Introduction

Laptop screens use a matrix of dots or pixels to display an image on your laptop screen. A typical laptop screen may comprise of millions of these minute pixels, each pixel then being subdivided into 3 sub pixels of red, green and blue. Like any other kind of pallete system, the mixture of red, green, blue or pixel off (black), at a distance away from the display make up the image you see.

What is a stuck pixel?

A stuck pixel, is simply a pixel that is in a "stuck" state. Temperature changes that can occur whilst the screen is in storage can cause a pixel to be "stuck", in these circumstances there are methods you can use to unstick the dead pixel.

Example 1:
This particular laptop screen has more than one stuck pixel. These pixels are stuck in the off position (black), however stuck pixels can show as black, white, red, green or blue. 

How to unstick a dead pixel.

There are two main methods of unsticking a dead pixel, both work very well with excellent results.

1) The software method

Jscreenfix (recommended)
http://www.jscreenfix.com/basic.php

This software will repair 80% of stuck pixels in less than 20 minutes. The download is free for the basic edition. We like this software as it runs under Java (via your web browser), and so is not limited to any particular version of Windows, in fact it should run on any system that supports Java based web browsing.

UDPIX
http://udpix.free.fr/

This software is also a free laptop screen stuck pixel repair tool, also excellent. We recommend using this software if the first option does not work for you.

LCD (online)
http://flexcode.org/lcd.html
This software runs straight from the website and is great for support engineers on the move, simply bookmark the link. There are many options available to identify and repair laptop screen stuck pixels.

2) Physical Method

If the software methods fail, you can also try a physical method similar to "massaging" the pixel back to life. To apply the physical method you will need to follow the instructions below to unstick your laptop screen´s dead pixel.

You will need a soft pencil eraser.

a) Holding the soft pencil eraser, rub firmly in a circular motion directly above the stuck pixel.

b) Massage the area in a circular motion pressing firmly, do not apply enough pressure to fracture the glass of the display.

c) Repeat for up to 2 minutes then restart the laptop, you must completely power off the laptop for the restart.

What do I do if the problem is still unresolved?

If the methods described above do not resolve your problem, you will have to seek a replacement from the laptop screen supplier, please check your warranty period and purchase date before contacting the laptop screen supplier with regard to the stuck pixel issue.

Problem:

On replacing an Inverter powered (CCFL/LCD) DELL laptop screen, you may find that the new replacement screen remains dim or appears completely black. Placing a light such as a torch or desk lamp behind the rear of the laptop screen display often allows you to see the DELL logo and Windows when the laptop is powered on, however the display always remains very dark or appears completely black.

Systems Affected:

This only applies to Inverter powered screens known as CCFL or LCD screens. These type of screens use a power inverter that sits under the LCD screen. One or two small white plugs come from the bottom right hand side of the screen (when looking from the front). This (or these) white plug(s) attach to the right hand side of a power inverter that sits underneath the screen.

Quite often genuine DELL replacement screens come with a frame around the laptop screen that also houses the Inverter.

Example 1:
Here we have an example DELL replacement laptop screen. Note that this will likely differ greatly from yours, but we´re using this one as an example.
Underneath the screen, sits the Inverter, sometimes loose but usually screwed into a bracket under the screen.

Point A - This is where the CCFL Inverter cable comes from the screen and plugs into the Inverter.
Point B - This is a small screw that holds the Inverter in place. 

Reason for the Problem:

Although the screen is compatible, the Inverter on the new screen is not. Inverters can change specification over time on the DELL replacement laptop screen panels and it may be that this revised version of the screen you have received has an Inverter that is not compatible with your motherboard.

Solution:

Resolving the issue is very easy, you simply need to swap the inverter from your old screen to the new one.

With your new screen:

1. Remove the white plug from point A on the Inverter by pulling.

2. Unscrew the screw from point B using a small screwdriver.

3. You may need to ease and slightly bend the bracket to ease the Inverter out.

Now repeat the process on the old screen and swap the Inverter board across.

More Issues:

If the old Inverter board does not fit into the frame on the new LCD panel you can usually remove this bottom bracket from the LCD screen and leave the Inverter loose under the display. This is perfectly okay as the Inverter is fully shielded.

Problem

After replacing the laptop screen in some models of Asus EEEPC, a strange video related problem can in rare circumstances occur. The display becomes stretched or shrunk (usually stuck at 800x600 resolution) whereby the Acer logo is off centre on startup of the laptop. Once booted into Windows usually the display looks stretched and the bottom and right hand sides of the Windows desktop are outside the boundries of the laptop screen.

Reason

The EEEPC has a bug with the BIOS (which is part of the motherboard that holds settings for the hardware). This typically happens if the laptop has had an external monitor attached to it. The new panel although the correct resolution only shows part of the image and the ASUS logo is off centre on boot up.

Solution

Changing screens will not help, this is what you need to do to resolve the issue.

- In the Windows Control Panel, remove the Video or Display driver software and shut down the machine.

- Flash or update your EEEPC to the latest BIOS version. If you already have the latest version re flash the laptop.

EEEPC Bios can be downloaded from here:

http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx

An explaination of how you do it is here:

http://support.asus.com/technicaldocuments/technicaldocuments.aspx?root=198&SLanguage=en-us