HomeIn this post I explain how to replace a damaged LCD screen from a Dell Vostro 1500 laptop. In my laptop the LCD screen was cracked it could not be repaired. This set of instructions will work for Dell Inspiron 1520/1521 and many other Dell laptop. If it works for you, please mention the laptop model number in the comments below.
Before you start do not forget to turn off the laptop, unplug the AC power adapter and remove the battery.
STEP 1.
On the screen bezel you’ll find six screw seals. Four rubber seals and two plastic seals.
You can remove these seals with a sharp object.
Remove all six screws found under the seals.
STEP 2.
Start separating the screen bezel from the display cover with your fingers. You can use a piece of soft plastic to separate the bezel.
Continue separating the screen bezel on the top of the display and after that move to the lower part.
Finally, remove the screen bezel.
STEP 3.
Remove four screws securing the LCD screen to the left mounting bracket.
STEP 4.
Remove four screws securing the LCD screen to the right mounting bracket.
STEP 5.
Remove two screws securing the web camera.
STEP 6.
Separate the LCD screen assembly from the display cover. As you see, the web camera is still attached to the screen assembly.
STEP 7.
Plase the LCD screen assembly upside down on the palm rest.
The green ribbon cable is the video cable and it has two connectors. One of the is connected to the LCD screen and another one to the inverter board.
Carefully push on two latches on both sides of the LCD connector, release the cable and disconnect it from the LCD screen.
Pull the second connector up and disconnect it from the inverter board.
STEP 8.
Remove the screen assembly (LCD screen and inverter board).
The inverter board is attached to the bottom part of the LCD screen. The inverter board can be replaced separately.
The best way to find a new replacement screen is searching by the LCD screen model number or Dell part number. Both numbers can be found on one sticker with a barcode.
You can find a cheap replacment LCD screen for Dell Vostor 1500 and other Dell laptops here.
If you find this article useful, please consider making a donation to the author. Thank you!
June 21st, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Your guide is really cool. Can you please explain how to remove the inverter card attached to the bottom of the screen. I have opened my system following your steps but now I am stuck at the last step as I have a faulty inverter. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Vik
June 24th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
vik,
I didn’t take pics for removing the inverter, but I think all you have to do is remove one screw and unplug cables. After that you release the inverter from the metal casing on the screen.
June 27th, 2009 at 5:06 am
Thank you very much for your illusterated instructions on the repair!
I have the same model Dell Vostro 1500 with the same exact problem -cracked LCD still working with 30% black blue screen – that needs replacement.. My question is howevre,
Do I need to replace Both inverter and the LCD screen?
IF YES, then
Do I have to look for both parts seperately or do they come togeather?
like LCD screen comes attached with inverter?
And if my current inverter is working fine, would it be compatible with the new LCD screen?
Thank you
Devon
June 28th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Snagged one more problem??
What do you do with the cam???
WIll the old Cam fit right onto the top of the new LCD screen?
Just like the inverter issue… please advise …
Thank you!
June 29th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Devon,
The webcam is attached to the video cable. When I replace the LCD screen, I leave the webcam in place (attached to the cable) and replace just the screen. You are not replacing the webcam when replacing the LCD screen.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Devon,
No, it’s not necessary to replace the inverter but usually new Dell screens have a new inverter attached to it. It depends where you buy the screen.
If you can find just the LCD screen, replace just the LCD screen. The old inverter should work with a new screen just fine (I assume you buy the same type of screen as the broken one).
If your new screen comes with the inverter than it’s easier to replace both.
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:43 pm
hey i have a dell inspiron 1520 and i found it on your link to ebay but it says 1500 or something else but yea, i wanna get the right screen but would rather wait to take it out until i get the new one thanks abunch!! will those screens work with mine
July 2nd, 2009 at 6:07 pm
kirk,
I cannot tell without looking at your original screen. You have to make sure that the replacement screen is the same type and has the same resolution.
To make sure your new screen works with the original cable, I would suggest buying the exact replacement.
Before you order a new screen, remove the old one (it takes only 10-15 minutes) and look for the part number on the back of the screen. That’s how do it.
July 8th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Your instructions seems easy to follow. I have a dell inspiron 1521. This the second time my screen is going bad. The first time happen only a month after i bought the computer (should av taken it as a sign). Only 1/2 my screen is showing; the bottom 1/2 have white lines going horizontally across it. The first replacement was covered under the warranty. The warranty is now up! I have notice now that on both occasions the problems with the screens are identical; could it be that my computer have a problem beyond what simple replacing the screen can fix? In other words: Could the faulty lcd be a symptom of something else? Cause i don’t want to replace the LCD and it end up with the same problem. Thnaks
July 11th, 2009 at 9:41 am
I’ve been researching replacing my dell screen (vostro 1500/inspiron 1520) and have not been able to find out this info, so maybe the community here will know.
when you replace the screen, is it possible to upgrade it in resolution? (from 1200×800 to 1900×1200 for example) or does it have to be the exact same screen?
Thanks in advance.
July 16th, 2009 at 7:06 am
Hi,
I just bought a DELL LATITUDE D531 FOR £40 ( US$ 90 ) , the SCREEN was history i.e. cracked! , but the rest of the laptop was as new! , so I bought a screen off ebay.co.uk for £70 free postage, installed it using the above guide , and voila! my laptop works fine , all i now is to re-install XP! I also needed a charger for a d531 , again I used my favorite acution site ebay , bought one for £16.99 free postage.
Thank You.
Regards
JOEY
July 20th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Thank you so much for your pictures! I have a Dell Vostro 1500 and the screen wasn’t lighting. You could faintly see the items on the desktop, but the screen was very dark. My computer repair person said it was probably the screen going bad, but it wasn’t worth fixing. A little research on the net led me to believe it was the screen inverter and not the screen itself, since it was working at times and/or the screen would flicker. Your pictures gave me the confidence that I needed to try and replace it myself. I found the inverter for under $9 with free s/h on ebay. With the help of your pictures I was able to replace the inverter and now my screen lights perfectly!
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:32 am
Hi, I have a question similiar to what someone else asked. I am replacing a cracked screen and i’m finding cheaper WSXGA+ dell vostro screens than WXGA+ screens. Can i upgrade, and if so, do i need to replace both the screen and the inverter, or can i just replace the screen.
August 6th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Thanks a lot for the detailed instructions. The only problem was how to deal with the invertor portion at the end. My new monitor did not have little metal brackets to house the invertor or the camera. I was able to squeeze everything in and it seems to work just fine.
BB
August 14th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Many thanks for the clear and accurate instructions for replacing a defective inverter board on my Dell Vostro 1500. Even working slowly and carefully so as not to damage anything–I had the entire job done in 20 minutes.
Should your travels bring you to the San Francisco Bay area, we’d love to have you as a guest(s) at Osprey Peak B&B–on the house. We’re on the Marin Coast surrounded by the Point Reyes National Seashore.
You saved me time and money and I appreciate it very much.
September 8th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
I can’t seem to get two screws out…now what do I do?
Thanks
September 8th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Sorry Inspiron 1520…as you are looking at the display, the top left screw and the screw to the right of the webcam….thanks
September 8th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
J Apple,
I cannot tell without looking at the laptop.
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:32 am
I was following your instructions on my Vostro 1700, and all was going well.
I do not have a camera, so I ignored the part about unscrewing 2 screws for camera (step 5), but the ribbon cable still went up there and then snapped out when I folded screen down. Does not plug in, looks like some kind of tape, but beyond my capacity.
If I go ahead and get my inverter, and replace it, and reassemble, without this “camera” wire attached, should the rest of it still work seeings I never had a camera attached in first place?
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:07 pm
FYI – On Vostro 1700 there are 2 more screws at bottom of screen, sorta step #4.5, after taking 8 screws out of side of screen. I guess larger screen required more support.
Also, in possible repair of my own problem, I snapped the cable back in place, maybe it will hold where it goes, but if connection is not their, still wondering if the rest of system will work w/o camera that doesn’t exist anyway?
September 24th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
W Allen,
From your description it’s not very clear if the cable is damaged or not. If the cable is not damaged, it should work fine I think.
September 30th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Hello,
I cracked my LCD screen on my Vostro 1500. I bought a replacement on e-bay, which did not come with an inverter. I was able to reassemble, but the screen is dim, almost like it is in a lower power saving mode. I tried to adjust the brightness through the FN arrow up and arrow down, and it is almost random versus by darker and brighter in degrees), The power options are also at maximum performance. I have corrected colors through the Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator Driver. Is there anything else I can look at or do you suppose the screen is faulty??
Thank you!!!
October 14th, 2009 at 4:27 am
I would like to know how to obtain the replacement screen. In particular, do I need to search for exactly the same part number?
If I don’t have the original (broken) screen, how can I find out what the part number should be?
Also, would other LCDs of the same size be compatible? I imagine that even if they can physically be put in, there might be a problem of the inverter and backlight not being compatible. Do the inverter and backlight components always have to match the screen? And can the motherboard supply only a particular type of inverter?
That’s a lot of questions. Hope you can help.
A.
October 16th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Hi,
I have Dell VOSTRO 1500 and the screen of the laptop is totally gone..Its totally BLACK. When I switch it ON, Lappy is ON as I can see the hard disk light and the noise from HD but like I said before LCD is BLACK and I can’t see a single thing.
What should I do? Should I replace the Inverter or the LCD screen? Or Both?
What are the specs for the Inverter for VOSTRO 1500?
October 24th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Hi
Great guide! But I have a problem. The 3rd screw from top in Step 3 is a stripped screw. What do I do? I definitely cannot drill into it. Any other option? All other screws have been unscrewed but this is the last screw to remove and it is frustrating. What do I do? Please help.
October 25th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Brian,
Google “screw extractor”. This tool might help to remove the stripped screw.
November 12th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
My daughter has a vostro 1500. The screen is dull but still viewable but the viewing area has also shrunk leaving a black band down th right and bottom. It works fine when plugged into an external monitor. Does anyone know if this is just an inverter issue?
November 12th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Great site! I have an issue almost identical to Jenn’s above (post 22). My screen got cracked and I took it to a repair shop to get it replaced. They replaced the screen but not the inverter. Now the screen is noticeably dimmer and murky. The Function up/down is also messed up where the brightest setting is in the middle of the progression (sounds like that’s what Jenn is also describing). I also used the Intel utility but just can’t get it to brighten like it used to be. I can think of three possibilities:
1) The screen they sold me isn’t compatible with the Vostro 1500 other than it fits.
2) The screen the supplier sent was faulty.
3) Something else was damaged (it fell screen first into the corner of a table…don’t ask!), maybe the inverter needs to be replaced?
Can you please address this problem since two people now apparently have had the same issue? If it’s likely the inverter, where would I get one and how do I know it’s the proper one for this laptop/screen combo? Or does that matter?
Any help would be most appreciated!! Thanks!
November 12th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
One additional detail to my last posting. I went into the BIOS and found that the brightness slider mimics the Function up/down problem – it’s brightest is at 5, roughly the middle of the range. It dims again from 6 to 8 (8 being maximum).
November 13th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Andy,
If the backlight still works (even if it’s dull), most likely there is nothing wrong with the inverter.
Have you tried increasing the screen brightness using the keyboard shortcut – Fn key and Up arrow key?
Enter the BIOS setup menu and find out if you can adjust the screen brightness in there.
Check the display settings. Play with the screen resolution.
November 13th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Gordon,
Try reinstalling the video driver. Check out this post. Let me know if it fixes the problem please.
November 13th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
When I went into Device Manager, I found two Display Adapters. I disabled one of the two (the second, figuring it was added last) and now the screen is back to its normal brightness! That’s:
Start > Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager > Display Adapters
That’s for Windows XP. Not sure if it’s the same for other versions.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Having same problem as a few of you listed. Replaced cracked screen, now screen will be blank/white during POST/BIOS. If I then FnF8 the screen will work fine with the exception of the brightness going back down at approx 70%. I have ordered a different inverter to try. Have any of you had any luck solving this issue?
November 20th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Jason,
Check the device manager. Do you see two display drivers installed. Try removing them and let the system re-detect the LCD screen.
Try reinstalling the display adapter.
Let me known if it works. I knot that this method worked for some other guys. I doubt that replacing the inverter board helps in this case.
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:27 am
No there is only one listed in the device manager. I suppose I could try uninstalling that one anyway. I did order a new inverter that should be here in a few days.
The part that boggles me in this case is the white screen during POST. It has a vertical purple bar also which would normally indicate some sort of hardware failure. Very strange. I’ll be back with any updates…and more suggestions are very welcome!
November 27th, 2009 at 8:50 am
I am having difficulty removing the inverter connector.. im not sure if im not pulling hard enough or if there is something else i should be doing?
November 27th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
robyn,
Not sure why you are experiencing this problem. There is no trick to it.
I guess you are not pulling hard enough.
December 24th, 2009 at 12:04 am
I had inverter problem and bought one from ebay. New inverter worked one week and gone. I bought the second one and tried to use that, not really working. When it works, there is a noise at right lower corner ( I mean the lower right corner of the lcd screen ). I even see very small sparks there. So, screen sometimes work sometimes not. Sometimes, it tries to work makes a clikk noise at that corner and does not work. Do you think st is not ok with inverter, not really compatible or problem is st else ?
Thank you,
Yakup
January 23rd, 2010 at 11:53 am
Do I need to remove the LCD screen to replace the inverter board on a Vostro 1000? I took the bezel off and can’t seem to get at the inverter board. It’s covered with a metal piece. Thanks.
January 29th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
I used your photo instructions for a Vostro 1000 and they were great. Thanks for posting the photos. Keep up the great work, it helps a lot of people. Thank you…
January 30th, 2010 at 10:49 am
I have a Vostro 1500 and I have a problem with the replacement LCD screen. My kids cracked my screen so we ordered one. It came last week and I installed it. When I powered up the computer I got 8 screens come up and then it would go blank. It would only keep going if i went into safe mode, but still showed the 8 screens. I hooked the broken one back up and it works fine.
Emailed company, they rushed me out another one. Hooked it up and same thing. The oem is a Chungwha and the replacement is a Chi Mei. Both 1280×800 glossy.
I am stumped! Here is a shot in safe mode of teh eight screens.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13745394@N07/4316587558/
February 9th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
I have Dell Vostro 1500 and my problem is the LCD screen looks white and look like a big crack all the way down with a big ink spot (but the screen is not crak from the outside). Wich one is the problem: the LCD screen or LCD inverter.
February 9th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
Orlando,
Sounds like the LCD screen is damaged and has to be replaced. A broken (cracked) LCD screen cannot be repaired.
You said the screen is white and I assume the backlight still works properly. It means the inverter board is OK.
February 15th, 2010 at 4:47 am
Many thanks for that – it’s works for the Dell Vostro 1400, with some differences. I’ve listed the differences here – with some photos: http://www.heath-whyte.info/david/computers/replacing-dell-vostro-1400-screen
Thanks again
March 14th, 2010 at 9:16 am
Please somebody help me:
I have problem with my dell laptop model, Vostro 1500 as soon as I start my laptop it shows dell screen after couple of minutes the screen becomes so fade but operational; how can I fix the problem? Will I have to replace the screen or it might be some other problem as well?
With Regards,
Sarah
April 10th, 2010 at 7:50 am
Unfortunately I did not find your web site until after my repair. I think this would have helped me. I replaced the inverter on my Dell Vostro 1500. I did not remove the screen and hence had a very difficult time accessing the screws that attach the inverter cover to the bottom of the screen. Based on your instructions it looks like it would be best/easiest to remove the screen to obtain good access to the screws that attach the inverter cover. At least one person commented on the difficult of removing the attachments to the inverter. I had a similar problem due to a lack of understanding of the cable attachments. The wires on the right clearly just pull off to the right. However the cable snaps directly onto the board.
April 24th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
I replaced my inverter but I did not realize the web camera was connected to the screen so I accidentally yanked out the connection. When putting everything back together, I tried to place the little orange strip back into the connection for the camera, but I don’t think that worked since my camera is not working even after re-installing the driver.
Is there any trick to placing that power connection into the camera?
Thanks.
April 25th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Johnny,
First of all, remove yellow tape securing the connection.
After that unlock the connector on the webcam board.
Insert the ribbon cable into the connector and lock it.
May 7th, 2010 at 11:51 am
I recently replaced the inverter for the Dell Vostro 1500, which light up the screen again, but the screen was blinking and created a buzz in the inverter area, and then it just turn dim again, so I decided to check the connection to see if something was loose. After so, I turn on the laptop again, to see that everything was going on okay, and everything seem quite smooth but the buzz was still there Do you have any idea what’s going on here? Is this the result of randomly used inverter sold on ebay? I did try to remove the ebay inverter which is identical to mine with my old one and the old inverter doesn’t make any buzz (maybe because it was dead) and still dim, so my guess is my inverter really broke and the ebay inverter have some buzz issues or I did something wrong when I was replacing it …
May 8th, 2010 at 10:20 am
I replaced the display on my Vostro A860 with these instructions and it worked great! Less screws, no webcam and the inverter board was attached to the laptop and not the LCD. I went with glossy instead of the original matte and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
July 5th, 2010 at 10:43 am
Thank you so much … This Article really helps me to fix my laptop …..
Thanks a Lot ……
July 8th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Hi, I would like some advice. I ordered a new LCD screen for my Laptop: a Toshiba Satellite 1400 S152. The supplier sent me what was supposed to be a compatible screen. When I came to install it, the cable connector is smaller and therefore does not fit the screen’s socket. Same issue for the ccfl connector but this should not be so much of an issue.
Is there a way of connecting my cable to the wider socket of the screen? Are there any “adapters” available? Do I need to replace the cable/ connector?
July 10th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
Mark,
The new screen is not compatible. All connectors have to match.
Nope, you have to return the screen and replace it with a compatible one.
August 12th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
I just followed these instructions for a friend’s Vostro 1500 and everything worked out great. I did not have the exact inverter so I bend some of the small metal flaps that hold the inverter in place.
I appreciate you for putting this page together. Thank you.
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:36 am
Hi,
I’m trying to fix my vostro 1500 with a similar issue.
There is a purple haze, as well as some static, over all of the menu bars in windows/firefox/etc. It’s very annoying. Also, on the windows startup screen there is a very curious looking white ring that kind of pulsates with static:
http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/8199/imag0104k.jpg
I’ve done a system restore, reinstalled video and bios drivers, opened the laptop and jiggled the lcd cables to see if there is a break, blown dust off the motherboard, all to no avail.
To my knowledge, there are three culprits left: lcd, inverter, or motherboard. I have my suspicions, but if anyone can offer any advice please do.
Thanks!
August 27th, 2010 at 6:26 am
Thanks for your instructions. Very well with picture by pitcure.
Replaced the screen of Dell Vostro 1500, which was cracked while travelling. Don’t leave your Laptop in handbag if they ask you to check-in on boarding a plane. Probably it is too late if you are reading this post.
Bought on eBay and came perfect with 2 years warranty.