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A backlight lamp (also know as backlight bulb, screen backlight, CCFL tube or bulb) is
the main and only source of light in a laptop LCD screen. A typical laptop LCD screen
has only one backlight lamp installed. The backlight lamp mounts inside the laptop
screen in the lower part of the screen as it outlined on the picture above.
A pair of cables with one connector coming from the screen plugs into the screen inverter
board.
The backlight lamp receives high voltage AC power from the screen inverter board which
receives low voltage DC power from the motherboard via the LCD screen cable as it
shown on the picture below.
On the next picture you see a typical backlight lamp removed from a typical laptop LCD
screen. There are two cables soldered to both sides of the backlight lamp attached to one
connector.
Laptop inverter boards (also know as LCD inverter, FL inverter, screen inverter,
backlight inverter) come in different shapes and sizes. On the picture above you see some
typical looking inverter boards found in laptop computers.
The inverter board works as a power supply for the backlight lamp mounted inside the
LCD screen. The inverter board converts low voltage DC power (few volts) supplied by
the motherboard to high voltage AC power (few hundred volts) needed for the backlight
lamp.
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When the inverter board works properly, the backlight lamp gets power and the LCD
screen lights up. As a result, the image on the screen is bright.
HOW INVERTER CONNECTED TO LDC SCREEN
On the picture below you can see a typical laptop display assembly which includes the
LCD screen, video cable and inverter board.
One side of the inverter board connects to the backlight lamp and another side to the
video cable (LCD screen cable).
A laptop LCD cable also known as video cable, display cable or screen cable. This cable
transfers data signal from the motherboard and video card to the LCD screen. Also, most
video cables supply high voltage DC power to the screen inverter.
On the picture you can see a typical laptop video cable. The cable has three ends with
three connectors. One end plugs into the connector on the back of the LCD screen, the
second end plugs into the inverter board, the third end plugs into the connector on the
motherboard or video card.
The top part of the cable runs inside the laptop display panel between the LCD screen and
display cover.
The bottom part of the cable could be found either under the keyboard or keyboard bezel.
In order to remove and replace the LCD cable, it will be necessary to disassemble the
whole laptop.
LCD CABLE RELATED PROBLEMS
1. The image on the screen appears normal until you move the display up or down. When
you move the display, the images on the entire screen starts to flicker, disappear or
change collors. As soon as you stop moving the display, the image gets back to normal.
2. The LCD screen lights up but there is no image at all. The entire screen is blank. An
external monitor connected to the laptop VGA port works fine, there is no problems with
the external video output at all.
3. Image on the entire LCD screen is garbled. An external monitor works fine.
In many cases the video cable failures are very similar to the LCD screen failures.
Display hinges
Display hinges connect two halves of a laptop - the display panel and base assembly. All
regular laptops have two hinges located on the left and right sides of the display panel.
Tablet PCs have one hinge-swivel located in the middle of the display.
The LCD screen mounts to the the screen mounting brackets which are permanently
attached to the display hinges. There are two or more screws securing the LCD screen to
each mounting bracket.
The display hinges are not repairable. If the hinge is broken or too loose to keep the
display in an open position, you have to replace it with a new one.
On the picture below you see a laptop with removed LCD screen.
In order to remove and replace hinges, youll have to disassemble both, the display panel
and laptop base.
HINGE RELATED PROBLEMS
1. The laptop display feels loose. It will stay in the up position, but when you move the
display it feels floppy.
First of all, try tightening screws securing both hinges to the laptop base and display
cover. If tightening screws doesnt help, apparently your hinges are worn out and will
have to be replaced soon.
2. The display will not stat in the up position. When you open the display and leave it in
the up position, it falls back.
Most likely one or both hinges are broken and have to be replaced. Even if only one
hinge is broken, I would recommend replacing both hinges because the second one is
worn out and could break too in the near future.
Keyboard
In laptops, a keyboard is the main input device. Its interface between a user and a laptop.
In most laptops the keyboard is connected directly to the motherboard via a flat ribbon
cable.
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STEP 2.
Unscrew the keyboard from the laptop base. Usually there is one or more screws securing
the keyboard.
STEP 3.
Disconnect the keyboard cable from the motherboard and remove the keyboard.
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Most modern laptops are equipped with a CD/DVD-RW drive also known as an optical
disc drive which allows it to read and write data from or to a CD/DVD disc. All laptop
CD/DVD drives are shaped the same but they all have different face plates also know as
front bezels. On the picture above you can see three different laptop CD/DVD drives with
different face plates/front bezels.
When you are replacing a failed CD/DVD drive, you have to make sure that the face
plate from the old drive will fit your new drive.
On the picture below you can see two different types of connectors found in modern
CD/DVD optical disc drives. One drive has a SATA connector and the other one has an
older slim ATAPI connector.
An optical disc drive with a SATA connector is not interchangeable with an optical disc
drive with a slim ATAPI connector and vice versa. In other words, if your laptop
motherboard comes with a SATA connector for the optical drive, you can only use
CD/DVD drives with SATA connectors.
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On the next picture I compare a SATA connector used in laptop hard drives with a SATA
connector used in CD/DVD drives. As you see, these two connectors are a little bit
different. The data connector (right connector) is shaped similarly for both drives, but the
power connector (left connector) is shaped differently.
By the way, you can connect a 2.5 laptop SATA hard drive to a desktop computer using
same cables as you use for a regular 3.5 desktop hard drive.
In order to connect a Slimline SATA optical CD/DVD drive to a desktop computer,
youll have to purchase the Slimline SATA Cable
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If you are replacing the CD/DVD disc drive in your laptop with a new one, make sure
your new drive is compatible with the laptop. The best way to find a new optical disc
drive is searching by the manufacturers part number found on the old drive.
When you install an optical drive which is not compatible with your laptop, it will not be
recognized by the BIOS or youll get an IDE #1 ERROR on start up.
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On some other models, the optical drive is secured by one or two screws located under
the keyboard. If thats the case, youll have to remove the keyboard first. After that
remove those screws and pull the drive from the laptop.
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PC133 modules are backward compatible with PC100 modules. If your laptop requires a
PC100 memory module, you can safely use a PC133 module but it will run at PC100
speed.
2. DDR SO-DIMM memory has 200 pins.
PC2100 (DDR266) modules running at 266MHz.
PC2700 (DDR333) modules running at 333MHz.
PC2700 memory is backward compatible with PC2100 memory. If your laptop requires a
PC2100 module, you can safely use a PC2700 module but it will run at PC2100 speed.
DDR memory modules are not backward compatible with SDRAM modules.
3. DDR2 SO-DIMM memory has 200 pins.
PC2-3200 (DDR2-400) running at 200MHz.
PC2-4200 (DDR2-533) running at 266MHz.
PC2-5300 (DDR2-667) running at 333MHz.
PC2-6400 (DDR2-800) running at 400MHz.
Faster DDR2 memory modules are backward compatible with slower DDR2 memory
modules. For example, if your laptop requires a PC2-4200 memory module you can
safely use a PC2-5300 module but it will run at PC2-4200 speed.
DDR2 memory modules are not backward compatible with DDR modules. The notch on
DDR2 is located in a different position from DDR.
WHERE MEMORY MODULES ARE LOCATED.
In a laptop computer memory slots could be found in a few different locations, it depends
on the brand and model of the laptop.
1. Both memory slots can be accessed from the door on the bottom.
2. One slot is located on the bottom and another one under the keyboard.
3. Both memory slots are located under the keyboard.
4. There is only one memory slot available for upgrades. The main memory is integrated
into the motherboard.
HOW TO REMOVE MEMORY MODULE FROM THE SLOT.
Step1.
Release latches on both sides from the memory module with your fingers.
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Step2.
The memory module will pop up at a 20-30 degree angle.
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Step3.
Carefully pull the memory module from the slot by the edges.
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In most laptops the audio board also know as sound board is integrated into the
motherboard. In other words, its a part of the motherboard and cannot be removed or
replaced separately.
Why the audio board cannot be removed? Because the audio chip is soldered to the
motherboard.
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If the audio board fails, youll have to replace the whole motherboard.
AUDIO BOARD FAILURE SYMPTOMS AND TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS.
1. There is no sound from internal speakers or headphones.
2. Headphones are working fine but there is no sound coming from the laptop speakers.
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Most newer laptops come with a build-in web camera also known as webcam. The web
camera is located on the top of the display panel. Some people think the web camera is a
part of the LCD screen but its not. The web camera is a separate module which is
mounted inside the display panel above the LCD screen.
On the picture below you see a laptop display with removed bezel. The web camera
module is glued to the display cover. The web camera is connected to the system board
via a cable which plugs into the connector on the right side of the web camera board.
The web camera cable runs alone the right side of the LCD screen.
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The web camera board and LCD screen are two separate modules and can be removed
and replaced separately.
WEB CAMERA RELATED PROBLEMS.
Lets say your web camera stopped working. You can see the camera detected in the
device manager, but it will not work. What can you do? Try reinstalling the webcam
driver and most likely the problem will be fixes.
Heres how you can reinstall the driver.
Go to the device manager and find the webcam. It might be listed in USB devices. Right
click on the webcam entry and uninstall the driver. Now restart the laptop. When it boots,
the laptop will detect the webcam and install the driver. Does it work for you?
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Cooling fan
A CPU cooling fan is a dedicated fan which cools down the heatsink and eventually the
CPU (Processor). Usually the CPU cooling fan comes as a part of the heatsink assembly a metal part drawing heat from the CPU chip. In addition to the CPU cooling fan, some
laptops have a dedicated GPU (graphics processing unit) fan which cools down the GPU
chip.
The CPU and GPU cooling fans connect directly to the motherboard via a cable running
from the fan. When CPU and GPU chips get hotter, the cooling fan spins faster.
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If you cannot find it on the bottom, then its buried inside the case, as on the following
Dell laptop.
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Heres another type of CMOS battery. Basically, its two coin cell batteries but they are
bundled together and have a cable which plugs into the system board. This battery is
removable and replaceable.
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On the next picture you see a CMOS battery which is soldered to the system board. In
order to replace this type of battery, youll have to unsolder it from the system board.
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In some laptops the CMOS battery is hidden under the keyboard. As an example I took a
HP Compaq nc6400 laptop.
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Heres the worst case scenario. The CMOS battery is hidden under the laptop cover. In
order to access and replace the battery youll have to disassemble the whole laptop. As an
example I took a Toshiba Satellite A305 laptop.
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