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In this guide I’ll be removing the LCD screen and inverter board from a Dell Inspiron 9400 laptop. You can use same set of instructions for a Dell Inspiron E1705 and probably some other Dell laptops. If my guide works for you, please mention the laptop model in the comments below.
Need a new LCD screen for your Dell Inspiron 9400/E1705 laptop? Find it here for less than $100.
Like in most other laptops, in this model the LCD screen is mounted between the display cover and front bezel. You’ll find eight screw seals on the front bezel. Six rubber seals (red circles) and two plastic seals (green circles).
Remove rubber seals using a sharp object. Glue these seals somewhere on the front bezel so they don’t get lost.
Remove two plastic seals using the same tool. Also, glue them somewhere on the front bezel.
Remove all eight screws found under the seals.
When all screws are removed you can start separating the front bezel from the display cover. Use your fingers and a piece of soft plastic. In this guide I’m using a guitar pick.
Continue separating the front bezel.
The front bezel has been removed.
There are screws securing the LCD screen to the hinge bracket. You’ll find four screws on each side.
Remove four screw on one side of the display panel.
And after that remove four screws on the other side of the panel.
Now you can separate the LCD screen assembly from the cover.
Be careful, there is a video cable connecting the LCD screen and inverter board to the motherboard.
Place the LCD screen on the palm rest so you can access the video cable and unplug it from the LCD screen and inverter.
Press on latches on both sides of the video cable connector and pull it from the LCD screen.
Unplug the other end of the video cable from the inverter board.
Now you can remove the LCD screen and inverter board. As you see, the inverter board is attached to the LCD screen frame. It’s very common setup for Dell laptops.
The inverter board is mounted inside the metal casing which is a part of the LCD screen frame.
Remove one screw securing the inverter board and turn the LCD screen upside down.
Unplug the backlight cable from the inverter board.
Carefully remove the inverter board from the metal casing and replace it with a new one if needed. You can buy a new inverter board here for about $15-20.
When you buy a new LCD screen for your Dell laptop, it might come with the inverter board already attached to it. It’s very common. If that’s the case, you don’t have to remove the old inverter.
UPDATE: in next guides I explain how to fix damaged display hinge and how to replace damaged keyboard.
March 28th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
As a followup, I got an altogether different LCD/inverter combo, made by Sharp, and it seems to work fine, with normal brightness control. Maybe the other inverter was faulty. Now I just have the odd finding of six “Default Monitors” in Device Manager. If I delete them, they all reappear when the system scans for hardware changes. The new display also seems to have somewhat muted colors. Maybe I’m just used to my old one or the color calibration needs to be adjusted and I haven’t found how to do that yet in XP. I’ve tried a couple different color profiles that were already installed, but they didn’t seem to make any difference.
March 21st, 2011 at 5:03 am
Thanks. I mailed it back and they will send a replacement. Hopefully it was just a faulty inverter. I thought it was odd though that while Dell Diagnostics is running, it starts dark until the error is found, then it brings the screen up to normal for the remainder of the diagnostics. I think that would mean the bulb is normal and that the inverter is at least capable of doing its job, though may not be responding the way it should. Frustrating. Hopefully the next one will work properly.
March 18th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Dan B,
Sounds like hardware failure but I cannot tell if this is bad inverter or backlight lamp failure.
If you purchased a combo (LCD + inverter) and this combo was designed for your laptop, it should work.
You said it’s flashing for a moment on startup and then goes black. I think you received a defective part.
It’s hard (if not impossible) to troubleshoot LCD/inverter failure without known good spare parts.
March 17th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Tried swapping cables. No difference. When I ran Dell Diagnostics, it indicated an error code 0322 “error accessing the LCD inverter.” Interestingly though, once it’s past that point, the screen becomes bright for the remainder of the diagnostics. The keyboard brightness controls still don’t work at that point. After the diagnostics it prompts you to reboot. At that point it’s back to dark again. Since the screen evidently can get bright, that should indicate there’s no burned out bulb and that the inverter works right? Does that point to a compatibility issue rather than a bad inverter? Or some Video BIOS setting perhaps?
March 17th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
Was going to try the old inverter with the new screen, but it seems they are slightly different sizes, I presume intentionally so that people like me don’t tried switching them out. So do you think (a) the used screen I bought came with a faulty inverter, (b) the K5 is just different enough from the K6 to be incompatible with my system, (c) I pinched a cable in reassembly and should maybe try changing that out with the one that came with the new screen, (d) graphic card settings or BIOS need adjustment, or (e) something else? Not sure what to try next. Recommendations?
March 17th, 2011 at 11:18 am
Well I contacted Dell about the alphanumerics and they had no idea, so I contacted Philips support, who referred me to the parts department, who referred me to the displays department, who told me they have no idea about laptop screens and don’t know who I should contact. So I went ahead and bought the screen LP171WU1(A4)(K5) [hoping it was close enough to my original (A4)(K6), with the inverter included, and assembled it a few moments ago. Well, unfortunately the screen is quite dark and the brightness control doesn’t work. When I pressed the power on, for a second the screen turned white, then became dark and continued to boot up. Could the inverter have gone bad at that second? Did it blow a fuse or flip some switch? Is there maybe a BIOS setting that needs to be changed? Or is the motherboard maybe sending a different voltage than the inverter expects, and then it shuts itself off? After I power the computer off, when I turn it on again, it flashes white again for a quick moment before getting dark. It seems to me it’s not burned out, but there is something the inverter isn’t happy with. I’m tempted to try the old inverter with the new screen, but don’t want to mess anything up permanently. Any ideas?
March 12th, 2011 at 9:51 am
Dan B,
When you buy a new LCD screen for a Dell laptop, I strongly advise to buy one with the inverter board attached.
Why? The inverter board must match the LCD screen and Dell laptops are very picky.
What happens if you install not 100% compatible screen? The screen brightness will not work properly. It will never be as bright as before and there will be no way to fix it.
Again, search for a new screen with the inverter board attached to it.
It’s possible the screen part number will be different, just make sure your new screen is compatible with your model and it has same resolution.
March 11th, 2011 at 7:42 pm
I’m getting ready to replace my 9400/E1705 screen. My Philips screen indicates it’s an (A4) (K6). One I’m being offered is an (A4) (K5). All else is the same. Any significance in that one digit? If I don’t find a K6 am I risking running into brightness problems as well? Can you please tell me what those letters and numbers mean?
February 22nd, 2011 at 4:46 pm
Doug Boyd,
It’s possible your new inverter either defective or not 100% compatible with the screen.
I believe all inverters support brightness control.
February 22nd, 2011 at 11:26 am
THANKS plus FEEDBACK
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Hi…thanks for “How to remove LCD screen and inverter from Dell Inspiron 9400″. It worked very well for me – I used it to replace a bad inverter.
Here is a piece of feedback that you might find helpful => I used your imbedded link that says, “You can buy a new inverter board here for about $15-20″. So I bought one of those.
BUT….when I installed the inverter and put the laptop together, the screen worked ok, but I found I no longer had brightness control (Fn+cursor arrows). Apparently, this inverter is one that does not support brightness control.
I thought you would like to know so you (in the procedure) could warn neophytes like me to be sure the inverter we buy supports brightness control.
Thanks again, Doug