US Computer Accident

[Joe]

I have a problem with my laptop. And I'm not sure how it happened.

It appears that the screen is cracked or somehow damaged. It looks like someone spilled black ink over parts of the screen. it is still usable, but this is very annoying.

What is weird is if I run my finger over that part of the screen that looks cracked, it feels perfectly smooth.

Has anyone ever had a laptop screen damaged and in need of repair or replacement? If so, please let me know what I might be in for.

 

[Jeremy]

I've seen this before if it's what I'm thinking (a picture might help)... It happens when the laptop gets jarred and the the pins that connect the display internally are disturbed.. I had this happen to one back years ago at the hands of TSA

 

[Joe]

I've seen this before if it's what I'm thinking (a picture might help)... It happens when the laptop gets jarred and the the pins that connect the display internally are disturbed.. I had this happen to one back years ago at the hands of TSA

Can this be repaired? If so, how?

I'm not sure how to make a picture of this.

 

[Jeremy]

Can this be repaired? If so, how?

I'm not sure how to make a picture of this.

I don't know... I didn't bother... With a camera, or the camera on your phone?

 

[Joe]

I don't know... I didn't bother...

Thanks for your candor.

With a camera, or the camera on your phone?

I do have a digital camera someplace, but I think I lost the manual, which was over 100 pages long. So I never really learned to use the camera.

I guess I do have some sort of camera in my phone, but I never learned to use that either. And the instructions I got from Virgin Mobile are as clear as mud.

 

[Jeremy]

About all you can do is take it to a shop and get an estimate.

 

[Joe]

About all you can do is take it to a shop and get an estimate.

That sounds like a sensible suggestion. Thanks.

 

[Second Summer]

I do have a digital camera someplace, but I think I lost the manual, which was over 100 pages long. So I never really learned to use the camera.

I guess I do have some sort of camera in my phone, but I never learned to use that either. And the instructions I got from Virgin Mobile are as clear as mud.

Every Man knows the instruction manual for any electronic gadget is a waste of your valuable time, and no doubt written by someone significantly less skilled and talented than yourself anyway! Just wing it! Use The Force!

 

[Andy_T]

I am afraid the "black ink" might be LCD fluid from inside the broken screen:-/
Likely needs screen replaced.

 

[Joe]

Every Man knows the instruction manual for any electronic gadget is a waste of your valuable time, and no doubt written by someone significantly less skilled and talented than yourself anyway! Just wing it! Use The Force!

Well, I found a .PDF manual for my phone--a much longer document than the paper manual that comes with the phone.
I think I may have figured out the beginning of how to use it as a camera. The problem I had/have been having is that when I select "camera" on the menu, it keeps saying "Insert SD Card." But it does not tell you where to insert it, and I could find no place where it would fit.

But the .PDF manual seems to have a diagram that seems to indicate you have to remove the back of the phone, then remove the battery, then underneath the battery is a slot for the SD card.

Geez, I never would have figured this out on my own.

 

[KLS52]

Maybe you can try searching YouTube for a video showing you how to insert the sd card for your specific phone. I find videos to be helpful.

The only thing I know about the slot under the battery compartment is that it holds the SIM card on older phones. I didn't know there was a space for an sd card. I never took pictures with any of my older phones, only with my iPhone.

 

[Joe]

The only thing I know about the slot under the battery compartment is that it holds the SIM card on older phones. I didn't know there was a space for an sd card. I never took pictures with any of my older phones, only with my iPhone.

I still do not know this. I have a microSD card that has music files on it. I am going to try to insert this just to be sure such a card will in fact fit.

If it does, then I'll buy a microSD card for the phone. What storage capacity would be appropriate? WalMart has 32 GB cards for $18, and 64 GB cards for $28. I'm also toying with the idea of buying two 32 GB cards, so I can swap them out and always be prepared to take a picture. What do you think?

On an ironic note, if I buy a 32 GB card for $18, I'll be inserting it into a phone that only cost me $15 in the first place.

 

[FortyTwo]

Unless they're super snazzy ones, laptops are generally made so you have to replace them all the time, because something something profits and we just sort of go along with it. You'd be best off taking it to someone who knows their stuff and asking for an estimate like Jeremy said, but after doing that you'll want to compare it with the price of just buying a new one. A lot of the time trying to fix a laptop (or phone, or other device intended to be put together once and then replaced when it goes bad) is more money than it's worth.

Planned obsolescence is a nightmare, best to just mitigate the damage as best you can.

 

[Andy_T]

If it does, then I'll buy a microSD card for the phone. What storage capacity would be appropriate? WalMart has 32 GB cards for $18, and 64 GB cards for $28. I'm also toying with the idea of buying two 32 GB cards, so I can swap them out and always be prepared to take a picture. What do you think?

Depending on the resolution of the phone! My guess is that with a 32 GB card, you would have definitely enough to take a lot of photos (likely a few thousand ones). For all practical considerations, you do NOT want to have thousands of pictures on your SD card and never download them, as this increases the chances of losing all of them...

As an example, I am using a 32 GB SD card in my Canon 6D, where the size of a single 20 MP RAW image is about 25 MB - and the card is definitely large enough to last me through a short shooting trip of about 1,000 images.

 

[Joe]

I am afraid the "black ink" might be LCD fluid from inside the broken screen:-/
Likely needs screen replaced.

Thank you for posting this video, Andy. It was highly informative.