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The following tutorial explains how you can replace the CCFL backlight bulb in a laptop LCD screen. As an example the author takes apart a HP Pavilion zt1000 laptop.
Listed below is a typical laptop disassembly. This is most likely not the exact model you will be servicing, however it is indicative of what you will find in most models. They are all relatively the same and we hope this tutorial will give you a basic idea on the scope of backlight replacement.
Step-by-step CCFL backlight replacement tutorial. Are you looking for a new CCFL bulb? You can find it here.
The disassembly and LCD screen removal steps will be the same for many different laptop models.
Before you attempt replacing the CCFL bulb, I would recommend testing your laptop with another working inverter board. It’s possible that your laptop backlight is not working because of failed inverter board.
UPDATE: Here’s another backlight lamp replacement guide that could be useful for all DIY-ers.
January 20th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Hi,
I have aToshiba satellite A200-TR6.
just a few days ago my screen suddently stopped working..
any time i try to restart it it would light up on one corner for only a second and go off again.. i can still see the screen but the light will not work. and works fine connected to monitor.
I got it checked by my technician and he belives it is only the bulb that is failing and will try to replace it with another screen that “may” possibly fit the size of my laptop.
is it possible it could be a problem with the inverter? should i have him check that before trying to replace my screen?
also, my laptop screen has an integrated webcam that still works perfectly. the screen he planned to replace it with does not have one. is there a way i can find a screen with a webcam too? or would i have to loose my webcam.
thanks.
K.belair
January 15th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Hi,
I have an ibm x32 laptop with a dark screen. it stays lit on bootup for several second up to maybe 30 seconds, then goes out. i’ve swapped out the inverter with several known working others, and get the same several seconds of light and then back to dark. there’s no flickering or discoloration so i didn’t think it was the ccfl, but now i’m wondering if it is after all. any ideas? thanks!
January 9th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Nick,
It’s possible that your new inverter wasn’t good. There is a chance that you bought a defective one.
It’s hard to tell without testing the laptop with a known good inverter board. You’ll have to guess.
January 9th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
I have a dell 8600 and before the screen failed I noted that it was dimmer, even when set at max, than when it was new. But a month or two ago the screen failed for the first time. I could restart the computer and the screen would turn on for a few seconds, then go dark again. I replace the invert board and that made it work for a time, but I noticed the light would flicker then later it failed with the new inverter.
Do you think it’s the inverters or the ccfl? I replaced the inverter, now im thinking of replacing the whole screen.
December 31st, 2008 at 9:55 pm
I don’t have the resources to connect it to an external monitor… but I could ‘blindly’ move the arrow keys, press enter then I hear that Windows XP melody when you log on.
Here are a few more observations:
- the 1st time it blacked out, I opened my laptop and the LCD is ‘ON’ but is plain black
- the 2nd time, when I opened the laptop, it didn’t light up at all
- the 3rd time (yesterday) was when I had photoshop, media player, firefox (with 10+ tabs), all open at the same time; the screen went blue with a message dumping physical memory, etc. when I restarted it, the monitor won’t work.
Those 3 times I could ‘revive’ the LCD by toggling the laptop on/off (or maybe waiting around 20 minutes before trying again).
(Happy new year, by the way)
December 29th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
nelif,
Could be either one. I would try replacing the inverter board first.
December 28th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
hey,
there is a problem for my laptop (dell xps m140).When I start this computer, the screen only flickers once (very short, maybe only 1/10 sec) then goes dim. I can see all these images eventhough very dim. I am sure the CPU and vidio card work well because I connected this laptop with a external LCD screen, everything is fine.
Inverter wrong or backlight bulb?
Thanks!
December 28th, 2008 at 1:15 am
Mary,
It’s really hard to tell without further investigation. If the screen is absolutely dark and there is no image at all, even a very faint one, it’s not related to the inverter or CCFL. But you have to make sure that there is no image at all or the problem will be misdiagnosed.
Are you sure the laptop is booting when the screen is off? It would be a good idea to test the laptop with an external monitor when the internal screen fails. Can you get the external monitor to work?
December 26th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Thanks for answering the questions diligently.
(obviously) I also have a problem.
My lcd monitor suddenly refuses to light up (at all). This has happened twice now (december 23 and december 25). Both times I can get my laptop to work again by turning it on and off until the monitor works. The monitor is absolutely dark. No lighting at all. But I know the laptop is booting because the led indicators are flashing.
Do you think I have a problem with the ccfl or the inverter board?
Is it a good idea to do that repeated booting or will it eventually cause more damage?
Thank you so much for answering our queries.
(PS: For people who are asking for THE PRICE ESTIMATE FOR INVERTER BOARDS – laptoptech said it’s $20-$60)
December 26th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
bob,
First of all, check the settings. Maybe you accidentally lowered the screen brightness.
Check the power settings, make sure the brightness is set to maximum for both AC and battery modes.
Check settings in the BIOS menu. On some laptops you can increase/decrease screen brightness through the setting in the BIOS menu.
Also, on some laptops you can increase/decrease screen brightness through the keyboard shortcut. For example on a ThinkPad you can use Fn+Home or Fn+End keys.
On Toshiba laptops Fn+F6 or Fn+F7 keys.
On HP laptops Fn+F7 or Fn+F8 keys.
It’s possible you have a similar shortcut on your laptop.