acer aspire dull screen

Hank_Marvin · 29 Oct 2008 at 17:06

hi, i've been given an acer aspire laptop to fix, cant remember the exact model as the laptop isnt with me currently but its about 3-4 years old.

so the main problem is a very dull screen, you can only just see windows.

so ive looked around and seen you can replace the inverter, is it likely to be the inverter?

also that you can replace a bulb, could it be that?

i presume its not the actual panel as you can still see everything but like i said very dull.

thanks in advance

Aod · 29 Oct 2008 at 17:29

if the inverter was duff you wouldn't have any light emission at all.

its possible the CCFL's have reached the end of their lifespan, it's possible if it's a really cheap panel.

its FAR more likely, however that by pressing Fn + "whatever" the user has turned the brightness down accidentally. as far as i can remember, Acer's can go to very low backlight levels.

you will find it very difficult to replace the "bulbs" as the CCFL's are extremely small, and are usually built into the panel itself. last laptop panel i took apart, the CCFL's shattered when i removed the casing. your mileage may vary.

Hank_Marvin · 29 Oct 2008 at 17:40

yer i suspected the they may have turned brightness down, but i turned it up via the fn keys plus the ati panel and no difference.

hmmm so possibly a replacement screen or game over. seen some apparent replacement screens for around £100

any1 else care to shed some light

beermonster · 29 Oct 2008 at 22:20

is there any backlight at all or is it as though its unlight?, ie you can see colours but they're almost black, if this is the case then it will be the inverter or the panel, as stated above the bulb is part of the panel, also check to see if there is like a dim switch along the back near the edge sometimes they can get stuck down.

Hank_Marvin · 30 Oct 2008 at 09:09

well its like totally dull all over no light spots, just total dark coverage and just being able to make out the desktop.

so basically the inverter is the first step as their cheaper then new panels?

hmmm done a lot of pc hardware stuff, never a laptop, anything to look out for when replacing the inverter?

cheers dudes

Aod · 30 Oct 2008 at 12:58

Hank_Marvin said:
well its like totally dull all over no light spots, just total dark coverage and just being able to make out the desktop.

so basically the inverter is the first step as their cheaper then new panels?

hmmm done a lot of pc hardware stuff, never a laptop, anything to look out for when replacing the inverter?

cheers dudes

the location of the inverter will depend on the precise model of laptop. i reccomend that you look for dissassembly instructions on the internet, as taking laptops apart is usually very illogical, with hidden catches and latches and screws and sumsuch.

Hank_Marvin · 30 Oct 2008 at 16:08

lol sounds like a puzzle.

well i'll price it up, he may not even want to go thru with it being a 4 year old laptop.

cheers dudes

beermonster · 30 Oct 2008 at 18:26

disconnect the mains and take the battery out, then its usually between 2-8 screws to take the lcd bezel (surround) off they'll be hidden under screw masks (plastic/rubber), then gently pull it from the screen bit by bit rather than in one go, you might need to split the casing with an old credit card or similar, then you should be left looking at the bare panel and an inverter under the screen connected by 2 cables and maybe screwed in by 1 or 2 screws, gently pop the cables out using a small flat jewellers screwdriver if they dont just pull out, then replace and refit,

if you get stuck report back :cool:

Hank_Marvin · 31 Oct 2008 at 09:53

cheers man, well, ive left it with them if they want to go ahead, its not the only fault so we shall see. thanks a lot , very helpful

AtreuS · 31 Oct 2008 at 10:16

I got given a laptop with the same problem, im pretty sure its the inverter but the cheapest one i can find for the model is £50 from fleabay! im not spending £50 only to find out its NOT the inverter but the bulbs

Scream · 31 Oct 2008 at 18:21

Interesting thread this cause I have been setting up dozens of new laptops this past week and I took mine with me yesterday and the first thing I noticed was dullness of my screen. Its like the brightness has been turned down but its as high as it goes. I thought it was my eyes when I noticed that my whites looked more grey than white and when I had my laptop next to a new laptop, it showed up how bad my laptop screen has become over the past 3 years. I don't know if its down to Vista when I installed it a year or so ago but now that I've played with nice bright laptops screens, the more it gets to me when working on my dell inspiron.

Is this down to the invertor or like mentioned above, its the bulbs?