Replacing LCD Laptop Screen - Illustrated how to replace an Apple PowerBook laptop screen

Always remove the battery before you start taking apart any laptop. This Apple PowerBook locks the battery in place with a single slider, most new laptops use two slide locks. But before you hurry ahead to replace the laptop screen, stop and troubleshoot for a minute. If the LCD has a crack running through the glass, little black dots or color spots that are always in the same place and can't be cleaned off, or total failure of stripes or blocks in the display area, it clearly needs to be replaced. But if the whole screen is black or white, it's probably a problem with the cable, the integrated video controller or the backlight/inverter.
	There aren't too many different ways to completely remove the lid of a laptop, you generally start with screws hidden by rubber stoppers on the hinges on older models. In some designs, the rubber stoppers also cushion the lid from the body when the screen is closed. Apple PowerBooks of this generation were built with torx screws, but you can usually get by without buying the special small torx tips. If you have a decent jewelers screwdriver set, the largest standard screwdriver that fits tight across the torx head will normally turn it.
The LCD panel, which looks like glass sandwich with metal borders, is mounted beneath a plastic bezel framework. The framework on this PowerBook is only secured by the two screws and is hinged at the top of the lid with a plastic tab. On most laptop models, there are four screws around the edges with rubber stoppers to dress them up. You can see the blue metallic foil that covers the electronics around the edges of the LCD to reduce radio frequency emissions. The picture also shows the balance spring that keeps the laptop screen in position when you move the lid to your preferred viewing angle.
	I'm not aware of any laptop manufacturers today who actually build their own LCDs, though I wouldn't be surprised if one of the Korean or European brands does so. The screens were generally sourced from a few major LCD manufacturers, such as Sharp in the case of this PowerBook, but more likely to be a Chinese maker you wouldn't recognize today. The LCD is fixed to the back of lid, a clamshell design in this case, by a screw in each of the four corners. The inverter power for the backlight is provided by the white wires running up the right side of the picture, while the video cable was routed through the left hinge.
This PowerBook used a variety of connector systems for the video ribbon cables. The main video connector was a simple push in, with no latch, but as with any laptop, you want to make sure that you aren't pulling the flat ribbon out a connector that's affixed to the end of the cable. When the manufacturer is smart, they make the connector on the circuit board a different color than the connector on the cable, and put a ridge on one of them that lets you pry the connectors apart without pulling on the cable. The picture shows how a simple screwdriver twist can separate the ribbon cable connector from the circuit board on the LCD
	The picture to the left shows how this Sharp LCD would look fresh from the manufacturer or a parts vendor. You can see the connectors for the ribbon cables at the top and the bottom of the right side of the assemble. The connector for the backlighting is on the left side. In the picture below, we're connecting the backlight power to the inverter, without which the screen would display images but they would be so dim you'd need to shine a bright light at the screen on an angle to see their ghosts.
Once you've removed the old laptop screen, you know how to install the new LCD because you just reverse the process. Save the inverter connection for last, after you connect the video ribbon cables and secure the LCD to the lid with its four screws. Double check all the connections, and make sure that the inverter wiring doesn't get pinched under the plastic framework when you lower it back over the screen. Also keep an eye out for any RF filter in the line that might get caught in the wrong place. The last step, after you power up the laptop and confirm that the screen works, is to replace the little rubber stoppers over the two hinge screws.
	You wouldn't believe how many e-mails I've gotten over the years from people who start by telling me they replaced their laptop LCD but the screen still won't light up. You have to troubleshoot the problem before you rush into buying parts, which is what The Laptop Repair Workbook is all about. I included an introductory section to basic LCD technology, and a detailed flowchart for troubleshooting laptop display failures. The 191 page printable eBook is available for purchase for as an instant download anywhere in the world for $13.95.

Foner Books Home | The Laptop Repair Workbook | Contact