Vertical Lines On Laptop Screen

[Siamesepiggster]

Hi,

I have a 3 .5 year old Dell Inspiron 9300 (17" screen) which cost quite a bit at the time. For a while now vertical lines (very thin, maybe 1 pixel wide but full height of screen) of different colours have appeared.

Any ideas whether this would be the screen or something else? Cost to fix and where you would recommend getting it fixed in Bkk?

Suggestions greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

SP

[endlessimage]

Can be either screen or video card. My LG laptop developed the same problem and I connected it to an external monitor with a VGA cable to determine if it was the video card or screen. No lines on the second monitor so it was the screen. 9,000 baht to replace (17" WXGA) at LG Pattaya. Was quoted 10.000 at Tukcom in Pattaya.

[Siamesepiggster]

Can be either screen or video card. My LG laptop developed the same problem and I connected it to an external monitor with a VGA cable to determine if it was the video card or screen. No lines on the second monitor so it was the screen. 9,000 baht to replace (17" WXGA) at LG Pattaya. Was quoted 10.000 at Tukcom in Pattaya.

Many thanks for that. I will test the screen the way you suggested.

Appreciate the examples of prices and places in Pattaya. Anyone suggest a reliable/farang friendly computer repair place in Bkk that they have personally used?

Thanks.

[keeniau96]

Borrow another monitor and connect to the computer, see if any change. If clear then monitor is the problem.

If monitor seems OK then either the video card or the cable. Cable unlikely but a new one only costs 99 baht (look around at local electronics shop).

If card then could be card memory or board component, but not worth trying to repair, easy to replace. Pull the power plug (not just turn off computer). Then open the case, find video card (hint: the cable is attached), detach the cable, unscrew the screw on top holding bracket in place. There is a little lever or push-pin under the card on bottom, about 1/2 way back, need to have that loosened for the removal, so move it to open and hold it there with one hand and pull card straight up with the other. May need to do mild front-back wiggle a bit to remove, but it goes straight up, no other motion.

Get replacement card, of which there are many available. Do not overbuy for this old machine, a proper replacement is something like an ATI/AMD HD2400 class, cost about 1500 baht.

Replace card by vertical insertion, help the retaining clip or pin to ease the card in. Replace screw and close case.

[keeniau96]

A good quality replacement monitor (Samsung, LG) costs about 5000 baht for 22" widescreen version. Check PowerBuy for good selection and prices.

[Siamesepiggster]

A good quality replacement monitor (Samsung, LG) costs about 5000 baht for 22" widescreen version. Check PowerBuy for good selection and prices.

Thanks for that. But just to reiterate, my computer is a laptop (not desktop).

Cheers.

[welo]

I had two laptops repaired at Pantip BKK - repair shops are on the 4th level - one where the screen needed to be replaced, and just yesterday I had a problem with the graphics processor (GPU) fixed.

Replacing the screen costed 3300 Baht for a 15.4", including the LCD panel itself plus work time. The panel is good quality with viewing characteristics comparable to the original one (contrast, brightness, viewing angle) but not a major brand name (like Samsung, LG, or whatever - unfortunately I don't remember the brand name). 17" might be significantly more expansive, don't really know.

Of course there are shops at Pantip who don't play fair, I had a higher quote with a lot of blabla for the same panel when I asked at a lower level right after coming out of a Compaq service center.

I can't give you advice on which panels are OK and which not, but the shop assured me that the quality is like the original and it worked out for me.

However, I had some troubles with the laptop afterwards (not related to the screen) and I am not sure they didn't pull a game on me - however, I can't be sure at all and this is why I won't talk about it in more detail.

My recommendations for bringing in a laptop for repair:

• remove the battery
  
• have them write down the serial number of the harddisk, dvd drive and memory. A good shop will do this anyway. You might keep the harddisk with you if it contains sensitive data. Of course you could remove and keep DVD drive and memory, too, but this might seem a bit harsh. I personally take pictures of all accessible components since stickers can be replaced. Of course this requires a bit of knowledge how to access and remove those parts.
  
• Most shops will also take note whether you handed in a bag, charger or other additional equipment.
  

The 2nd time (just yesterday) I actually had a really good experience with a different shop where I had bought a 2nd hand laptop for our neighbors just 4 months ago. It turned out that this model was shipped with a NVIDIA graphics controller that was known to cause problems (Geforce Go 7200, bad soldering from factory combined with bad heating system in the laptop - this is actually a problem with several Geforce GPUs).

Since I live outside of BKK I made it back to BKK only this week, but the shop was kind enough to do the repair under warranty (spare parts on my costs). The shop is kind of family run and is both 2nd hand dealer and repair shop. Nok, who is doing the repairs speaks good english and is a nice guy! I asked to watch him doing the repair since I am a software guy and the whole soldering stuff is like magic to me, and he did a great job, never seen somebody taking a laptop apart that quick.

The soldering and re-heating did take quite some time (and serious, concentrated work), and luckily the chip itself was not damaged and the laptop is working again. Let's see for how long since it will probably overheat again in the future, but Nok said the technique he is using gives good long-term success rates.

He said usually he charges 2500 THB for this work, and an additional 1000 THB for replacing the graphics chip if it is broken. I guess the prices reflect the special equipment he has, since a simple soldering iron is not enough to do that job.

The shop is Bios.com, website is www.biosthailand.com (thai only). The shop is located on the 4th level in the 2nd hand section. The section is 4125-A9 but not that easy to find since the shops there are small and simple and don't have huge neon-light signs. Send me a PM if you want the telephone number. They have a 2nd office on the 5th level (even harder to find) where Nok is working most of the time.

welo

Edited February 26, 2010 by welo

[David H]

Hello Siamesepigster, I have the same computer laptop, Dell inspiron 9300 17inch. 7-8 years old. One year ago one line as you describe, on the left side. Now a week ago another line on the right side. The computer is going to be replaced, when i move to Thailand in a couple of years with an Apple. I will run this one as is till then. I just wanted to let you know your not alone. David H

Edited February 26, 2010 by David H