My screen is not a pretty sight!

[erick]

Tossed the lappie into its padded bag and carried it over to the kids' place yesterday. Fired it up this morning and YIKES! I've never had the pleasure of a cracked screen but there it was! It had the vertical lines and lower impact point, so I poked and prodded to make it go away (??) and then the entire bottom left corner vanished. Stopped poking at that point! Thank goodness they had a spare LCD screen I could connect as external monitor.

It looks like I can buy a pretty good second hand replacement screen from a US supplier for under $100. Not just the screen itself, but the entire upper assembly. I think the lappy has a good few years in it, then can be swapped with the wife's desktop to give her a slight upgrade. So it is worth repairing if I can do it for about $100.

So has anyone had any experience replacing the screen of a Lenovo T43?? Care to share what you learnt?

Thanks
Eric

[supernova1965]

Check EBAY you may get a better price but for that or under worth fixing if you can DIY or have a comp tech mate close by

[erick]

'Twas Ebay. USD39+28 shipping

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300349006037&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I have a hammer, chisel and impact drill - I'll fix it! :D

[Glenhuon]

Changing the screen isn't too much of a challenge eric. Just a few screws and a cable or 3 to unplug and reconnect. Screws are usually pretty small, try not to lose any :) Never done a Lenovo, the facia may even be only clipped in, manufacturers seem to avoid using screws nowadays. Good luck.

[michaellxv]

If I have the model right you should find instructions to replace the screen in the hardware maintenance manual. It's not that hard I did a T21 recently, just read all the instructions before you start and you should be ok.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/product.do?subcategoryind=0&familyind=207196&brandind=10&doccategoryind=0&modelind=0&doctypeind=8&validate=true&partnumberind=0&sitestyle=lenovo&template=%2Fproductpage%2Flandingpa ges%2FproductPageLandingPage.vm&operatingsystemind=49979&machineind=0

[erick]

Fantastic all, thanks. And thanks Michael - I have pulled the manual down and will check it out.

I have just turned it back on to see if it was just a bad dream but no, it is now worse - the bit of the screen image I can see comes and goes, and after more prodding has mostly gone :sadeyes:

I'll get a replacement ordered tomorrow.

[erick]

Replacement screen ordered - AUD76.51 delivered. Now to twiddle thumbs until it arrives. Actually, no excuse not to keep working - I have a good external monitor. :thumbsup:

Manual makes it look so simple, thanks Michael - except you have to take just about everything else out of and off the lappie first! Sounds like my Ford car manual - I think it stated: to replace driving light globe, first remove front bumper??!! :shrug:

[supernova1965]

If you have to remove the keyboard be verrrrrry careful I am speaking from experience those things called keys like to jump off and resist all attempts to go back on:mad2:

[mithrandir]

I haven't had that problem with IBM/Lenovo keyboards.

When you take off Thinkpad keyboards, be very careful not to twist or pull unnecessarily hard on any of the cables. I have a T40 where the fingerprint reader has never worked since it was opened to put more memory in it.

[michaellxv]

It can be a bit like that. Just start with a clear work area and have some small containers ready for the screws.

Also, there should be no need to force anything, if something won't move check that you didn't miss a step.

[supernova1965]

Mine is a Compaq Presario and the escape key came off and I couldn't get it back on that's when I decided that I didn't want to repair Laptops only desktops

[Glenhuon]

My advice would be, don't try to fit the whole screen assembly if possible, usually involves removing the keyboard etc. Just takes the fascia off, remove the old sreen and fit the replacement into the existing framework. Means you have to (carefully) strip down the new assembly, but then you know what needs to come of yours to get to the screen fastenings :)

[erick]

Oh no - two options to choose from! :confused2: Both with pros and cons.

[erick]

OK, the second-hand screen arrived promptly. Delivered to me for around AUD78 all up - well that is cheap. Sadly it sure looked cheap and moderately beat up compared to my existing screen and surrounds.

I set to work with the manual to hand. First time I've done any serious surgery on a laptop. Even with step by step instructions and diagrams, it's a tricky job. Exactly how the bits clip into place, how the wires are routed - it helps if one is familiar with it. But I eventually got there without breaking anything. Turned it on and it (almost) all worked.

The screen is fine - cannot even see any hot or dead pixels! The only thing not working is the overhead keyboard light. Unfortunate since I sometimes use this.

Also I have a T43 and received a replacement from a T40. Missing was one antenna wire - for the bluetooth card. No problem since I have no interest in bluetooth!

I did look at the option of putting the replacement screen panel into the existing screen bezel - aah no! I got the old one apart but only with a lot of effort (11 screws!) and excessive bending and I couldn't get it all clipped back together. I'm also sure that if I tried to pull the LCD screen off the adhesive I would likely damage it and never get the antenna wires back into place!

So, I'm back in action when I thought I was up for AUD hundreds at a minimum, or even a new laptop! :)

[supernova1965]

Great to hear that you are back up and running:thumbsup:. What do you mean by overhead keyboard light and do you think you missed the connector or was it missing from the replacement screen

[michaellxv]

Congratulations Eric.

Now just keep those sharp objects or projectiles away from it ( or whatever caused the problem in the first place) :family2:

[erick]

A little white LED in the top of the screen illuminates the keyboard when switched on. Doesn't come on. It is there. No separate wire for it.

Michael, I have no idea why the screen was damaged. It was packed in its usual padded backpack and carried in the car - nothing unusual???

[Kal]

Nice repair job Eric :thumbsup:

I've repaired a couple of laptops over the years, I hate pulling em apart, much prefer desktops. But as long as you have a service manual you can't go too wrong. $78 is certainly cheaper than what I would have imagined for the repair job :cool2: