So I have a laptop with a broken screen, a emachine d520 and I was wondering do I have to get the $300 replacement screen or can I buy a cheaper generic one and use that? Never really messed with the insides of a laptop so I was wondering.

You got to get a replacement screen or a new laptop/notebook/netbook. A generic screen usally has a lot of problems, unless emachine customer service says that there is a generic compatable screen that works. Doubt it though. You can always hook it up to a flat screen and take off the laptop screen part.

Also for 300$ you can get a ACER Netbook AOD250 it has 1GB DDR2 and a Intel Atom Processor 1.66 GHz with 2 threads.

Hope that helps. :)

look on ebay. Often, there are spares and repairs on there, one of which will have a working screen in all likelyhood, for a fraction of that cost, as they too don't wish to spend the insane replacement fees.

My laptop has a port on the side for a normal monitor... now I usually don't take my laptop about with me so I guess if the screen ever broke I would just hookup an external monitor and start saving for another laptop....

worst case scenario with a usb cable and psp display installed, you could use your psp as your laptop screen? Oo

(10/10/2010 01:41 PM)Slushba132 Wrote:  My laptop has a port on the side for a normal monitor... now I usually don't take my laptop about with me so I guess if the screen ever broke I would just hookup an external monitor and start saving for another laptop....

worst case scenario with a usb cable and psp display installed, you could use your psp as your laptop screen? Oo

This isn't my personal laptop. I bought to see if I can fix it so I could give it to someone.

Or does anyone know where I can get an equal laptop for around $200?

Speaking from a lot of personal experience on this subject (broken my own screen and replace other people's screens) all laptops made within the past 10 or so years use a standard connecting interface called LVDS. Put this into the search on eBay and set it to only find used screens (if you want):

This search filters out all the poo poo that isn't screens. Beleive me there is a lot of it. Change 15.4 to whatever size screen you have.

I recommend that you keep to the same resolution as your current screen as different resolutions don't always work. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Once you have a new screen follow an online tutorial on how to replace th screen. They're available for most laptops. If you can't find one it basically goes like this.

1. Find the screws holding the on the bezel
   
2. Take off the bezel
   
3. If the edges of the screen are obscured find out how to remove the rest of the lid (The cover behind the screen)
   
4. EITHER: Along the sides of the screen will be 4 screws holding the screen to the hinges
   
5. OR: Above and below the screen there are 2 screws holding the screen to the lid.
   
6. Reomve these screws and the screen will come free. Lay it down on the keyboard.
   
7. Unplug the backlight (white connector with 2 pins) from the inverter a the bottom of the screen.
   
8. VERY CAREFULLY unplug the LVDS connector from the back of the screen. There might me clips or tape holding it in.
   
9. Take the screen out and dispose of it properly. The backlight contains mercury so you can't just bin it.
   
10. Putting the new screen in is pretty much reverse of the above.
    

Above all watch out for this: along the top of the screen will be a circuit board with the LVDS connector. It'll probably have a plastic covering over it. DO NOT PUT ANY STRESS ON IT OR THE TOP EDGE OF THE SCREEN. This is where the ribbon cables run between the circuit board and the actual LCD panel. They're very delicate and damaging them will cause lines to appear on the screen. The only way of fixing this is to replace the LCD again.

It sounds a lot more difficult than it is and once you have some experience its easy. Just be careful and heed the warnings. Just think of the money you're saving. eMachines wanted $300? You can probably get a used screen in perfect condition for less than $60. For about an hours work it's a pretty good saving.

http://www.cdsparts.com/p-1082-new-acer-...n-141.aspx
This is the replacement screen needed, is the 30 pin connection the same as the LVDS connector?
http://cgi.ebay.com/DELL-LATITUDE-D620-D...3a5f78c7b9 Is this compatible? or this? http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-HP-PAVILION-DV20...2eb05a5f59

Is there a way I can check to make sure it is the lcd? I know its broken because I can see it cracked but it doesn't turn on. Thanks PSPkiller for all that info

(11/10/2010 12:15 PM)Mickey Wrote:  http://www.cdsparts.com/p-1082-new-acer-...n-141.aspx
This is the replacement screen needed, is the 30 pin connection the same as the LVDS connector?
http://cgi.ebay.com/DELL-LATITUDE-D620-D...3a5f78c7b9 Is this compatible? or this? http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-HP-PAVILION-DV20...2eb05a5f59

Is there a way I can check to make sure it is the lcd? I know its broken because I can see it cracked but it doesn't turn on. Thanks PSPkiller for all that info

Yep the LVDS is the 30 pin connector. As for the replacements you've found I wouldn't use the Dell one. A couple of Dell's that I've come across use a different style of mounting bracket that need's bending or cutting off to fit another laptop. Dell's way of amking sure that you buy parts from them if you break your screen.

if you don't mind used THIS looks alright. Message the seller first amd make sure that there aren't any scratches, cracks, dead pixels or lines on the screen.

THIS ONE is new and in theory should be perfect.

Is there any picture showing at all on the current LCD? Does the backlight turn on? If you plug in an external monitor do you get a picture?

There are other causes of screen failure (motherboard, LCD cable) but its unlikely you'd get more than one at once. if you can see that the screen is cracked then it definately needs replacing. There may be other problems but you won't know unless the screen itself works.

if the backlight isn;t working then the backlight may have also cracked with the screen (it's a small flourescent tube made of glass.) The backlight is built into the screen so when you replace the screen you'll also be replacing the backlight. If it still doesn't work then the inverter may be dead. These are, unfortunately, specific to your laptop i.e. they're not universal. They tend to be quite cheap though.

tl;dr, Don't buy Dell, buy either the HP screen or the ones I listed, replace the screen, if the backlight doesn't work replace the inverter.

I know that reading all of this sounds rather daunting and confusing but once you've done it a few times you realise how easy it is to do and how much manufacturers rip you off with out of warranty repairs.

Good Luck!

EDIT: Just realised that 14.1" screens are available in both widescreen and standard. MAKE SURE YOU BUY THE RIGHT ONE. The Samsung screen I listed is a standard one not a widescreen. How to tell? Look at the resolutions. 1280x800 = widescreen, 1024x768 = standard.