So I turned on my laptop and there are blobs where it looks like my screen is cracked. The surface feels smooth, but I turned it off and sure enough, you can see where the screen is cracked. I have no idea how it happened. Is this pretty much a lost cause or is there something that can be done to fix it? I need a computer for school and practicum so I need to know whether to start looking for a new computer now or hold out hope that something can be done. When it's turned on, there's really nothing you can do because the whole screen (with the exception of two corners) is messed up.

4/11/2009 7:55:30 PM

aside from using an external monitor, there's nothing to be done except replace the panel (which isn't really that hard, and generally isn't that expensive, either)

that said, depending on how old the laptop is, you might want to just invest in a new one

4/11/2009 9:34:40 PM

it's about 2.5 years old. how much would replacing the panel cost?...and where should i go to get this done?

4/11/2009 9:43:15 PM

there's a couple folks on here who you can do it for you

i think fregac mentioned not too long ago he'll do it for $150

4/11/2009 10:07:04 PM

we'd need to know the model of the laptop in order to know what panel you'd have to get (and how much it'd cost)...you can probably just put your laptop model number and "panel" into ebay to get an idea of what it'll cost

i'd suggest having someone on here do it for you (i think fregac does this stuff pretty regularly), rather than a place like geek squad...you'll probably pay too much, to the point that you might as well just a new laptop otherwise

personally, if you can't get it done for $150 or so, i'd just put that toward a new one

[Edited on April 11, 2009 at 10:15 PM. Reason : .]

4/11/2009 10:09:56 PM

are you positive that's the solution? i'll pm fregac and maybe he could check it out for me. if that's the case, i would rather pay $150 than buy a new one since i haven't had any previous problems with it.

4/11/2009 10:10:42 PM

^ positive? no...unless you have someone look at it, no one can tell you EXACTLY what's wrong and how easy it will be to fix, but:

1.) if the screen is cracked, there's no economical way to "fix" it...it needs to be replaced
2.) assuming no damage past the cracked screen, a new panel will work just fine

4/11/2009 10:17:39 PM

i noticed a small crack on the outside...i'm wondering if it had been stepped on. thanks for all the help. i appreciate it. i feel a little better about it, but we'll see i guess.

4/11/2009 10:25:47 PM

What you're talking about sounds a lot like what happened when people would throw their TI-83's into their bookbag without the cover, eventually a book hit hard enough to crush the LCD. It looked like a dark "burnt" spot.

4/12/2009 1:19:36 AM

carl will do it. it only takes 30 mins to swap out an lcd.

4/12/2009 12:56:16 PM

^ In this case it'll take a few days to order the panel since it uses a widescreen glossy that I don't have on hand. That, and the actual display housing will have to be straightened or replaced since it was bent pretty badly when the panel was cracked. Either way, its the normal $150 flat fee for panel replacement.

4/13/2009 12:54:28 AM