(About 750 words)

Laptop Display Replacement
by Mike Borman
SW Indiana PC Users Group, Inc.

I have owned three different Toshiba laptop computers and was always impressed with how rugged they were. A couple of them have been used to collect CCD images from my telescope on cold and dewy nights without a problem. We have also used Toshiba laptops where I work to program and monitor Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) in industrial plants all across the tristate area without a problem. One even had water pouring down on it accidentally at one plant, and after letting it dry out a bit, was as good as new. So this past February when I decided I needed a new laptop, I once again chose a Toshiba, a Satellite A75. This one had a very nice 15.4” Trubrite TFT display. 

Last month however, I discovered that my newest Toshiba laptop would not pass the drop test. I had been using it in the living room while watching TV, and had it resting on one of the arms of my recliner (which is wide enough to support the bottom of the laptop). Unfortunately, when I got up to get something out of the kitchen, the laptop slid off the arm of the recliner and fell a little over two feet to the carpeted floor. When I picked it up I noticed that the display had a crack in the upper right hand corner. I won’t repeat the words I uttered! 

I decided to take the computer back to Circuit City where I bought it, to see what my options were for fixing it. They told me that accidental breakage was not covered by the City Advantage plan they had sold me in February, and it was not covered by the Toshiba warranty either. Circuit City proposed sending it off to their Service Center in Louisville to see how much it would cost to replace the display. Unfortunately, they came back with an estimate of over $1000 to fix it. A call to Toshiba informed me that replacing the screen would cost $700 plus labor and shipping. Considering that I paid $1400 for it new, either choice seemed a bit outrageous. I also found that it was not covered by my homeowner’s insurance or personal articles policy.

I next decided to see if I could possibly replace the display myself. After searching on the Internet, I found a website called IDParts.com that had parts for most of the major brands of laptops. I gave them a call and asked them how much a replacement LCD display would cost for my Toshiba laptop. They said $335. Since that was a lot better than paying Circuit City $1000 or buying a new laptop, I went ahead and ordered one. It arrived in less than a week. Unfortunately when I opened the package I found a display more badly broken than the one I wanted to replace! More unmentionable words were uttered.

I called IDParts, and they agreed to take back the broken display and send me a new one. The second display arrived intact a couple days later.

My next task was to remove the existing LCD display.  The IDParts website shows an example of a “typical” display replacement. It shows removing the little rubber pads that run around the perimeter of the display to reveal screws that hold the display together. When I removed the rubber pads from my display however, there were only screws under the two at the bottom of the display. With some careful probing with a screwdriver I found that the top of the display just snapped together. After getting off the bezel I found that the display LCD was attached to a metal frame with several tiny Philips head screws. Before removing the screws, I had to detach (very carefully) a ribbon cable and a power cable. Then, doing all the steps above in reverse, I installed the new LCD display. My main worry was with reattaching the ribbon cable. It was difficult to line up the two halves of the connector and feel whether it was properly connected. The ribbon cable was just barely long enough to reach the connector on the new LCD. Fortunately I did it right and the new display works fine again!

Mike Borman is an engineer with Three I Engineering, Inc. in Evansville. He is an advisor and past president of the Evansville Astronomical Society and has won national awards for astrophotography and model rocket building. His Web site is at http://members.sigecom.net/mborman/

There is no restriction against any non-profit group using this article as long as it is kept in context with proper credit given the author.  The Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an international organization of which this group is a member, brings this article to you.