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In the following guide I will explain how you can replace broken display hinges on Dell Latitude C640 and Latitude C540 series laptops. Replacing and removing hinges is not a difficult task if you are careful and pay attention to details. I’m not sure if you can use the same hinges for both Latitude C640 and C540 but the following removal and replacement instructions should be the same for both models.
1. Find new replacement hinges.
2. Follow the laptop disassembly instructions below.
Proceed on your own risk and do not blame me if you destroy the laptop.
Before you start, remove the laptop battery.
Remove five screws securing the keyboard. These screws are marked with a letter K stamped on the base.
Remove five screws securing the display hinges. Three screws on the left side and two screws on the right side.
Carefully lift up and remove the keyboard bezel with a flathead screwdriver or another sharp object.
Lift up and remove both hinge covers.
Lift up the keyboard from the base. Be careful, the keyboard is attached to the motherboard with a flat ribbon cable. Disconnect the keyboard cable and remove the keyboard.
The keyboard cable had been disconnected from the motherboard.
Remove four screws securing the video cable.
Carefully disconnect the video cable from the motherboard by the yellow belt on the connector.
Remove six rubber screw seals with a sharp object. Remove six screws located under these seals.
Insert your fingers between the display bezel and the LCD screen and carefully separate the bezel from the display. Keep separating the bezel from the display with your fingers until you can remove it. Remove the bezel.
Remove two screws securing the LCD screen to the display hinges. You’ll find two screws on each side of the screen.
Remove the LCD screen from the display cover. Be careful the screen is attached to the video cable.
Unplug the video cable from the LCD screen (Green Arrow).
Unplug the video cable from the inverter board (Red Arrow).
Remove the screen.
After the LCD screen had been removed you can remove two screws securing both display hinges.
Remove both hinges from the display cover. Now you can replace both hinges, or just a broken one.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Your article on hinge replacement for the Dell C640 is quite helpful. However, I do not believe I have a broken hinge(s) but rather a loose one(s) for my 640. The screen tends to be very easy to position but drops thoughout the horizontal to vertical range (30 – 75 degree). Would I be better off just replacing the hinges?
Thank you for your input.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
C. Ryder,
I think so. If you install new hinges they should fix the problem.
July 9th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Thank you for this article as I’m thinking of replacing the broken hinge on my C640 myself. However I have another problem where after using the notebook for a few minutes the screen will be turned off. Actually it is probably not turned off but extremely dim, and I could see (barely) shadows of windows and moving cursors on it. If I close the LCD lid, which will put the notebook on standby, and re-open, the screen will be on again but only for few minutes before the same thing happens. I can however use it with external monitor.
Would replacing the broken hinge (and tightening things up) solve this or could there be other reasons?
July 9th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
abdul razak,
No, replacing hinges will not fix this problem.
Most likely you have a problem with the screen inverter and it has to be replaced. The inverter board is a power supply for the backlight lamp and it’s located inside the display pane. Take a look at this post. The inverter is cheap and most likely it will fix your problem. You can find a new inverter here. If you replaced the inverter but still have the same problem, apparently the backlight CCFL lamp is going bad.
You’ll find more information in the LCD screen category on the right side of the website.
July 10th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Thanks for the prompt reply and the advice. I just thought the problems were related because the LCD problem started to happen a couple of days after the hinge was broken. Thanks again.
August 8th, 2008 at 3:03 am
My hinges are still in one piece, but after a fall the laptop case broke. I want to repair it, but therefore I need the hinge to be less tight. Is there a way to loosen up the hinges?
Thanks!
September 6th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
These directions also work for the C-610 (the laptop I actually fixed) and probably also the C-510. The only difference is that the keyboard bezel looks a little different. Directions were great and the whole job – start to finish took under 2 hours. My daughter will be happy that the screen will finally stay where she wants it rather than falling down all the time. Thanks for the detailed directions and great pictures.
September 10th, 2008 at 5:47 am
I have loose hinges on my Dell Precision M65. Do you have a repair article for this machine?
September 10th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Ray MacClanahan,
You’ll find instructions for your Dell Precision M65 notebook in the official service manual. Go to the “Display Assembly” chapter.
September 18th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
[...] Reading through the disassembly guide I noticed that this guide has a lot of similarities with the Dell Latitude C640 hinge replacement guide witch I posted last month. [...]
November 7th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Thanks so very much for a well written tutorial on the hinge replacement. My laptop was dropped and a hinge was broken in the process. I hated to have to replace the whole laptop just for going through the hassle of intstalling new software for my vinyl cutter. Belive me when I say it. You saved me some serious bucks!
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:38 am
Have you seen these instructions for an Inspiron 6000? Thanks
November 22nd, 2008 at 9:27 am
Thank you very much for this tutorial! I have removed my hinges sucessfully. Is there a way I can tighten up the swivel on the hinges so the display will stay where ever I put it. The hinges appear to be in great shape just loose.
November 30th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Thank you – excellent step by step plans.
One minor observation: in the caption regarding the keyboard screws, there are not four, but five as circled on the photo.
December 1st, 2008 at 12:02 am
Thanks John. Fixed!
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:25 pm
the hinges in my c640 are so loose / slack that the lid will not stay up, it falls back unless i prop it up. any way to tighten them up
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Bruce Mac,
I don’t think that you can tighten them up. I guess it’s time to replace hinges.
January 16th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Awesome, thanks for the help
January 19th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Thank you, Thank you, your details made it a very easy repair
January 21st, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Hey, just wanted to say thanks for putting this together. My 600m was working swimmingly except for the fact that the screen had started flopping around like a fish. I bought hinges for $15 on eBay, printed out this page and sat down at the coffee table. The whole thing took 20-30 minutes and I didn’t have to go through the pain and expense of buying (and transferring my stuff to) a new laptop. Thanks again for doing this!
January 24th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Thank you very much, my laptop has been this way for SOOO long and its just so irritating, I might actually have to replace both because it was broke for so long.
February 3rd, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Need to replace the hinges on a Dell Latitude D600, which I have ordered from Dell. Do you have instructions? Is this an easy job for a female or would I do better taking it to a repair shop?
Thanks in advance
Rhonda
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Rhonda,
You’ll find instructions for taking apart a Latitude D600 here. Very similar to my disassembly guide.
I don’t know.
I guess it depends.
February 9th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Thanks for the great step-by-step guide. Made the hinge renewal very easy!!
February 20th, 2009 at 6:20 am
fantastic tutorial….thanks
please advise – my hinges are loose, not broken….any way to tighten them?
February 27th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I need to replace the electrical conector on the back of my daughter’s Dell Latitude. I removed all the screws on the bottom(base), but it won’t come off. I can’t otherwise get at the connector. Any ideas would be appreciated!
February 28th, 2009 at 11:34 am
dennis walstrom,
I guess you want to replace the power jack.
In order to access the jack you’ll have to remove the motherboard. Follow instructions posted in the service manual for Dell Latitude C640/C540, here’s the link.
The power jack is soldered to the motherboard. The following instructions will explain how to remove the broken jack and solder a new one.
How to remove and replace laptop power jack.
March 7th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Great article on hinge replacement. The replacement went very well, however the screen display is now distorted and nearly unreadable. I went back to be sure the video cables were secure but still have a distorted image on the LCD. Any ideas?
March 7th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Jerry Shed,
Can you test your laptop with an external monitor? Find out if the distortion appears on the external monitor or not.
If the external video works fine, it’s possible that you accidentally damaged the video cable while replacing hinges.
May 16th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
I was able to pull the hinges apart and tighten them on a c640.
Turn the riveted cast piece back and forth and pull away from the long part.
Once off, there is a pin on the long bit that has a slot in it.
The grease made it hard to see the slot at first.
I put a screwdriver blade in the slot, wedged it open and put it back together.
There is now more tension on the hinge.
May 23rd, 2009 at 6:48 am
Will this tutorial work for a Dell Inspiron E1405? If not do you know where I can get instructions for that? I have heard conflicting opions on just removing the plate at the tope of the key board and the bezel plate around the screen. Some people say you have to take the whole thing apart, others say you can just take plates off and tighten screws. What is your opinion. My screen is so loose that it just flaps all the way back and has no more resistence, I cant use it unless it prop up the back of the screen, either that or I type with one hand and hold the screen up with the other hand.
May 24th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
debbie,
Here is the service manual for Dell Inspiron E1405 or 640M laptops.
Apparently one or both display hinges are broken and has to be replaced. You cannot tighten broken hinges, you’ll have to replace them.
If the hinges are broken, you’ll have to remove the display panel and disassemble it. You’ll find pictured instructions in the service manual I linked above.
In order to removed the display assembly, you’ll have to
1. Remove the keyboard cover (hinge cover).
2. Remove the keyboard so you can unplug the Wi-Fi cables from the Wi-Fi card and unplug the LCD cable from the motherboard.
3. Remove screws from the display hinges and remove the display panel.
4. Remove the display bezel, access hinges and replace them.
September 28th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Great guide. If these instructions are followed in order and you take your time its a rather painless process. I was able to swap out my hinge in roughly 30 minutes and that included removing parts from a donor system.
November 6th, 2009 at 12:15 am
Hi
This question is not related to this section but I couldn’t find anywhere else to post in your website. I have Dell Inspiron 1525 and left side screen hinge is broken. Do you have any thing to show how I can repair it or replace it.
Really appreciate your help.
Thanks
November 7th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Chad,
Here’s a link to the official service manual for Dell Inspiron 1525.
The manual has instructions for removing and taking apart the display panel. You can use it for accessing and replacing the hinges.
The broken hinge has to be replaced with a new one, you cannot repair it.
December 21st, 2009 at 3:31 am
Thanks dear, The information was really very helpful, infact i was having problem with hinges the have got loose but not broken any way,
I accessed the Lcd and disassemble the hinges, and make them thight again by a special research on the topic, lol.
Regards, and mary xmas,
Noman
December 25th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Dell Latitude C640 How to replace the CPU. PLEASE HELP! I am stuck at the thermal cooling assembly! Please please please how do I get it off! & replace cpu
January 30th, 2010 at 6:06 am
This is helpfull. I had to replace only the right hinge. I did it without copmletely removing the panel and the keyboard. The hinge can be replaced by only removing LCD bezel and the keyboard bezil.
RMW
February 6th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
laptop tech
my dell latitude c840 has a screen problem. When i turn it on the screen comes on and u see windows loading. When it goes blank to switch to log in screen it never comes back on to log in. But i did notice that the screens backlight was on. I put it in safe mode w / networking and it started to start up but the screen just froze or the laptop just stoped loading wondering could this be a hard drive issue or what could cause this to happen thanks
mack
February 7th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Mack,
It’s hard to tell what’s going on without testing the laptop. Could be software or hardware related problem.
Do you have any important files on the hard drive? If not, just run the Windows installation CD and reinstall it from scratch. After that run the drivers CD and install all missing drivers. It could help.
If you suspect the hard drive failure, you can run the hard drive test. I use Hitachi’s drive fitness test and it works fine for most laptop hard drives (even non Hitachi).
February 16th, 2010 at 11:41 am
Thanks for the great guide. My hinges were shot, and this made replacement a lot easier. My only problem was that the inverter connecter was so tight that it wound up pulling off the cable instead of the board and I had to find a replacement cable (fortunately, a cheap one). I’ve found a few people who had the same problem, so be careful, it comes apart easily. If I were to do this again, instead of removing the video cable from the screen and inverter, and then having to re-attach and re-tape, I’ probably just undo the single screw holding the cable to the lid (at the hinge), and lift the screen and cable out as a unit. Less work, and less chance of messing things up like I did.
Thanks again,
Peter
April 6th, 2010 at 10:27 am
I’m delighted at finding your website. the replacement proceedures for the hinges AND THE LIST FOR VENDORS are a joy. Thanks for being there. Your site is going to several of my friends and, I,m sure they wii be pleased as I am. I’m 81, former broadcast engineer, who appreciates those who share information.
July 8th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Thank you so much for this guide. Just used it to replace the hinges on my old Latitude D610. You rock! Greatly appreciated!
October 6th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Thank you so very much!!! I wish I could move the decimal pt on my donation amount to the right, because you are worth much more than I can afford to donate (at this time) Your instructions are wonderfully I-D-10-T resistant, the photos are beautifully clear and I loved the way you encircled & marked parts in each step with highly contrasting colors. I was able to replace the hinges in my laptop and get back to my home studies much, much faster and easier than expected. If I can do it, anyone can-believe me-I’m one of those people that consistently hears * ” HHmmmm, wow, I’ve never seen one do THAT before” when asking for assistance with computers, yet was able to replace that broken hinge like I actually knew what I was doing! ;-D
Cannot thank you enough, hope my meager donation helps express gratitude a bit.
Sincerely,
Claudia
* ( an occurrence i usually blame on my “magnetic” personality-snicker)
October 6th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Claudia,
Thank you for your warm words and kind donation.
I’m happy when my guides help people.
November 24th, 2010 at 5:07 am
Hi, can i use D600 hinges in my D610?
Thank you
November 25th, 2010 at 9:21 am
Rethoff,
Not sure.
You can google “Dell D600 hinges” and “Dell D610 hinges”. After that go to images and compare hinges.
If they look similar, probably you can use them. This is just a guess.
I don’t have full hinge specifications.
December 1st, 2010 at 9:30 am
Thx for your advice. I just disassembled my broken D600 and could see that the screws to fix the hinges in the case are in different positions. So the answer is: No, i can’t use D600 hinges in a D610
But thx a lot anyway, for this brilliant “How-To”
March 21st, 2011 at 3:10 pm
Will these instructions be the same for my D630 laptop? If not, can someone help me out. My hinges are obviously broken since my laptop cover can not stay open.
April 1st, 2011 at 6:05 pm
DAMN IT! I followed these intructions and pulled the LCD cable off where the red arrow is and the ribbon cable pulled off the connector. Now I need a new ribbon cable.
June 23rd, 2011 at 9:57 pm
Sir I have problem regarding loose hinges of C510. I tried to fix that problem but I could not find and screws to tighten the hinges. Plz help regarding this problem.
July 28th, 2011 at 3:49 am
Thanks a lot for keeping this article online. Your guidance worked out well just now for my old old Latitude D600 as well. – Almost like new now. Thx again, regards M.R.P.
October 23rd, 2011 at 12:16 am
have you tried installing windows 7 on your C640/C650? Did it work?
November 14th, 2011 at 8:09 pm
Just wanted to say thank you, i just replaced the hinges on my c640 with your guide and its back, baby!
November 14th, 2011 at 8:14 pm
P.S. I put my money where my mouth is and just sent in a donation. i am happy to support your site. Thanks a million for sharing your knowledge.
November 14th, 2011 at 8:32 pm
@ Blue Skies,
Thank you for your donation! I’m glad my guide helped.
February 15th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
You don’t have to do half these steps, I was able to do it just by removing the screws in the back of the laptop that hold the hinge, remove the little rubber things on top of the screws, the screws that hold the screen trim piece on and the screen trim and the screws that hold the hinge to the screen. took 10 min this way.
September 3rd, 2012 at 8:04 am
Please can you give me directions for a Dell latitude D420? The hinges for holding the screen laptop seem to be broken, ie the laptop does not stay in place and either flops shut or flops backwards. Are these able to be repaired ?
Thanks for any help, I am due to take a 4 month trip around south America and this could not have happened at a worst time!
September 3rd, 2012 at 8:31 am
@ Anita Bingeman,
I cannot tell if the hinges are broken or just loose without taking it apart.
Take a look at this service manual for Dell Latitude D420 laptop.
The service manual explains how to remove the display cover.
You can find new hinges or entire display cover with hinges here.
You’ll have to disassemble the laptop in order to figure out which part is broken.