A few days ago, I had to do some clean up work for a computer company that, well let's just say, doesn't build their laptops with internal roll cages. My friend's laptop got a giant crack in the screen that rendered it useless. He ended up buying a new laptop, but I did suggest getting his old screen fixed. He said he had looked into it, but it would cost almost as much as a whole new computer! I was very surprised to hear this, and asked him if he was willing to let me give it a try. After I calmly explained to him that the hard drive still works even though the screen is broken, and it is worth fixing, he agreed. I found a new screen on ebay for $100 (a fraction of what a professional repair goes for), he ordered it, and it arrived a couple days later.
Friday night, after spending a few hours in lab struggling to code our simple music player to display sine waves on the screen, I returned to my room anxious to successfully fix something. Of course, I Googled up some step by step instructions on replacing the lcd, and was glad to find one that did not necessitate opening up the main computer body, like some poor soul unfortunately thought was necessary. I followed these instructions, which just involved opening the screen half. With a cup of Hi-Rev mocha in my system, instructions on my Lenovo W500, and a tiny screwdriver that I got at a career fair (thanks, L3 Communications!), I proceeded to perform this two hour surgery, at 3 in the morning. It was very fun, and the only hiccups I ran into were replacing the hinge cover and getting the bezel to snap back in place flush with the rest. I had to carve out some plastic and use a little double-faced tape to get over these obstacles, but in the end, I turned it on, and Voila, the computer was good as new!
As much as I enjoyed fixing this computer, I'd just like to point out that this probably would not have happened if my friend had a Lenovo ThinkPad, with it's built-in magnesium roll cage. While the laptop in question may win the "pretty" award, with its rounded edges and softly glowing fruit logo, it is just not engineered to be as robust and tough as the ThinkPads. If some unknown force caused the computer screen to crack, there's certainly no way it would survive a 4 foot drop like the ThinkPad can, not that I'd advise doing that!
Anyways, here are a few pictures of the surgery
And afterward: all's well! (sorry I don't have a before picture, but just imagine only being able to see a 2 inch triangle in the upper right corner)
Lenovo offers ThinkPad Protection service, which provides up to 3 years of quick, worry-free repair or replacement due to damage from drops and falls, electrical surges, liquid spills, and LCD damage. This is a great way to lower your notebook's total cost by extending its life and protecting your investment. Not everyone has a friend like me who will replace their LCD for free (instead of paying upwards of $600), so if you don't want to worry, get ThinkPad Protection.
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