LordEden

Is it even cost-effective to do this? Cinn's laptop screen has a massive crack in it and has killed the entire LCD. In the past I've told people that it was cheaper to buy a new laptop, but I didn't really have facts to back up that claim.

Has anyone ever done this? Where did you buy the parts? I'm lost on this one, as I've never done any hardware work on a laptop (besides replacing HDDs, memory, batteries etc).

It's a Toshiba Satellite L305d-s5868.

Just wondering if I should try to repair it or just try and get her a new laptop.

Thanks in advance.

__________________
Vice-President of the CinnamonGirl Fan Club - The Meat of the Zombiesquirrel and CinnamonGirl Sandwich

God of Thunder

I have replaced them in the past and have a crack my my own laptop screen that I need to replace. They are not that bad, just a little tedious.

Honestly the best place to look is Ebay. Just do a search for the laptop model and look for those labeled as parts only. The problem with this however is the LCD is usually the part that is broken, so they are selling the rest of the laptop as parts.

Expect to pay around $85 on up for a decent part.

Another option is to look for a local PC repair place that may have some parts in stock. I found one in a local parts store that the owner gave me a deal on since I buy a lot of parts from him.

Look for one with the power inverter attached to it, but expect to pay more for that. If you get one without it that is fine, but they can be a little bit of a pain in the ass to get off the old LCD and on to the new one.

__________________
I reject your reality, and substitute my own

-- Adam Savage

Xerxys

I have replaced my laptop screen. It is cost effective in the short run. That means it costs less to replace the screen than for a new laptop. BUT, what is the laptop used for? That is the long run issue. I replaced my laptop screen because I was going to use it for school and not heavy duty computing which meant it was going to last me forever.

What kind of a nerd is Cinn exactly? If she depends on it to store and manage 5000+ music tracks, watch HULU stream and download TV shows then purchase a new one. If she uses it for Youtube and maybe some music here and there with some internet sprinkled in, then definitely replace the screen.

PS: Use ebay. My screen cost me $40.

Cynthetiq

Impact Computers Your Laptop Parts specialists

I buy most of my parts from there for laptops. They ship fast, and include all the instructions for replacement.

Toshiba LCD, 15.4WXGA CSV - V000133040

almost $300.

you could get a better performing laptop for about $100 more.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Cavi Mike

It depends on whether the screen is plugged into the mother board or soldered. If it's soldered, you'll need the hands of a brain surgeon and the patience of a Zen Buddhist, along with equipment found in a laboratory. "Back in the day" all laptop screen(wires) were soldered to the motherboard and that's where the cheaper-to-buy-a-whole-new-laptop thing came from. Now, many laptop's screens are plugged in and they are no harder to replace than the hard-drive or RAM.

__________________
pearls ain't free

spindles

I've done it - bought the screen from LOWEST PRICED BRAND NEW REPLACEMENT NOTEBOOK DISPLAYS - LARGE INVENTORY - shipped to Australia. It was certainly cheaper than buying a new machine and was the difference between using it or just throwing it out.

I ended up with a few too many screws, but that might have more to do with the technician (me!) than anything else

__________________
who hid my keyboard's PANIC button?

Lasereth

Buy a new one. The LCD will be $300 and then there's always the chance that you dick it up during the install. That laptop can be replaced with a faster model for under $400 even at a store like Best Buy.

__________________
"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

Xerxys

Wow, you guys are like, hopeless at this computing business ...

Toshiba Satellite 15.4" WXGA 1280x800 LCD Screen - eBay (item 280579951187 end time Oct-31-10 14:04:30 PDT)

Lasereth

If that stays below $200 before the expiration and it fits the model, it's definitely worth looking into.

__________________
"A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

Cynthetiq

I only buy parts from trusted vendors. Ones where I an return DOAs and other issues. Consider me a sticker for wanting it done eight the first time. Working in laptops sucks enough to so it once but to keep opening it up sucks ass.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

LordEden

Right now we want the cheapest route to fix her laptop, we just don't have the cash to buy her a new one. She wants a new laptop, but not until I got a job (or she starts making more money).

I wonder if that would work... it's the whole LCD with back panel and all. That would be a lot cheaper (and less time) than replacing the LCD.

I've found the screen new around $100. That's without the inverter. I've got a guy who can help me and I got the time. I'm going to take it apart today and make sure everything works beside the LCD and to make sure I got the correct part number.

__________________
Vice-President of the CinnamonGirl Fan Club - The Meat of the Zombiesquirrel and CinnamonGirl Sandwich

Xerxys

It will work. The screen specs are similar to your laptop, (All LCD screens of the same size are) but the whole get-up comes from a different laptop make which means you have to remove the screen from it's back cover and bezel then install it into your existing cover. I will wager that even the inverters are compatible. Unless you mean even the plastic cover is also cracked, then you can get that separately too. A pink one if you want ...

Jove

Spindles posted a website that I have used quite often at work to replace damaged lcd screens.