Dell Laptop problem.

[Jillbeans]

I dunno if this is even in the right forum...but here goes nuthin'.
My daughter has a Dell Inspiron laptop 14 months old with XP.
(of course I did not buy the warranty)
Only the left half of her screen is showing up.
Vertical. You can't really click on the desktop properties to try and fix this.
(I am a total computer idiot, at least I can't)
Turning off and on several times helped once.
I was wondering if it could be her power strip/surge protector.
She had a space heater plugged into the same strip that caused it to melt around the plug.
Thanks in advance.
Love.....Jill

 

[SignsRus]

Sounds like a hardware issue, not software.

LCD could be going bad, or could be a loose connection.

Has she dropped it at all?

Might want to look into some replacement screens on ebay.

Easy way to test would be to hook up one of your monitors to it, and see if it works ok. If so means the screen is going bad =O

 

[Rhino]

It's probably either the LCD Screen or the cable that connects the LCD to the rest of the computer.

Even if you did find the right screen on eBay, I don't think you'd want to be the one to replace it. They can be a real pain.

I'd recommend taking it to a computer company that you trust that deals with Dell. They may even be willing to fix it on trade.

 

[SignsRus]

It's probably either the LCD Screen or the cable that connects the LCD to the rest of the computer.

Even if you did find the right screen on eBay, I don't think you'd want to be the one to replace it. They can be a real pain.

I'd recommend taking it to a computer company that you trust that deals with Dell. They may even be willing to fix it on trade.

Ya replacing the screen is no easy task. 99.9% of the time requires a complete strip down of the laptop. And what a nightmare that is =O

Like I said plug in a monitor to the VGA out on the laptop. See if that screen works. If so your screen is messed on the laptop. Find who will give you the best price on swapping it locally. Would probaly be best to get the replacement screen yourself so they dont try making money off parts also

 

[Jillbeans]

Whoops! It's Vista. Also forgot to say it's a 1501 if that matters.
We moved it to the kitchen, and initially still got a left screen only, but now it seems to be OK.
She said she did drop it.
You guys are really perceptive! Thanks so much.
We'll see what happens next!
I am going to plug this monitor into it to check it, that's a good idea.
If I can even figure out how to do that.
Love....Jill

 

[Rhino]

Whoops! It's Vista. Also forgot to say it's a 1501 if that matters.
We moved it to the kitchen, and initially still got a left screen only, but now it seems to be OK.
She said she did drop it.
You guys are really perceptive! Thanks so much.
We'll see what happens next!
I am going to plug this monitor into it to check it, that's a good idea.
If I can even figure out how to do that.
Love....Jill

It's probably just the cable loose in there, but still a pain to get to.

When you plug the monitor in, it may not work right away. You may have to tell the computer that there is a monitor there..

 

[Capital Signs]

Jill,

Apart from the sign business "capital signs" I own "capital computer clinic"

We fix all of these laptops. I'm in austin, tx so I'm in "dell" country. The headquarters is just up the street from us, in round rock.

Anyways, I would try to reseat the lcd connector to the motherboard. It is really not all that difficult as everyone says.

Where the power button is, that is one whole strip that should pop out. On the edges, you should should see an indention on either side, you can fit a small screw driver in there, and pop it out. After that, you will see where theh LCD connects to the main board. Try pushing it down firmly, and see if that helps.

If not, connect an external monitor to the machine, on the side or the back of the machine you should see a regular jack for a monitor vga/dvi. Most likely vga.

Now boot the machine, and after you boot the machine, and are in windows, press the purple function key next to the windows and control button, and f4, or the button that looks like a rectangle with two lines around it. That should toggle the screen to the monitor. Check that out.

If after reseating the cable, and that "works", but the lcd doesnt, than you have a bad lcd.

If reseating works, than let it ride! Dont do anything else. If you continue to have this problem,then yes, it will most likely be a bad lcd especially if it was dropped.

I hope that this has helped, and if you need any help, feel free to pm me Jill.

 

[zoiko]

Just use the other side of monitor for stickies. notes and such....LOL...

 

[511graphix]

I have a problem with the screen blinking off and on after I unplug the power cable I have a E1705 if I plug it back in it stops. and when I use CorelDRAW 9 on my laptop and want to zoom out using my built in mouse the design page goes blank.but if I have my usb mouse in this does not happen whats up with that......Xp, intel core solo 512 mem

 

[cOrKinSA]

Tell her to lean in and close her eye shut. It should address the problem.
No but seriously violence and technology don't mix. That dropped seams to have screwed it up pretty good.

 

[Techman]

I've repaired several dell lappy's and a reinstall of the driver could help. Ive seen this half screen stuff several times...
As far as the cables.. its a very small plugin. .There will be two plugs. One for the backlit and one for the screen display.

one laptop (chembook) instance there was a bad video card that had to be replaced.

As far as replacing the display it will be four screws holding the hinges and two plugins.. not sure about this model but sometimes those cables are very hard to manipulate because of the space. I use forceps to handle this job.

If you tried reinstalling the driver then time for a techy to look at it.