Two years ago, I bought a refurbished HP Pavilion laptop. It's really nice, too. However, I'm having some troubles with the screen. The screen is damaged, somewhat, (single pixels that are just black, parts of the screen where the color is off) and I can't figure out why. I'm very careful with my laptop, but it seems more appear every once in a while, and I'm wondering: can this be fixed? And, on average, how much does that normally cost? Oh, and is there any way to safely clean a laptop screen?
Also, my battery life seems to be decreasing. Anyone have any idea what could cause that?
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
I'm sorry I can't help with the major problems, but I clean my laptop screen using the same solution and cloth I use on my eyeglasses.
Posted by Anthro (Member # 6087) on :
I found this site with repair costs; however, I'm not much good with computer language. Which of these falls under replacing the screen?
Posted by Insanity Plea (Member # 2053) on :
The reason your battery is dying is because laptops uses Lithium Ion (commonly called Li-Ion) batteries. The problem with Li-Ion batteries is that they only have a life of a finite cycle of recharges, and every time it recharges the overall life decreases a little. There isn't anything you can do about it, and the only way to get a good battery is to buy it directly from the distributor...never trust a battery from ebay or anywhere else unless it specifically says that the battery was made BY the company that made your computer. Satyagraha
Posted by Bekenn (Member # 6602) on :
Anthro: "LCD replacement" is the one you're looking for.
Before using that site, though, I would check to see if you're still under a manufacturer's warranty; some of those go for three years or more.
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
I've heard from a few people who are more electronic-literate than me that the best thing to do for any battery-operated device is to use it until the battery completely runs out before recharging it. It might be voodoo, but the impression I get is that it gives the battery a bit more slack.
Posted by Troubadour (Member # 83) on :
Depends on the type of battery. That's true for most rechargeable batteries, including most laptops, but iPods (for example) don't have a "memory" when it comes to recharging and actually function better if you do not allow your battery to fully discharge.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
This is true for nickle-cadmium and, to a lesser extent, nickle-hydride batteries. To the best of my knowledge, it is not true about lithium ion batteries.
Dagonee
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
You will need a new battery. There is no way to 'fix' a battery that does not hold a charge anymore. They simply loose their effectiveness after a while.
As for your LCD screen, that happens sometimes. Individual pixels simply die. As more and more die, you start noticing it. The screen must be replaced...it won't get better, it can only get worse without replacement. I would be careful about who I had do it though, make sure it is a place that can be trusted. I doubt a refurbished laptop would still be under warrantee...unless you bought the extended warrantee from the store (ie: best buy) but you could always check.
Posted by Anthro (Member # 6087) on :
No, my arranty's long expired, I know. But I still have about three hundred dollars left over from the money I set aside to buy a laptop, and I wasn't entirely sure that would cover it.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
The best way to replace an LCD screen is to buy a laptop of the same model (which is no longer working and being sold for parts) off ebay for $50-$75, then either replace it yourself (usually pretty straightforward) or pay a place to do it (just a few minutes of work on most models).