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This guide explains how to remove the display assembly from a Dell XPS M1530 laptop.
Question: Is it necessary to remove the whole display assembly from the laptop if I want to replace the LCD screen?
Answer: No, it’s not necessary. You can replace the LCD screen while the display assembly is still attached to the laptop.
In order to replace the LCD screen you’ll have to:
1. Remove the display bezel.
2. Remove all screws securing the LCD screen to the display cover.
3. Removed display hinges.
3. Disconnect the video cable and remove the screen.
You can find a new LCD screen replacement for Dell XPS M1530 here.
Questions: It looks like the inverter board is attached to the LCD screen. Can I replace the inverter without replacing the screen?
Answer: Yes, you can deattach the inverter board from the LCD screen and replace it separately.
The above mentioned disassembly guide is a good visual supplement to the official service manual for XPS M1530 series laptops.
UPDATE:
1. In this guide guide I explain how to clean or replacing the cooling fan in a Dell XPS M1530 laptop.
2. In this guide I explain how to remove the LCD screen and inverter board from a Dell XPS M1530 laptop.
If you find this article useful, please consider making a donation to the author. Thank you!
July 12th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I have a Dell XPS M1710 notebook and it has a problem with the screen. It’s out of warranty. When I turn my notebook on it start fine and works fine for about 10-15 minutes. After that the screen goes really dark. I still can see that there is a very faint image on the screen. After I restart the notebook the screen is bright again but it goes off soon. Do you think I have to buy a new screen?
July 12th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
tim,
I think your problem is related to the screen inverter, it’s a power supply for the LCD screen. When inverter is going bad the backlight stops working at all or it works only for a short period of time, like in your laptop. I would try replacing the inverter board first. It’s not expensive, you can find a new one here for under $20.
You can use this service manual for XPS M1710, it has disassembly instructions. You can see the inverter board on the 12th picture, it’s right under the LCD screen.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:25 am
hello,
im sorry for posting this here, but you dont have any contact me link or troubleshooting link.
but i do hope you can help me out here.
I have a problem with my dell latitude d610, it operates normally without any problem, and then all of a sudden I get the message that my ac adapter has been disconnected and I am on battery power now, but I did not disconnect it.
It keeps discharging and starts working again whenever it feels like, maybe after 2 days or maybe after the battery has discharged by 90 %.
During this time I dont move the laptop or try to fix it it just stops charging and startgs again by itself.
also during this period, the remaining battery life is show as something like 1027:16 hours remaining.
can you please tell me what may be the problem with my laptop?
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Faraz,
1.Could be bad power adapter. Test your laptop with another adapter.
2.It’s possible that your laptop “loses” power because of loose or broken power jack. Can you make if work if you wiggle the power plug a little bit inside the DC-IN port? It’s a common problem for many laptops. If that’s the case, the power jack has to be resoldered or replaced.
2. Also, there could be a problem with the motherboard.
August 15th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Hello,
I have a Dell D610 and once the machine is on and warmed up, the screen turns into a bunch of lines. Almost like the color of TV static then it goes black. I have to turn off the machine and then the screen screen only works sporadically now.
I was wondering if the inverter is the cause of this issue or do I have to replace something else? I was wondering if you could help me out?
Thank you so much!!
Traci
August 15th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Traci,
No, this is not inverter related issue. The inverter board works as a power supply for the backlight lamp and when it goes bad, the LCD screen looses backlight.
In order to narrow down the problem you’ll have to test your laptop with an external monitor. If video on the external monitor has the same issue, your problem is related to the motherboard or video card.
If video on the external monitor works fine, your problem could be related to the LCD screen or video cable.
October 8th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
My dell xps m1530 only works with my power lead attached. The battery says it is 100% charged but it wont power up when the lead is not plugged in. It will turn on fine with lead in but when I pull the lead out it turns off. It also heats up quite a lot and sometimes turns off out of the blue. Any ideas
October 12th, 2008 at 11:01 am
John,
This problem could be related to the battery or motherboard. It’s possible the battery is bad or there is something wrong with the motherboard. In order to find the culprit, you’ll have to test the laptop with another known good battery.
Sounds like overheating. Try cleaning the cooling module (heatsink and fans), most likely it’s clogged with dust. Blow off the heatsink with compressed air.
November 13th, 2008 at 9:14 am
I have a m1530 xps. just changed the screen. screen will not display on boot up. Attached external and displays and when it starts to load vista ultimate the laptop screen works fine? Is it the Inverter??
November 13th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
vince jordan,
If I understand you correctly, the laptop screen will not work when you turn on the laptop, but it works when the operating system is loaded. Right?
Enter the display settings and try to set the laptop LCD screen as a primary monitor. Could be just wrong settings.
December 22nd, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Anyone knows where can I buy separate hinges for my XPS M1530?
December 22nd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Diego,
Check out here. You can find both hinges or the entire LCD cover (with hinges).
January 7th, 2009 at 3:49 am
My XPS M1530 was working alright with all good games. All of a sudden, in all games it started giving me 2-3 fps. The game works fine for initial 2-3 mins, but after that it starts freezing momentarily giving only 2-3 fps. Could it be a problem of hard drive or over-heating?
January 8th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Bhushan,
Could be overheating. Can you hear the cooling fan spinning?
Did you test the hard drive. I believe Dell laptops come with diagnostic utilities.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
I have the same problem with John.
My new Dell XPS 1530 don’t turn on without the AC Power Adapter on. I already replaced battery with new one and passed all the diagonostics but it doesn’t turn on with battery alone. sometimes i was able to boot it up but very seldom.
Any ideas how to solve this?
January 13th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Jiggah,
Sounds like a problem with the motherboard. Do you still have warranty? Can you ship the laptop to Dell?
January 16th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Hello,
I just came across your site the other day and found your info on disassembly very helpful. thanx.
I noticed a statement above that asks if the inveter board that appears to b attached to the screen can b removed a replaced separately, & the comment was, yes. I’ve taken the system down to the screen level & am puzzled. It seems 1 tiny screw is holding the inverter board in place. Is that correct? To remove the screen connection to the inverter board all one has to do is carefully pull up the blue tab connected to the board?
thank you
-T
January 21st, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Hello,
I just broke my Dell XPS 1530 display panel(screen), i need to replace , can you please adjust me where i can buy the display screen( samsung or LG) and its approximate cost
Thanks
Eugine
January 21st, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Tom,
I don’t remember that particular LCD screen of the top of my head but I know that on Dell screens it appears that the inverter board is a part of the screen, but I know you can replace it separately. The inverter board is attached to the bottom of the screen and I believe it’s secured in a metal housing. You’ll have to remove one screw and than carefully remove the inverter board from the housing.
January 21st, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Eugene,
I believe I linked to an eBay page with LCD screens for this laptop in the post.
January 25th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I have a Dell m1530 and it has been having problems finding the dvd drive… sometimes it will not auto play when I put a dvd in and other times it will, I usually restart and then it will auto play… but then today I ripped two cds to itunes with no problems and then the 3rd cd ripped and all, but I can’t get it to eject at all!! Will not recognize my e: even after reboot. I have tried everything to get my cd out and it won’t even attempt to play it or eject. Now what? Should I take the back apart and get to the drive to get it out? What’s wrong with my dvd drive? Thanks….
January 25th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
Tracy,
Sounds like the DVD drive is failing and has to be replaced. You can try to reconnect the drive, just to make sure it’s not a connection related problem. Simply remove the drive from the laptop and install it back in place. Test it again.
You can remove your CD this way.
February 6th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
I have a Dell M1530 and the LCD started to flicker, and after a couple of days went very very dim. I suppose that’s because the backlight is not working. External monitor works fine. I can also use a flashlight to read the LCD. Is that a case of bad inverter and (assuming it can be replaced separately) do you have a link where I can buy one? Thanks!
February 7th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Jan,
Could be bad inverter or backlight lamp. You cannot tell without testing the laptop with another known good backlight or inverter. If I would have to guess, I would go with the inverter replacement first.
I’m not sure where to buy just the inverter board, but it looks like the whole LCD assembly for this laptop is not expensive.
The LCD assembly includes LCD screen (with backlight lamp inside) and inverter. If you replace the whole assembly, you have much better chances to fix the laptop on first try.
Where to buy? I included a link to eBay stores in the post. It looks like you can find a brand new LCD assembly for a Dell M1530 with warranty for less than $100.
February 16th, 2009 at 6:57 am
Hi,
I have a M1530 with a 1280 x 800 LCD screen, would it be possible, if I bought a 1680×1050 screen from Ebay, to attach the new one and have it work properly?
February 17th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
I bought my Dell XPS M1530 shortly after Christmas, and I bought it refurbished. I paid around $1300 (after many upgrades), but ended up saving around $600 just because it was refurbished. I bought it from the refurbished section of Dell’s website. I have been very pleased with it. I know many people don’t like Windows Vista (which came on this machine), but so far I have no complaints. It runs fast and has had no major issues.
March 1st, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I have a Dell XPS M1530 the LCD screen on my laptop just went dark and the back light is not working. it flickers when it first starts up and I can still see faint outlines on the screen but it unusable without an external monitor. Do I need to replace the entire screen or is this just the power inverter?
My Warranty is expired and I don’t want to drop $200 on a new monitor if I can avoid this process.
Thanks for your Help!
March 1st, 2009 at 3:18 pm
MBA student,
Your problem could be caused by a faulty inverter board or backlight lamp.
I would definitely try replacing the inverter board first. If it doesn’t help, apparently there is a problem with the backlight lamp. If that’s the case, you’ll have to replace the whole screen.
April 10th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Help! My 1530 is having the following problem.
For the past two weeks, I have to wait 10-15 minutes at the beginning of each day when I use my laptop for my LCD to turn on (and out of the horrid “dim mode”)
Yes, it is the general dim mode where you cant see much unless you shine light on the screen. However, the screen actually STAYS ON for as long as I want if I dont turn it off. But as soon a bunch of hours go by, I have to wait again.
I ordered a new inverter BUT…can someone tell if it looks more like a bad bulb or loose inverter bc it actually stays on but takes some time to get there???
Thank you so much in advance.
Best,
Sam
April 12th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Sam,
I’ve never seen a failure like that before but I would try replacing the inverter board first.
It’s possible the inverter board has to kinda warm up before it starts working properly.
April 12th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
thanks, does that mean that the inverter is bad since it has to warm up first???
And lastly, can I get o the iverter by taking off the lining and the two silver things (which must simply be pushed outwards) and the black plastic think of course, without actually having to take off the screen. THAT IS, I know it is under the screen but is it under And bein partly so I would actually have to do more than I explained?
April 12th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Sam,
That was just a guess. Normally, the inverter start working as soon as you turn on the laptop, there shouldn’t be any delay time.
I don’t thing that it’s necessary to remove the whole display assembly, it can stay attached to the laptop.
Simply remove the display bezel and you’ll get an access to the screen. Take a look at these instructions in the official service manual.
Again, do not remove the display panel assembly.
April 15th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Hi, i saw ur link above that goes to ebay site and shows available lcd screen for dell xps 1530. I need to replace my screen since it fells down on the floor and had a crack. The current resolution i used is 1200 x 800. Do you think i will not have a problem if the screen that i will buy is of type wxga+ or wsxga, wuxga? or do i need to buy the same type like the one i used now.
April 19th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
jerrold,
I think that screens with different resolution might require different video cables but I’m not sure 100%. It’s a good idea to ask the seller if a new screen is compatible with your laptop. If you are not sure, go with the same type.
July 7th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
hey, my xps M1530’s screen recenately went odd, the whole laptop started to go into hibernate by it’self, so i shut it down and now when i turn it on it seems that the screen is showing me huge white stripes, alternating with dine coloured stripes and one large black stripe in the middle, this laptop has already had 5 motherboard replacements so far so do you reckon i would need abother replacement? or is there something else at fault?
December 7th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
My xps m1530 back light goes out after the monitor is opened more than 2 inches or so. Sometimes can raise it slowly and almost open it half way before the back light goes out. Would that be caused by a short or the inverter going out?
December 10th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Hi, my lcd screen is not cracked but the plastic that holds it is, i was wondering if there is a way to just replace that and not the screen, seeing as dell wants to charge me 199 for a piece of plastic. Please help!
December 15th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
tyler,
Search eBay for “XPS M1530 plastic”. I found LCD screen bezel for about $20 and display back cover for about $25. Not sure which one is broken in your laptop.
December 15th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Duane,
Sounds more like connection related issue. You can remove the screen bezel and try reseating cables. Check connection between the video cable and motherboard.
Also, it’s possible that you have a faulty video cable. Maybe there is a short inside the cable.
Try replacing the video cable.
December 15th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
jerrold,
I’m not sure 100% but a screen with different resolution might require a different video cable.
To be safe, buy the same type.
December 15th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
thank you for you reply laptop tech, i was wondering if there was a way i could contact you and send you an image of what is broken on my laptop so you could tell me what i would all need to replace and what would be the best way to do it. Thank you
December 15th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
[...] In one of the previous guides I explain how to remove and disassemble the display panel assembly. [...]
January 11th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
My screen went gray and then black now has lines and different colors…
Was old by a pc repair shop it was the screen…
January 18th, 2010 at 4:34 am
Hi
I have acer 5580 Laptop..My laptop is new But whenever i switched on my laptop..it shows stripes on display…Once i have repaired But again it shows stripes…however…my LCD is new and working properly…..SOmetimes it is working good…but then my laptop switched off automatically….What shuld i do??how to remove stripes on my laptop??
please reply me…
January 18th, 2010 at 6:17 am
Neamat Rashid,
You’ll have to test your laptop with an external monitor attached to the VGA port on the laptop. Take a look at the external video output.
If stripes appear on both internal and external monitors, most likely this is the video card failure.
If stripes appear only on the internal screen and video on the external monitor displayed properly, most likely this is the LCD screen failure.
January 19th, 2010 at 11:39 am
Hi My,
Dell Xps 1530 – LCD is not working.. laptop is working but nothing is being displayed on the screen (its Completely black).. when i attached monitor to it and when i switched it on, it was displaying everything on the monitor.. – but nothing on LCD… also few times it started displaying on it own on LCD.. but again started displaying nothing as soon as i booted the laptop..
pls help..
February 16th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
Hi, I recently replaced my LCD for my XPS M1530. when I close my laptop screen It dosen’t go on stand by. It is supposed to go on stand by and lock my computer. I was wondering if there might have been something I missed when reinstalling my LCD please advise me.
February 18th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Matthew,
The laptop goes into stand by mode because you activate the lid close switch when the display is closed.
It’s possible you messed up the lid close switch somehow while replacing the screen.
I don’t remember if this model has a magnetic switch.
With magnetic switch you have a small magnet installed somewhere inside the display panel and the lid close switch installed somewhere in the laptop base. When the display is closed, the magnet gets close to the switch and activates it.
It’s possible that you accidentally removed the small magnet from the display while replacing the screen. This is just a guess but I think your problem is related to the lid close switch.
August 24th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
i tried to replace the lcd but ended up being the wrong part. did not fit. after putting everything back together the computer will not even start. no lights, no power. tried without battery. did not work. checked all the connections and still did not start. was working fine before. i only took off the back two panels, keyboard, power strip at top, and lcd. Any ideas. Is there something i could have not connected correctly that would not let the computer show any sign of power?