Heelllllp!

oops_a_daisy

shameless bump of my own thread to ask another question :rolleyes:

Well I took my laptop into the local computer shop for them to have a look at. The guy said that it could be any one of three things - connectors not connecting, something else to do with the connector (sorry can not remember exactly what he said) or the screen has 'gone' so I have left it with them and they are going to phone me with a quote in a few days.
My question is how much should I expect to pay to either fix or replace the screen?

thanks for all of your help

bookduck

this 4 year old probably will not be worth fixing, depending on how you see its value.

mini_huny_money had good advice, and this would have determined if the laptop was working or not.

I'd guess that the screen will cost about £200 and about 2 hours labour - depending how familiar he is with the model, of which you never told us and is not important any more.

Now if it is part of the screen i.e lamps or inverter and he just replaces the faulty bits then it may be even cheaper.

3 weeks ago I threw away 2 Dell working laptop LCDs screens (attached to duff laptops) - funny world isnt it.

Ask for your old screen back beforehand as he may just change the inverter and charge you for a new screen.

wakandem

The motherboard or the screen may have gone. Screens normally flicker like a tube light that has blown when they have gone. Be very wary of the repair shop. They will probably charge an extortionate amount to replace the screen whether needed or not.

They will probably offer you hardly any money for it stating the screen has gone, & it would be uneconomical to fix, when they have a working screen in the back ( & more than likely your screen is ok, or just needs a bulb replaced) that they can use and sell the laptop to someone else for a extortionate amount.

Or if it is the MB they will say it is uneconomical or extortionate to fix, offer you hardly any money for it . Grab an old lappy out the back with the same MB . Slot it in there and sell the rebuilt laptop for an extortionate amount of money.

IT is how a repair shop works I'm afraid. All they want is pple to bring in broken stuff that is easy to fix and cheap, tell them it will cost extortionate amount to fix, get the broken product, fix it up and sell for an extortionate amount of money or if the customer wants it fixed for an extortionate amount, they will be happy to oblige.

So put the old one up on e-bay, for some reason 2nd hand laptops are massively overpriced no matter the condition & get a new one

oops_a_daisy

thanks for all the advice. The computer shop have just phoned and said that they think it is the invertor and quoted £250 just for the part plus I owe them £40 for the diagnostics so I think I am going to have to write it off and get a new one. When you add in whatever they will charge to fit the invertor I will probably get a new one for that amount. They have quoted £50 to back up the data which they would reduce if i bought a new one from them - I said I will think about it. It is or rather was a Dell Ispiron ( cant remember the number though )

bookduck

think it is the invertor..... Do they wear cowboy hats?! They must think it is Xmas! Pay the the £40 and take the laptop and leave!

The cheap way - google/ebay the words inverter dell (laptop type + model) and replace it yourself (or get a friend to do it) - make sure the is no power/battery going to the PC when doing this!!! you will find they are about $30 from the US - about £20-ish with P&P

The expensive way - Buy a new laptop. Go to ebuyer and buy a usb drive caddy for your laptop drive and put the laptop drive in that

oops_a_daisy

have found this one on Ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dell-100L-1150-5150-5160-D510-D520-15-screen-inverter_W0QQitemZ260191359851QQihZ016QQcategoryZ31569QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD7VQQcmdZViewItem would this one be alright ? £29.95 incl delivery from the UK but it is a refurb so not sure. I did a search but none came up for the USA

bookduck

in all the post you never told us what model dell you had - so it looks right.

I think all that the shop did was to plug it into a monitor. They saw a picture, knew the lappy was working, so no Pic on LCD and deduced it is the only thing left and they are going to charge for a replacement screen just in case it is the screen and not the inverter. You could have saved your self £40 by plugging it into a monitor in the first place .

Before you do the below, are you using the laptop as a portable device or just a space saving PC, because if it i just space saving, then probably a monitor might be a viable alternative.

I want 3 things from you:
(1) go to the dell site and download the manual for the lappy.
(2) find out Exactly which keys on the keyboard to press to make it switch monitor /display/vdu modes.
(3) take it to a friend who has a monitor, plug it in there and press the keys as per manual - the external monitor should be on 2 out of the 3 time you press (so should the lcd too-if it works)

To be sure it is the inverter, you will have to get someone who know what they are doing with electrics and/or electronics like an electrician, and get them to measure the output of the inverter *** on startup there can on some models be around 1500 Volts. Tell them this BEFORE they put their instruments on it***

It does sound like the supply of the inverter as you see the initial strike - high voltage flash, but there is no follow up voltage to keep it illuminated.

oops_a_daisy

thanks again Bookduck - sorry to be a pest. I use the laptop as a portable device. My Dads' computer is a desktop so I will print off your instructions and try it there. My Dad has one of those instruments that detects electricity in a wall - is that the sort of thing you mean by measuring the output? I am sorry but I dont know any electricians or computer experts that live close by :rolleyes: a friend of mines' daughter is married to a guy who knows about computers but they live 150 miles away so I need to be sure before I try to organise something.

bookduck

oops_a_daisy wrote: »

.... My Dad has one of those instruments that detects electricity in a wall - is that the sort of thing you mean by measuring the output? .....

No, no, no! I think I can smell a fried oopsadaisy somewhere?

I ideally meant a multimeter with a high voltage probe. Or a multimeter with a good designed and well spaced voltage divider. Remember those amps, volts and ohms in science that you thought you'd never use?

oops_a_daisy

bookduck wrote: »

No, no, no! I think I can smell a fried oopsadaisy somewhere?

I ideally meant a multimeter with a high voltage probe. Or a multimeter with a good designed and well spaced voltage divider. Remember those amps, volts and ohms in science that you thought you'd never use?

:rotfl: I live up to my name :rolleyes: school was a very long time ago right I have just spoken to a friend of mine who has a neighbour who is good with computers so she is going to ask next time she sees him. The lengths I will go to to save money :rotfl: