Computer Related > Laptop screen broken Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Focusless Replies: 20

 Laptop screen broken - Focusless
This is what my latop screen currently looks like:
i969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/focushj/DSCF0145.jpg

It should be a picture of a linux desktop in which I'm composing this post - I've got an external monitor connected.

It was ok at work today but went like this after booting up on the train on the way home. I think I might have pressed it with my thumb in what is now the black area, but I don't think I pressed it hard.

Not too bothered because it's a work laptop and cover includes accidental damage (although obviously I would prefer not to break expensive things). But has anyone else managed to kill their screen like this?

It's a Dell Vostro 1220 BTW, only a few weeks old.
 Laptop screen broken - Bellboy
wow
is it that easy to break them
 Laptop screen broken - smokie
I once opened up my laptop to find I'd sandwiched the plug end of a USB cable between the lid and keyboard. The screen had a perfectly clear imprint of it's shape. with spider lines going out to the edge - like an odd shaped bullet hole.

That was a work one too!!
 Laptop screen broken - Focusless
>> The screen had a perfectly clear imprint of it's shape.

Did it recover?
 Laptop screen broken - VxFan
>> The screen had a perfectly clear imprint of it's shape.

One of the flat screens at work has what looks like a bruise mark approx an inch in from the top that looks to be the shape of a thumb. We're guessing someone carried it incorrectly at some point in its life. Two years on, the mark is still there.
Last edited by: VxFan on Thu 25 Feb 10 at 00:34
 Laptop screen broken - Focusless
>> is it that easy to break them

Earlier today I would have said no :(

Manufacturing defect? If it really is a liquid in the LCD, I would have said that whatever should be containing it has split and it's leaked out. Or something.
 Laptop screen broken - rtj70
LCD = Liquid Crystal Display :-)
 Laptop screen broken - Focusless
>> LCD = Liquid Crystal Display :-)

Exactly, but for all know it's in microscopic amounts, or not a liquid in the conventional sense, and therefore not capable of 'leaking'.
 Laptop screen broken - rtj70
Ever pressed on an LCD screen without breaking it... it certainly behaves like a liquid to me.
 Laptop screen broken - Focusless
>> Ever pressed on an LCD screen without breaking it... it certainly behaves like a liquid
>> to me.

...which is why I made my original comment; I just thought someone might be able to back it up with some LCD facts. Because I'm too lazy to go to Wikipedia :-)
 Laptop screen broken - Zero
It is liquid, and its sandwiched between very thin layers,
hence capilary action make sit spread far and wide.

At one time i was in charge of warranty claims for a customer with a large number of laptops. That my friend is broken (you can see one of the cracks) and will never recover.
It is also thumb shaped so thats no defect and a non warranty claim.

 Laptop screen broken - Focusless
>> It is liquid and its sandwiched between very thin layers

Thanks Z. I believe it will be covered under accidental damage.

EDIT: whoops (if you spotted it) :-)
Last edited by: Focus on Thu 25 Feb 10 at 14:06
 Laptop screen broken - Focusless
As I said, it's covered anyway. But are they that easy to break? I had my previous laptop for over 3 years, and never had a problem like this.
 Laptop screen broken - Zero
They never used to be. IN the old days when the lid of an IBM laptop was made of titanium it was hard to break them like that. These days weight and a desire for thinness has made them much easier to break, specially the "grip it between thumb and fingers to pull it out of the laptop bag" break
 Laptop screen broken - Focusless
>> specially the "grip it between thumb and fingers to pull it out of the laptop bag" break

it was a rucksack :)
 Laptop screen broken - Focusless
>> Because I'm too lazy to go to Wikipedia :-)

ok - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_crystal

"Liquid crystals (LCs) are a state of matter that has properties between those of a conventional liquid and those of a solid crystal..."

But I haven't spotted whether the 'liquid' is held within some sort of pixel-sized containers., or whether it's just spread out in a single film, or something else.
 Laptop screen broken - rtj70
It's more complex than you can imagine though because of the need to make RGB colours.

And yes they can be broken fairly easy if something presses hard on the screen. I once or twice came close to breaking mind when closing the laptop lid with a pen resting above the keyboard ;-)
 Laptop screen broken - Focusless
>> I once or twice came close to breaking mind when closing the laptop lid with
>> a pen resting above the keyboard ;-)

I can understand hard pointy pens and USB plugs doing damage, but I would have thought that a relatively soft and squidgy thumb would be ok. Obviously not.
 Laptop screen broken - RattleandSmoke
Just bad luck really. A repair should be less than £100 though.
 Laptop screen broken - Focusless
>> Just bad luck really. A repair should be less than £100 though.

Dell engineer is coming to work tomorrow to replace it - won't cost anything.
 Laptop screen broken - Zero
100 Quid? you are joking. MUCH more than that.
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