Laptop Screen Replacement Options
Laptop screen replacement can be the most most expensive part on
any laptop computer.
In many cases after speaking to many repair
companies or the laptops manufacturer it may not seem
financially viable to get it repaired, and it can be cheaper to
replace the laptop itself.
What other alternatives are there?
Going to your laptops manufacturer will of course cost more, but
if your laptop is out of warranty, the cost of replacing the
screen can easily exceed the current price of the laptop.
If the worst happens a laptop
screen replacement need not cost the earth
The cheapest way, although it does require some
hunting around is to buy a replacement screen from a site such
as eBay, of course you need to be a bit careful in terms double
checking the screen will be compatible with your laptop and whom
you’re buying from, but that is pretty easy as you just need to
look at their feedback rating.
Once you have your laptop screen replacement you
then just need to be proficient with computer hardware, and
patient when fitting it.
Tip
Checkout the laptop manufacturer’s website or user forum to
source your laptops service/repair manual this should give you
images on how to dismantle and replace the screen.
If you get the screen and feel fitting it is a
little above your technical level your local computer shop
should be able to help and fit it for you, it should take them
around an hour.
One of the easiest options
that many people opt for with a broken laptop screen is to leave
it broken and then just use with an external monitor.
Just about every laptop has VGA or DVI outputs
to support an external monitor; this means you could use a much
larger screen than the initial size of the laptop screen itself.
The main downside of this option is that it
takes away the laptops main advantage over a desktop, the
portability.
If you wish to use this
method I would recommend using an external mouse and keyboard
too.
Connect the laptop to the external
screen, keyboard and mouse, the power it on and straight away
close the lid, this should then push the image to the external
screen. Don’t leave it too long before you close the laptops lid
though or it may keep the image on the laptop.
The last option is not usually thought about,
but why not sell laptop and let someone else deal with the
problem, then put the money towards a new laptop.
A new laptop will be faster and including the
money for selling the old laptop will still be cheaper than the
manufacturers repair price.
Notes
-
After obtaining an IBM T61s with a smashed
screen the repair company quoted £600 OUCH!!! for total
laptop screen replacement , this included £200 labour
-
Using an external 19” LG monitor total cost
£180, worked well and gave a much larger viewing angle
-
Obtained a second user replacement laptop screen
from eBay total cost including postage £56, fitting price
one hour at £50, total price £106
As you can see if your laptop is going to be
deskbound in any case, like most are then an external screen is
an attractive option.
If you want to get it repaired £600 is a lot of money, of course
you will get a warranty and they take care of the fitting etc,
but to be able to get it fixed for just over £100 is a real
bargain, of course you probably wont have a warranty, but the
screen would have to go wrong 5 times before you spent any where
near this kind of money.
Laptop screen replacement not for you?
read our other laptop articles on how to choose the right laptop
for your needs
Look for a cheap laptop -
find our more about buying second hand to get the most for your
money
computer adviser
laptop screen replacement article |
