Prev: Non-functional Keys on Dell C610
Next: Installing Windows XP to Lenovo Y730
From: Justin on 23 Dec 2009 01:30
Hi folks, I have an old Gateway M320 with a line through the screen.
Here are a picture of the line - obviously I need to replace the screen.
http://www.imagebam.com/image/ad322960885145
I know its not the video drivers since the line is there before the OS
loads.

My first question is, what part number do I need to replace the screen?
I searched eBay for M320 LCD and I get some results with and without
the external plastic trim.

Then there is the broken plastic on the rear of the hinges - thanks to
somebody picking up the machine by the screen. Several times here are
the pictures of each hinge.
What do I need to replace that?
http://www.imagebam.com/image/bd140260885151
and
http://www.imagebam.com/image/3c46c160885152

Should I get the entire LCD screen plus the plastic trim to fix the line
and broken hinge? Kill two birds with one bullet?

From: Barry Watzman on 23 Dec 2009 12:17
Bull. In most cases, it's 2 screws or 4 screws, remove the bezel, and
then remove the LCD panel from the lid with another 4 screws. It is
usually no big deal; less of a deal than removing the lid from the base,
although in this instance the guy has bad hinges as well.

And this defect is in the panel itself. It is not a cable, at least not
one that you can do anything about. Normally it's one of the bonded
connections between the actual LCD glass and the driver board.


Ben Myers wrote:

>
> Agreed. Taking apart a laptop LCD screen is a tedious and
> time-consuming effort. And then there is getting it back together.
>
> The line is possibly caused by a kink in one of the cables going to the
> screen... Ben Myers
From: the wharf rat on 23 Dec 2009 06:38
In article <hgsdem$g46$1(a)news.eternal-september.org>,
Justin <justin(a)nobecauseihatespam.com> wrote:
>
>Should I get the entire LCD screen plus the plastic trim to fix the line
>and broken hinge? Kill two birds with one bullet?
>
Laptops almost always decompose into a top unit consisting of the
lcd screen and related components and the bottom unit consisting of everything
else :-) You can usually buy one or the other on the used market. Replacing
the entire unit at once is much easier than taking either one apart and
replacing a sub-assembly, so try to buy an entire top lid, plastic, LCD,
and all.


From: BillW50 on 23 Dec 2009 12:58
In news:hgtjc1$fuj$1(a)news.eternal-september.org,
Barry Watzman typed on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:17:47 -0500:
> Bull. In most cases, it's 2 screws or 4 screws, remove the bezel, and
> then remove the LCD panel from the lid with another 4 screws. It is
> usually no big deal; less of a deal than removing the lid from the
> base, although in this instance the guy has bad hinges as well.

I agree, but it is a bit more screws than that. The Gateway MX6000
series for example, has 6 bezel screws, two bottom ones are longer
screws. Although I think the LCD does have 4 screws, but I believe part
of the hinge needs some of the screws removed too.

Removing the whole top lid is a just a few less screws. First open the
bottom trap door for the WiFi and remove the two antenna connectors and
push them through the hole. Then remove the two for the top keyboard
panel (found on the backside of the hinge) and it then just pops off.
Now lift the keyboard and unplug the video cable and make sure the
antenna wires are free. Now you have four screws (two on each hinge) to
remove and you are good to go.

One big warning: Try to *not* flex the hinge while the top keyboard
cover is removed. As it also adds support for the hinges and especially
the left hinge base. As if you try to move the top lid, this can easily
snap off the hinge mount from the bottom base. As now you need to
replace the whole bottom shell which cost a lot of money ($50 to $120
used) for a piece of plastic. Or buy that hinge repair from that guy on
eBay for about $46.

--
Bill
Gateway MX6124 ('06 era) - Windows XP SP2


From: Justin on 23 Dec 2009 14:20
On 12/23/2009 10:35 AM, BillW50 wrote:
> In news:hgsdem$g46$1(a)news.eternal-september.org,
> Justin typed on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:30:43 -0500:
>> Hi folks, I have an old Gateway M320 with a line through the screen.
>> Here are a picture of the line - obviously I need to replace the
>> screen. http://www.imagebam.com/image/ad322960885145
>> I know its not the video drivers since the line is there before the OS
>> loads.
>>
>> My first question is, what part number do I need to replace the
>> screen? I searched eBay for M320 LCD and I get some results with and
>> without the external plastic trim.
>
> Hi Justin! Well that could be the LCD, video cable, or video card on the
> motherboard. Does it look okay on an external monitor? If so, it there
> is a good chance that another LCD will take care of it. But no
> guarantees.

Yes, it looks fine on an external monitor.
Should I replace the cable first? Can I check just the cable? I should
probably download a service manual.

>
>> Then there is the broken plastic on the rear of the hinges - thanks to
>> somebody picking up the machine by the screen. Several times here are
>> the pictures of each hinge.
>> What do I need to replace that?
>> http://www.imagebam.com/image/bd140260885151
>> and
>> http://www.imagebam.com/image/3c46c160885152
>>
>> Should I get the entire LCD screen plus the plastic trim to fix the
>> line and broken hinge? Kill two birds with one bullet?
>
> Yes most definitely. I've never seen the Gateway hinges break there. You
> lucked out. As usually they break off from the bottom clamshell. And it
> is usually only the left one. And the old fix was to replace the whole
> bottom case. And used prices were outrages. Although the prices has
> dropped a lot since one bright guy has manufactured an aluminum block
> that screws into the video port socket. Like this one, eBay #
> 320466252183.

They didn't break. They were broken. I have a Macbook Pro now and the
person who broke the damn thing by picking it up by the screen isn't
allowed near my machines anymore.
Problem solved.

>
> Speaking about lifting up a machine by the screen, which is usually a
> bad thing to do. But I noticed these Asus EeePC 700 series netbooks,
> this practice is just fine. As the lid and the hinges can support the
> weight many times over the weight of the netbook itself.
>

Those Netbooks are lightweight enough that its probably OK to do that.
My plan is to get it into somewhat decent shape and eBay it - or use it
as a Linux machine. I wouldn't mind having a POS laptop that I can take
somewhere and not care about.
The hard drive went bac on this thing two years ago, and I'm int he
process of getting another one. I also repalced the keyboard for a
whole $7.00.

So in summary, I should look for a cheap LCD assembly off eBay. The
cheapest one I found was $86 off eBay. I tried to make an offer but he
declined. $86 is more than half the value of the entire machine.
I'll wait a bit and keep looking, maybe somethign will turn up after
Christmas.
 |  Next  |  Last
Pages: 1 2
Prev: Non-functional Keys on Dell C610
Next: Installing Windows XP to Lenovo Y730