[Solved] Screen issue

[joddle]

Last year I picked up a cheap laptop - a Dell 6320 which I have been using for odd bits of work when away from home. I have been very pleased with it with an i5 processor and 8gb ram and it nips along at a fair speed so all in all I was very happy. However for the past 3 months my daughter has been hammering it somewhat - using it intensively for her university Graphics and IT design course and the poor thing has been being used 12 hours per day for a while now.

Last week she came to me saying there was something wrong with the PC - and sure enough there was - the screen display was only showing the bottom half an image, the rest obscured by vertical lines. Suspecting the screen connector may be dirty I unplugged the screen and cleaned the contacts and reassembled and for a moment or two it seems to have worked but then failed in the same way again. After anther two attempt the problem worsened an now only about a quarter of the screen shows with the rest the vertical lines.

The pc works perfectly with an external monitor so the graphics card is not the issue - it must therefore be one of two things - a) the screen panel has failed or b) the little cable to which it is fixed has failed - but which is it more likely to be?

Additionally the screen type does not seem to be the regular one for this machine type - having a 2cm 30 pin connector whereas the norm for the machine is a 2.5cm 40 p[in connector. The 40 pins ones can easily be found but the 30 pin ones seem to be as rare as rocking horse poo.

Before I invest in a new rather rare screen panel has anyone any suggestions?

 

[joddle]

An update. I removed the display panel again so I could get the type number from the back etc. but decided I don't have much to lose by playing with it a bit. So I re-fitted the cable and sure enough only a part of the screen was working properly but if I twisted the panel there are positions where the whole screen reappears. Normally however once I release the pressure the problem reoccurs. There are times if I put quite a bit of pressure on the screen panel the picture returns and stays for a while - but always later reverts to the fault condition. I notice when I do this the connector does not seem to be affected by the twisting so think perhaps it is the panel which is faulty.

I have enclosed a picture of the panel info and seem to be able to get one from the states but can't find one in Europe!

 

[joddle]

I think I realise I have been m,islwed by some descriptions of screens being advertised on a well known auction site. It appears my screen is actually "normal" and not an odd variant as first thought and now I have learned to read the serial number have found there are plenty of replacements on line

 

[Starbuck]

It would certainly seem to be a cable issue.
Have you ordered a new one?

 

[joddle]

I have a new one but not fitted it as it seems quite an operation to do - Still think it might be the panel and have the offer of one very cheap to check so will try that first and if it does not work then it will be digging into the guts to change the cable.

 

[joddle]

Well it was the screen - at lest putting in a cheap second hand replacement restored everything to normal and even with some pressure no changes to the display. In fact it is better then the old one so well pleased and very glad I did not have to take the laptop apart to change the cable!

 

[Starbuck]

Glad you got to the bottom of the problem.
Thanks for letting us know.