how to replace lcd screen on laptop factory

A dying or cracked display doesn’t mean your laptop is a paperweight. For most laptops, a screen replacement takes $80 and an hour of your time at most. If you’re a DIYer, replacing a broken laptop screen yourself is a great way to save cash, as most computer repair shops will quote you $150 to $300 for the job.

Before doing anything, give your laptop a full look-over and inspection to ensure the screen really needs replacement. If the graphics card on the motherboard is dead, for instance, you may be wasting your time and effort on replacing a perfectly good screen. Additionally, if the laptop has been recently dropped or otherwise possibly physically harmed, you’ll want to double-check for other damage as well.

To ensure the graphics card is functioning, you can plug a desktop monitor or TV into the laptop, as most have a standard blue VGA monitor and/or a HDMI output. If the picture looks good on an external display, your graphics card is likely good and the screen is at fault. If you don’t get any picture, keep in mind some laptops require you to press certain function keys on the laptop to activate external display output. If you do that and video still doesn’t display, your graphics card and/or motherboard is likely broken, rather than your screen.

If the laptop outputs to another display successfully, use the computer for a while to ensure the keyboard and other laptop components appear to be functioning normally.

Before you replace your laptop’s LCD, here are the caveats to the general steps that follow. This is not meant to be a guide for ultrabooks, two-in-ones, tablets, Macbooks, or other, more specialized notebooks, however. It’s more for average, run-of-the-mill laptops. But even then the general steps I discuss do not work for all such laptops. Some will require a different process and/or more work to replace the screen, such as accessing the motherboard by opening the main case of the laptop.

Because of that crucial caveat, before buying a new LCD, it may be a good idea to try to remove the damaged screen first, to ensure you can perform the replacement. If, after following the first few steps the process looks different for your laptop, I recommend scouring Google and YouTube or finding a repair professional for further help on your exact laptop brand and model.

Finding a replacement LCD is typically easy—and you don’t have to pay the crazy prices the manufacturer usually wants. Just search eBay, Amazon, or Google with your laptop model number and the words LCD screen. You’ll find most regular screens can be had for as low as $50 to $80. If you aren’t finding anything, try other identification numbers from the laptop label or documentation. Some vendors have one or two different sets of identification numbers that could serve as your model number.

When shopping for the LCD, most sellers will alert you to compare the specs and placement of the video cable on the back of their screen to your current screen. This is another reason to crack open the laptop bezel before ordering a replacement. However from my own experience, if the seller says the screen is compatible with your exact laptop model, it usually works.

Table or other flat working area: You’ll need a spot to sit (or stand, if that’s your thing) with a flat area to work on your laptop. This gives you a reason to clean off that messy dining-room table or desk.

Small-head magnetic philips screwdriver: Not small like a mini screwdriver from an eyeglass repair kit, but I’d say between that size and a mid-sized screwdriver would work. If you don’t have a magnetic-head screwdriver, try to find a magnet big enough to magnetize the driver head. This helps the screws stick to the head, making it much easier to remove and replace the screws without cursing as they fall all over the place.

Plastic putty knife or other thin object: This is optional, to aid in prying apart the screen bezel from the case. Personally, my finger nails usually do the trick. If you do use another object, ensure it’s thin enough but not so sharp that it will leave scrapes or other evidence of prying.

Find the round cover stickers that are hiding the screws on the screen bezel, the case surrounding the screen. These stickers are usually on the bottom of the bezel, near the screen hinges, when you have the screen opened. You should find one on each side of the screen.

You can see the screw covers in the very bottom right and left corners on the bezel of this Acer Aspire One. (Click any image in this article to enlarge it.)

Use a sharp, pointy object—like an opened safety pin or needle—to help remove the cover stickers without damaging them. Stick it between the edge of the cover and bezel, and then pry the sticker away. Once removed, place the covers in a safe spot, with the sticky side up to help ensure there’s enough stickiness when you place them back on.

Use your screwdriver to remove the now-exposed screws. Remember: righty-tighty, lefty-loosey. Some screws are easy to remove; others, not so much. But moving the screen into just the right position usually exposes the screws enough for removal.

Carefully start prying the screen bezel away from the back side of the screen case. Work a fingernail or other thin, prying object into the crack around the outside of the screen. The bezel is usually secured to the back case with plastic snaps, so give it some force while prying—but not too brutish. You’ll hear the unsnapping of the fasteners when prying.

Once you’ve unsnapped the screen bezel, it may or may not be easy to remove. If not, it’s likely stuck around the screen hinges. Moving the screen position up or down, with some gentle force if necessary, should free it fully.

Once the bezel is fully removed, you’ll find the LCD secured to a metal trim frame on the left and right sides. Remove the two screws (one on each side, on the top) holding the trim frame pieces to the back screen case. Now, you should be able to lift the LCD (with the trim frame pieces attached) slightly away from the back screen case.

On each of the trim frames’ sides, remove any screws that are securing it to the LCD. Most laptops have three screws on each side; however, the smaller laptop I photographed here doesn’t have these screws—the LCD is actually secured to the trim frame pieces by tape on each side.

Now you should be able to set the LCD face-down onto the keyboard. Be careful not to put excessive force on the video cable attached to the back of the LCD.

Disconnect the video cable from the back of the LCD. Though the laptop I photographed here has the connector on the very bottom, most laptops have the connector near the center. If so, keep in mind that the portion of the cable running down the screen is usually stuck on the back of the screen with some mild adhesive. Just gently pull the cables away from the screen. You usually must remove tape that’s securing the video connector to the back of the screen as well. When you get to the point of actually pulling the video cable out of the screen connector, it should unplug with little force.

Once you’ve fully removed the broken LCD, simply place the new one face-down like you did the old one. Reattach the video cable to the connector and place the cables and any tape just like they were for the old one.

Set the new screen up in the side trim frame pieces, then re-secure it like the old one was: usually three screws in each side of the trim frame pieces, and then a screw on top of each to secure it to the back screen case.

When you get to the point of putting the bezel back on, just line it up and push/squeeze the bezel back into the snaps of the rear screen case. Before replacing the bezel screws, ensure the bezel is fully snapped in place and no crack exists around the edges of the screen case. Lastly, use that safely pin or needle to reattach the sticky screw covers.

On the function keys (F1 - F12) on your laptop does one of those have an icon with two screens, and if it does, press that to see if that sends a signal to the external monitor.

Harassment is any behavior intended to disturb or upset a person or group of people. Threats include any threat of suicide, violence, or harm to another.

When a laptop screen breaks, you’ll see various visual defects depending on precisely what broke. You may notice stuck, or incorrectly colored pixels, lines of color, bleeding colors, chunks of the screen appear black, or the screen may not turn on at all.

When a laptop screen is physically broken (such as a cracked screen), it’s usually due to physical damage. You may have dropped the laptop or dropped something on it. A laptop screen can even break if there is something as small as a bit of sand between it and the keyboard.

To fix your broken laptop screen, you’ll have to try each of these fixes. If the screen starts working, or you see enough improvement to begin using the laptop again, you can stop. If it stops working again in the future, return to the list and try the rest of the fixes.

If your screen is physically cracked and the underlying panel is damaged, these fixes won"t work. To fix a physically cracked or broken screen, the only option is to replace the screen.

Restart your laptop. The screen not appearing to work may be caused by an operating system issue, or some other conflict will be cleared by simply restarting the computer. Since restarting is so easy, it should be the first thing you try.

Close the laptop and reopen it. Examine your keyboard and screen areas for any debris, and clean them thoroughly. If your laptop uses a visible latch, clean the latch mechanism. Carefully close the laptop, ensure it is completely closed, and open it back up. If the screen sometimes turns on and sometimes doesn’t, you probably have a bad lid sensor.

Plug in an external monitor. If your screen is entirely black, try plugging in an external monitor. If the external monitor doesn’t work, your laptop may not be on, or it may be asleep or in hibernation mode. Plug it in, and make sure it"s on.

Update your video drivers. If your screen isn’t completely black, but you see visual defects on the screen, try updating your video drivers. You may have a malfunctioning or glitchy driver.

Try to unstick your stuck pixels. If you’re dealing with one or more stuck pixels, you can use an app to try and unstick them. These apps typically cycle between colors rapidly or generate digital snow to force a dead or stuck pixel to start working again.

Try to fix your burn-in. If it looks more like you have ghosts of old images stuck on your screen, then you can try a white screen saver or a few other potential fixes to remove the burn-in.

Check your screen and backlight connections. If you have experience with disassembling laptops, you can remove the bezel around your screen, hinge covers, or other case components to reveal the screen and backlight wires and connectors. Make sure everything is fully seated and the cables aren’t crimped or broken.

Replace the screen. If nothing else works, then your screen probably has to be replaced. Screens with large black or colored bars, black holes, or colors that seem to run are typically beyond repair. If it"s a cracked screen, that’s also a clue you’ll have to replace it.

Make use of your broken laptop by salvaging the hard drive as an external hard drive and selling any other parts that still work. If the display still works, use it as a standalone monitor. If you decide to sell your laptop, perform a factory reset to wipe your personal files.

Getting your screen professionally repaired will likely cost $200 or more. You may be able to find a screen and replace it yourself for less than $100. Before you spend money on repairs, consider upgrading to a new laptop.

Check and replace the power supply if necessary. Detach any bootable media drives, docking stations, and newly installed components that could be interfering with startup. You may need to clear the motherboard CMOS by reseating the CMOS battery.

Does your Acer Aspire 5253 laptop only show a black screen, even though the laptop itself is turned on and working? Acer Aspire 5253 laptops are susceptible to a range of problems that could cause their screens to stay black, even when the laptop is turned on. Check the following possible causes to identify and solve the problem.

If your computer is only showing a black screen when you power it on, but you can hear noises suggesting that the computer is operating, your laptop may have a virus. If you do not need the data stored on your computer, run malware software to fix the problem.

Restart your laptop by holding down the power button for at least 30 seconds, and wait for it to turn back on. If it does not boot up normally, press Alt + F10 while it is turning on until a blue screen appears. Choose the “Shut Down” option, which is the last of the three options on the menu that appears.

If the computer’s screen is still black when it reboots, press F2 + F9 + F10 + Enter. Again, tell the computer to reboot. If the above instructions do not work, you may need to perform a factory reset on the computer.

To perform a factory reset, restart your laptop by holding down the power button for at least 30 seconds, and wait for it to turn back on. Then, tap the F8 key on your keyboard; a menu should pop up. On the menu, choose “REPAIR.” Click “OK” and choose “RECOVERY MANAGEMENT” on the next screen that comes up. This will restore your computer to its factory defaults, getting rid of the malware and also deleting all of your data.

If, when you turn on the computer, you only see a cursor and the rest of the screen is black, the computer may not be able to find its operating system. This suggests a hard drive failure. Use the Acer Aspire 5253 Hard Drive Replacement Guide to replace the laptop’s hard drive.