the screen.
Try to reseat the memory module (by your description it could be a dislocated memory) and see if it fixes the problem. If not, reseat the wireless card. If it doesn’t help, I would try to reseat the CPU. Here’s a guide for taking apart Toshiba Satellite A45 laptop.
The memory is located under the keyboard, but it’s very easy to access it on this model. Follow steps 8-11. It’s not necessary to disconnect the keyboard. Remove the battery and disconnect the AC adapter when you work on the laptop.
Hi, first off this seems like a great site! I’m excited to fix my problem with everyone’s help. Here is my story:
I’ve got a Dell Inspiron 1100 which took an unfortunate fall off my coffee table and did a face plant (screen down) on the floor…after that it will not boot and the display will not show up either. The battery will charge and the power light will come on so I do not think it is a power problem. The fan also turns on for about 10-20 seconds then stops. The power light remains on until I press the power key again.
Now, I’ve done some research on this site and some others and I was able to open up the laptop correctly following a guide and look at everything. Things look okay (nothing was cracked or anything obvious…) and I basically cleaned the inside using an air can and disconnected the keyboard, monitor, and processor and reconnected them all. The problem was the same.
I read on this site that the CPU might not be seated properly but I don’t know how to clean off the old heat sink gel stuff and put the new stuff on or anything else I should check for.
Am I on the right track? Any help or other ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.
You are on the right track. I’ve seen some dropped laptops and so far I’ve been able to fix them simply by reseating the connections. Try to turn on the laptop with an external monitor attached and see if you can get video. It is possible that the laptop works fine, but the video cable on the back of the LCD screen was disconnected and you cannot the internal video. Check if the memory module is seated properly; remove it from the memory slot an install back. Check if the wireless card is seated properly. My last dropped laptop didn’t boot because of the not properly connected wireless card. Reconnect all cables that you can access. Any loose connection can prevent the laptop from starting.
As a last resort, when you have nothing to loose, you can try next. Disassemble the laptop and start to assemble it back from scratch. Remove all devices and leave only the system board, the memory and the CPU with the cooling module attached. It should be enough to get a basic video output on an external monitor. After you booted it with video, start attaching other devices and try to turn it on after each step.
You can clean off the old thermal grease I usually use an alcohol wipe. You can get instructions for cleaning the CPU and applying new thermal grease here.
I have a model 1405-s151 Toshiba. It suffered a 1 foot drop onto the side containing a PCMCIA wireless card.
This resulted in the wireless card driving into the connector with enough force as to crack off the connector from the motherboard. My question is this, where can I get a replacement surface mount connector for the PCMCIA options? It is labeled on the motherboard, PJ3332. The connector appears to be all one piece inclusive of the card holder. Any help would be appreciated. All other functions on the laptop work okay.
The PC card connector (PC card holder) is a separate part in this model and you can find it on the Internet if you search by the part number. Toshiba part number for the PC card connector is P000323270. I searched on google by the part number and found it right away for $35. Unfortunately, if the connector on the motherboard itself is cracked, then you have to replace the entire motherboard. I hope it helps.