Laptop screen issue.

  • Thread starter Negrumir
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Negrumir
I've got a Dell Inspiron 1564 and have had it for a few years now.

I've had this problem going on for months now, it never fully goes away, but it does render my computer unusable. Lately it's been getting much worse, so in an effort to get rid of it, I've decided to not put this off any longer. It might even be something simple after all.

When I open the laptop up and turn it on, the screen freaks out. That is to say colors flash and flicker, even white and black smear all over the place. (usually stretched vertically) If I wiggle the screen forward and back a few times, it usually fixes it and I'm able to see the the Dell logo followed by Windows 7 etc...

Thing is, it seems to have issues with black. Anything black or really dark will sometimes cause it to tint its vertical size all the way across the screen. If there were a black square that took up a quarter of the height of the screen and was placed in the top right of the screen; it would flicker and tint the screen all the way to the other side. (if that makes no sense, forget it.) Basically, blacks will flicker and mess up stuff around them.

Given that I can usually fix the problem by pivoting the screen, I think it might just be the wire. But...

Has anyone had any issue similar to this? If so, what was the problem? What things should I check out when I open this thing up to find the problem?

I worked at a computer repair shop for a few years so I mostly know what I'm doing. Never seen anything like this though.
 
It seems to be a well known problem that happens to the laptop. I'm reading that one user replaced the video cable, while another user replaced the power inverter board, which sounds more likely when you boot your computer up. The same user said that this does not happen when the laptop is plugged to the Power Adapter.
 
It seems to be a well known problem that happens to the laptop. I'm reading that one user replaced the video cable, while another user replaced the power inverter board, which sounds more likely when you boot your computer up. The same user said that this does not happen when the laptop is plugged to the Power Adapter.

Thanks, seems likely it's one of those items.

Also, this problem happens regardless of whether the power cable is plugged in or not.
 
If you leave it on and in a working position does it stay looking normal? What happens if you do this:

Computer on, get the screen position set to where it's usable.
Leave lid open and shut the computer down.
Turn computer back on, do you get the same result w/ flickering as when you open the lid? If it doesn't happen then I'd say it's the video signal cable.

I'd take it apart and check the cables. More than likely you'll have 2 sets of cables coming from the screen. You should have either one or two pairs of pink & white cables. These are for the power inverter. There is probably an antenna cable for your wireless card up there as well, but it usually doesn't "plug" into the LCD screen anywhere. The antenna cable will be easy to spot as it will usually plug into the mini-pci wireless card. The other should be for the video signal. I'd check that video signal cable for fraying or how it lays in the motherboard section of the laptop.

I'd probably look at a replacement screen. Found a few online between $50-$70 US.

http://www.screentekinc.com/froogle-series3-Dell--Inspiron--1564--15.6--wxga_hd--LED.shtml
 
If you leave it on and in a working position does it stay looking normal? What happens if you do this:

Computer on, get the screen position set to where it's usable.
Leave lid open and shut the computer down.
Turn computer back on, do you get the same result w/ flickering as when you open the lid? If it doesn't happen then I'd say it's the video signal cable.

Yup, it works fine if I leave it in a usable position and restart.
Makes me think it's the wires.

I'd be really awesome if the plug just wasn't seated properly... I don't think I'm that lucky though.
 
I've heard that the GPUs in these old Inspiron laptops go bad. You should either call dell :crazy:, or tackle it yourself. It should be easy to disassemble since all you have to do is remove the keyboard and button panel(with the power button and all) to access the video card and LCD. Also as a plus, dell offers the service manuals free:dopey:. Or it could just be the LVDS cable, but its up to you to find out whats wrong. Dig in my friend 👍
 
I don't think dell will help him if it's out of warranty. They will just try and sell him a warranty contract.
 
I don't think dell will help him if it's out of warranty. They will just try and sell him a warranty contract.

...Which they've been doing for a long while until I chewed out the person who kept calling me. :)

Anyway, I took this thing apart, looked around inside and didn't really find anything. Nothing seemed to be worn too much or obviously messed up. I unplugged, cleaned, scraped, and put back in all the plugs and wires I could find related to the screen.

And that fixed it. :)

It doesn't flicker any more, no odd looking bits on the screen at all.
In fact, my webcam has started working again (it stopped working a couple months after I got the thing, but I never used it so who cares).

Anyway, it was definitely a wire/connection issue. Hopefully this won't be a temporary fix, I'd love for this to be permanent.

If it's not, I'll just order the proper wires and put those in.

I somehow managed to make the touchpad stop working. Had to pop it open again and re-plug what I thought was the appropriate wire. Got it working again though so it's all good now.

So, problem solved.
Thanks for the help.
 
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