I had a major problem with the LCD display in my Dell Inspiron 600m laptop this past weekend. Everything was working fine all day Saturday. That night however, I went to use my laptop and the screen started acting weird. It looked fuzzy and things were flashing around. So I restarted the it to see if things would clear up. They only got worse. I shut down the laptop and decided to give it a day of rest. Sunday night I booted it back up. The screen was really bad now. The dell logo was all over the place on the boot screen. And when it got to Windows all that showed up were some vertical bars. I decided to take the lcd display apart and see if anything was loose, or if I could spot any other problems. I never figured out what was wrong, but I figured I would take some pictures and write an article about how to disassemble a Dell laptop lcd display.
First disconnect both the power and the battery. Then open the display all the way so that the whole thing is flat. Starting from the side with the display lights, pry the front panel off of the laptop, as seen below.
First disconnect both the power and the battery. Then open the display all the way so that the whole thing is flat. Starting from the side with the display lights, pry the front panel off of the laptop, as seen below.
After the plate is removed, unscrew the five screws circled below with a philips screwdriver.
Then remove the keyboard, by pushing it forward and prying it up. It is a little tricky, but it basically just pops out. Then remove the display connector circled below.
Then you can pull the whole display out. Once it is away from the rest of the laptop, remove the six little protective rubber pads circled below and unscrew the screws hidden beneath. The pads peel off with a little effort, and suprisingly when they are put back on they stick nicely without any extra glue.
After the screws are off, carefully pry the bezel away from the lcd with your fingers. Start at the dell logo and carefully pry it all the way around.
Here is a picture of the lcd with the bezel removed. If you notice the tab at the bottom of the display, there are some components down there, but I didn’t remove the piece covering them.
Next remove the six screws that hold the lcd into the plastic backing. The are located along the sides. I have circled one below.
Then you can pull the lcd part away by itself. I have included a picture of the back of the lcd here. It says do not touch all over the top, because etched in the plastic is a warning that it contains mercury that is harmful to the touch.
Well now the display is disassembled. It can easily be put back together. I never figured out what was wrong with mine, but I think it has something to do with the little pieces at the bottom of the display. I found the following diagram from the dell manual very helpful in disecing my display.
Most of the Dell laptops that I have seen that are new, or made within the last four years have displays that look similar to what I have shown above. So I would assume that similar processes would be useful for other dell laptops. Remember to be very careful as it is easy to break the lcd. Also, if your laptop is under warranty (mine isn’t anymore) it is probably a better idea to call dell and have them repair it.