My laptop screen is damaged.. :(
By besweet
@besweet (9859)
Ireland
April 3, 2013 10:10am CST
Last night I was spending time on my laptop and suddenly vertical lines of various colours appeared at the lower half of my screeen. There is one horizontal line in the middle and many vertical lines from that point and under. I can see through the lines but the resoltion is poor and I can't read the letters. I can still browse the internet as long as I scroll everything to the upper part of the screen. Do you think it might have to do with the pixels of the screen or it could be something that needs a lot of money to get fixed like the graphics card?
I might be slow in responding in the following days since I will do most of the work though my mobile phone when I will have mu laptop screen fixed. If you have any ideas on what might be wrong please let me know, it would be of great help! Thanks :)
1 person likes this
16 responses
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
3 Apr 13
here in Mexico we have computer repair shops that fix those kinds of things. I hope you have those there. Good luck to you.
1 person likes this
@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
3 Apr 13
Hi maria! We also have repair shops with specialized technicians, my cousin is one of them and I called him today. He gave me a few tips and we found that it isn't the graphics card. Tomorrow I will get it to his place and he will find what's wrong but I am afraid that the replacement parts will be costly and they will make me give away all my savings..
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
3 Apr 13
Im hope its just a small problem. Good luck with that.
1 person likes this
@blackrusty (3519)
• Mexico
4 Apr 13
wish you the best of luck on the repair and I hope that you get it fixed real soon I also am having issues with my new laptop and will have to replace a fan soon but i am trying to hold off till i buy a back up computer
@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
5 Apr 13
A back up computer sounds nice! I think that every professional that has all of their work in a computer should have a back up. I am seriously considering of saving many to get one in the future.
If the temperature is high, you can get a fan base, I have one and it really helps, especially because my laptop is old and it needs the "external help". 
@blackrusty (3519)
• Mexico
5 Apr 13
well my laptop is less then year old and already one fan gone I am going to buy a base fan but for now i have a piece of wood under so the last fan will work but yes a 2nd pc is always a good way to go you never know
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@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
4 Apr 13
Yikes that doesn't sound healthy, I would take it to the repair shop to see if they can repair it for you, is it a relatively new laptop? Is it still under warranty? I know I had a years warranty on my laptop which has expired. Trouble is you get to rely on your laptop, and when it goes wrong, or develops faults it can be frustrating and you realize you just can't do without it! I hope it's fixable and not too pricey to get it repaired.
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@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
5 Apr 13
It's an old laptop but it had very good specifications at the time and a new one of the same quality would cost me more than I can afford! The technician said that it needs a new screen and I will replace it immediately. Unfortunately the warranty is not valid any more so I will pay it myself, I just hope that there won't be any more problems in the future!
@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
5 Apr 13
It's a Toshiba (the sattelite series), it never had any particular problems until now. I was looking for the same model, used, in order to buy it and get the parts that I need and I realised that this model costs around 800 euros to buy new even though it is a model of 2009. I think the price is still very high considering the fact that the prices of laptops drop quickly when new models come out.
@XtremeGaming (742)
• South Africa
5 Apr 13
What laptop is is exactly ?? maybe it will be worth your while getting a new one ?? And sell the broken one ? Sometimes this is the case.
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@kixsh101 (2105)
• Philippines
3 Apr 13
It's the same thing that happened to me. I think it's the LCD screen that went wrong, or maybe the flex on your laptop.
I suggest that you let it be seen by a technician so you'll know what is the real score behind the problem. Mine wasn't fixed yet, because of high cost of LCD replacement.
@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
3 Apr 13
Unfortunately I need my laptop for work too so I will have to fix it immediately. My cousin is working in a computer store and he does the electronic repairs etc so I will take the laptop to his place tomorrow. It is good because I won't have to pay for it to be fixed but I will have to pay the replacement parts and I think that they are expensive.
@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
5 Apr 13
Thanks. We found the problem and he said that I also need an LCD replacement! It's very expensive, you are right but I will have to give my savings for it since it affects my work.
Sometimes it is better to buy the screen and give it for replacement at the same store because they may charge less for the combined service. I found some screens online and made some calls, in general they are selling the brand new screen for more than $150 and the repair cost is only $35. But when you combine the services they might give a 10% discount which is better than nothing!
@succeednow (1633)
• Singapore
4 Apr 13
Hi besweet,
I think the fastest way for you to confirm whether you have a faulty screen on your Toshiba laptop is to hook up an external display or monitor (via a VGA cable) and see if you get the same results. If you don't then you have a bad screen and probably need to replace it. If the external display is showing the same type of weird display then your graphics card maybe kaputt or maybe it's software related.
Of course the technician will be able to help you but sometimes it may be cheaper in the long run to replace the laptop especially if it's very old.
Just my opinion. Have a nice day.
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@succeednow (1633)
• Singapore
5 Apr 13
Hi besweet,
You're welcome. Actually my technical knowledge of computer is rudimentary. I just use some common sense to analyse the problem and the possible causes. Glad that you've confirmed the source of the problem. Hope you're able to find a replacement screen/display for your laptop at a good price. Have a nice day.
1 person likes this
@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
5 Apr 13
Succeednow, thank you very much for the extremely useful information! It seems that you have very good knowledge of the rechnical computer stuff!
That's exactly the process that we followed, my brother had the same idea when he saw the problem and we tried it. We connected my laptop with the TV and as you said, the lines didn't show on the TV. Therefore we thought that the screen was faulty and the technicial confirmed it. Now I am searcing for replacement parts and I am trying to find the best offer!
I really appreciate your help, have a wonderful day!
@XtremeGaming (742)
• South Africa
4 Apr 13
If the machine still operates at full speed then its not the graphics card. The graphics card would mean you have to replaced the motherboard since most laptops have onboard graphics cards.
1 person likes this
@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
5 Apr 13
I haven't decided yet which one I should buy, my screen is 15.4'' and they are asking more than $150 for a new one (in fact the best offer that I found so far was 135 euros). This price is without the replacement cost because my cousin is a technician and he will do the work. The technicians charge additional 30 euros for the replacement on average.
Thanks for the advice! However I hope I won't have to learn what happens when the graphics card is damaged! :)
Have a great day!
@XtremeGaming (742)
• South Africa
5 Apr 13
How much did they want to charge you ? And what size screen ?
Oh btw for future, when the graphics card is damaged you will know, you will just know. :)
1 person likes this
@oderog (731)
• Kenya
4 Apr 13
You may consider replacing your Laptop with a new as the signs you have stated above shows that it's about to be written off completely. To save you money it would best for you to buy a new Laptop rather than repairing the already damage one, check for discounts offered by various vendors to enable buy one at a cheaper rate.
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@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
5 Apr 13
Yeah, I have thought about it but I can't afford to buy a new laptop because I will need one with good specifications to run heavy programs for my work. This one cost me a lot of money in 2009 and now I can't spend so much for a new one. I will buy the replacement parts for now and maybe I will start saving for a new one in the future.
@pahak627 (4558)
• Philippines
4 Apr 13
Mine has the same trouble with yours and it so happened that the LCD was damaged and a new one costs over 15 th which can already buy a new notebook. The remedy is to buy a second hand LCD which was I did. Unfortunately the LCD that I bought lasted only for a year then the screen is again damaged.
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@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
5 Apr 13
I don't trust second hand LCD's very much, because we can't know how it had been used in the past and if the previous owned was careful. However I looked for one and it was hard to find the model that I need in my country.
The only thing I found was a second hand laptop, same model with mine but it costs double and I don't want to spend that much. There are several replacement parts on ebay which are relatively cheap comparing to the screens that I found on repair shops but the shipping cost is too high for international delivery. So I decided that I will use a local shop and I will save money from the replacement since my cousin will do it for me!
@ARIES1973 (11426)
• Legaspi, Philippines
3 Apr 13
It is really sad to know that the one we are using to earn some amount has some problem in it. The best thing for you to do is to bring it to the technician as they are proper persons who can solve your problem.
How old is your laptop?
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@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
5 Apr 13
My laptop is old enough! lol
I bought it in 2009 and I have been using very demanding programs with it, since I had it at the last years of my student life and I used it for my thesis and now for my work. But I take great care of it and I don't let anyone else work with it. The only part that has failed so far is the battery, but this is normal for laptops!
It's also my only tool for my online activities as you said and I will either have it fixed or I will have to buy a new one!
I bought it in 2009 and I have been using very demanding programs with it, since I had it at the last years of my student life and I used it for my thesis and now for my work. But I take great care of it and I don't let anyone else work with it. The only part that has failed so far is the battery, but this is normal for laptops!
It's also my only tool for my online activities as you said and I will either have it fixed or I will have to buy a new one!
@vidhyaprakash_2 (7116)
• India
4 Apr 13
Hi friend, sad to hear about this. Previously i too faced this kind of issue with my desktop computer. I called the hard ware engineer and he told it is monitor problem. Luckily i am in warranty period at that time and solved this issue with free service. Hope you too have your warranty to get free service
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@Angelpink (4034)
• Philippines
4 Apr 13
Oh so sorry to hear that but that maybe okay than if the other parts like the Cpu inside which got a problem. Have it repair but if your expenses in repairing is bit big then you better buy new one , a more high end one . Anyways maybe that laptop have served you that long already. Don't worry you still can continue working online though laptop is out of order , go to internet houses for the meantime .
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@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
5 Apr 13
Hi angelpink! I have never worked online from internet houses, at the moment I just use mylot and a couple of other sites from my mobile phone or use my laptop with the damaged screen, but it is hard to work with bad screen resolution.
Thanks for your comment, have a great day!
@vinodkumar123 (50)
•
6 Apr 13
there is a problem in your laptop so you can repair your own laptop. This type of problem can be create because of some initial problem .so you can prevent that type of problem.
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@natliegleb (5175)
• India
3 Apr 13
I think this is the end of the road for your laptop and its high time you look out for some upgrades or new laptop
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@emily7339 (1337)
• Malaysia
3 Apr 13
I am sorry to hear that your laptop screen is damaged but I am not able to help. I hope you get it fixed soon.
Just few days ago, I accidentally knocked on my cpu and my monitor screen filled with trembling dots all over. Fortunately, after I switch off and on again the screen was back to normal. Now I realized that computer gadgets are really sensitive. The slighest hit would caused problem.
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@besweet (9859)
• Ireland
3 Apr 13
Hi! I am really careful and protective with my stuff, especially my laptop because I have all my work in there. I didn't do anything to damage it, I think it was because of the long time that I own it. But I am really helpless without my laptop, I can't work, listen to music, browse the web, or even do my workouts since they are all saved in my computer! :(
