Laptop "Bulb Gone"

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Hi all

I have been given a Dell (Model to follow) laptop from my mother-in-law as she says the screen "does not work". She took it into a local PC repair shop who stated it needs a "new bulb/light" and that it will cost her about £100.

Now i am sure you can buy new screens etc for peanuts and that fitting them is quite simple. Is this the case?
 
probably the inverter its seperate from the screen...

if you can see a picture but its very faint its probably the inverter...

the part if cheap @ £10 to £20 ish i think its either very easy to fit, not so easy, very hard or almost impossible - all depensing on the model and how adept you are at getting the laptop appart...

there is also the gamble that its not the inverter, or you break / dammage something getting the laptop appart...
 
Its the inverter as the screen is visible but VERY faint.

The Laptop is a Dell Inspiron 1300.

From your experience is this a simple process? I will give it a shot and maybe "google" the walk-through
 
Depending on the laptop it ranges from 'bloody difficult' to 'impossible without mangling the case'. Personally I'd source the backlight bulb (less than a tenner) and the inverter yourself and just take it down to your local computer shop.
 
It could be the bulb or in inverter, you would not know until you replaced the inverter. Usually the inverter is relatively easy to replace and is usually connected to the screen by a clip on cable ( easy in the sense that you know how to stip down a laptop without destroying it ).

If you need to replace the bulb then thats usually a real ball-ache unless you handle screens a lot. The bulb is sealed into the LCD unit and its not easy to switch. Quite often it is almost impossible to do unless you have experiance and the right equipment and parts on hand. May as well just price up a whole new LCD and replace it in one go.

If you source a bulb and inverter expect to pay at least £50 for someone to fit it for you, and even than its no gaurantee it will work. I would only do the job if i sourced the parts myself.
 
Just googling laptop repairs/faults etc. will bring up a few sites with detail diagnosis and repair instructions for common faults like this e.g. http://www.laptopscreen.com/English/article/Quick+fix+tips+for+simple+screen+issues/

Last vaio inverters I looked at were a fiver which is why it's usually worth a punt even if it only tell you it's the bulb that died instead as you can simply buy and fit one as well (still saving £50+ in labour costs). If your technically inclined all you usually bnee to do is locate the service manual http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1300/en/sm/index.htm , screwdrivers and AS mat/wristband.
 
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