Every good thing comes to an end, but that doesn’t have to be true with your old or damaged laptop. Yes, your laptop is dead, but you can still salvage some vital components, the LCD screen is a good place to start. Not all of us are good with tools, but it shouldn’t be too great a challenge to successfully take out your old laptop screen in a few steps. All you have to do is take out the front bezel by loosening the screws and removing snaps. What’s a bezel? That question probably crossed your mind. The bezel is the plastic frame work in front of the screen; We will try to keep this nice and simple by defining such strange terms. Once the bezel is off, you need to take carefully take off the laptop screen by unscrewing the bracket screws [screws beside the screen] and taking off the video connector cable and inverter.
The inverter converts direct current coming from the motherboard into alternating current and then passes it onto the LCD screen. It is located at the base of the screen and has cables of its own, take them off one after the other, and then your LCD screen is free to be taken out. There is a bold “DO NOT TOUCH” warning on the seal protecting the screen’s circuit board, and you have to obey it STRICTLY.
The steps involved in taking out your laptop screens varies for different products, while most are as easy as described above, others might require you to take open up your laptop completely.If you are finding this difficult, I advise you DDIY [don’t do it yourself ] and get a technician to help take your screen out, so you don’t end up damaging the screen, motherboard or other components that could be useful for other projects.
Now to the business end of this DIY project. I am assuming you now have your LCD screen. All you need now is an easy DIY guide to lead you through converting it to an external display unit for your computer, game consoles and other devices.
Step 1: Do some shopping
The removed LCD cannot function as an external monitor alone. You have to get a matching controller/driver board. This device contains dials, switches, and meters and directs the signal from your computer or game console to the LCD screen. The controller must be compatible with your LCD screen so check your screen model number on the label behind it and search online for a matching controller board online. Before placing your order, ensure you contact the sellers, provide them your model number to help them get you the right controller board for your LCD screen. LCD controllers are all over Amazon, ebay and other online stores like aliexpress and DHgate. You can get one for as low as $16. Just in case it proves difficult to get a controller board for your LCD screen, I suggest you get a universal controller board though some of these come with just a VGA port with no room for HDMI cables.
The package you will receive should contain the main controller board, a keyboard, and an inverter. The keyboard is a smaller board with five or more keys on it and serves as a remote control for your monitor. The keyboard enables you to adjust the monitor’s volume, brightness, contrast and a lot of other properties.
You will also get three cables, the LVDS cable which connects the controller board to the LCD screen, the keyboard cable and the inverter cable.
Step 2: Connecting the Cables
This step should be brief and easy. I prefer to connect the smaller components before linking the whole unit to the LCD panel using the LVDS cable. As mentioned earlier, there are three cables in total, and it’s quite obvious where each one goes.
First, connect the keyboard to the controller board using its cable. Next, connect the inverter to the controller panel and then connect the inverter to the screen’s backlit connector. Finally, link the controller board with the LCD panel using the LVDS cable. Remember NOT to touch the screen circuit while you connect this to the screen. Make sure the pins are correctly oriented; conventionally they should face down. The cable goes in easily and comes off easily as well. It is advisable to tape it in place so as not to strain the fragile screen circuit.
Step 3: Powering up your Monitor
The appropriate adapter for this project is one with an output of 12 volts, 4 Amperes. This is very important. Most adapters would fit into the power port on your controller board so don’t be tempted to power on your monitor using just any adapter you lay your hands on; you would most probably end up ruining the controller board or LCD screen you are trying to salvage. The output voltage and current are always clearly indicated on the adapter’s label. Adapters do not cost much and are very easy to get. Some stores send free adapters with the controller panel.
Don’t be in a hurry to put on your monitor double check your connections, once sure everything is in place, bring your monitor to life by switching on the power button.
Step 4: Putting your Monitor to Use
Monitors display signals coming from other components and your improvised monitor is no different. You will need different cables to connect your monitor to game consoles, PC, and other devices. These include HDMI, VGA, and DVI cables.
Each cable go into different ports on the controller board.
There is also an audio out port on the controller board to connect your new monitor to audio output devices such as speakers and amplifiers.
Once your device is connected, the pictures should come up on your monitor if you have followed the preceding steps correctly and your LCD screen is without faults.
This project is particularly awesome because not only does it drives you to tap into your creative side, it equally serves as a sort of recycling or repurposing of damaged laptops.
I turned my laptop screen into an external monitor. from DIY
For far too long I possessed an old Dell Studio laptop. It served me well for a good 5 years with a number of service centre visits, battery and hard disk replacements, formats and OS upgrades. From the past few years I have ditched the old laptop for a Macbook. Yet still, I never bothered to dispose of it. After all it still works [slow af but works!]. What if there is an ‘emergency’ situation where I need to use this ancient piece of technology? I tried selling it, but the act itself and the price I get for it is honestly not worth it. Giving it to someone for free feels like a punishment to the person [most smartphones have better specs]. Disposing it off just doesn’t feel right [yeah right! That’s the middle class in me speaking. Also not very good for the environment].
Aren’t we all hoarders of things we think we’ll use someday? Here’s to someday
I had been building a smart mirror for a few weeks. One of the main components of which is an LCD screen. Since this was a pet project, I was looking at the cheapest available solution. Most monitors available online cost upwards of 4000 INR, even ones on OLX and Quikr cost as much as. 2500 INR. There has to be a cheaper solution. My budget was capped at 1500 INR for a screen size of at least 13.3 inches. So I decided to wait until I could find a cheaper solution. I am so glad I did.
One rare Sunday afternoon while I was cleaning my cupboard, I stumbled upon the faithful old Dell studio. I switched it on, it worked despite it’s battery life deteriorated. I switched it on and started dismantling the laptop to procure the LCD screen on it. We all know that a laptop is a complicated piece of machinery, it is only when you dismantle it that one really comes in face with the fact. Make sure you dismantle it very carefully, preferably on sheet of cloth. You will need those thin screwdrivers for this.
Long story short… Turning your laptop LCD screen into an external monitor is damn easy.
This is not an instructable. I don’t like writing ‘how to’ articles, so I’m taking the liberty of assuming the fact that you will be careful, are smart and that you will figure it out. Mind you, asking questions is a part of figuring it out. So hit me up if you have any, I will try my best to answer most questions or guide you to the appropriate resources.
Once you have the LCD screen, remove the cable at the back. This is the the LVDS cable, you will need a similar cable later. Now that you have carefully removed the LCD screen, you will need to procure a few things:
1. LCD controller board
A standalone LCD screen cannot process a signal via a HDMI or VGA input directly. You will need a controller board to interface the LCD screen with your computer. It contains a tiny microprocessor. I would suggest searching for a ‘Universal LCD Controller Board.’ It is cheap if you only want a VGA input are not particular about getting an HDMI input. Look for this on eBay, Amazon, etc. For the one with the HDMI input, if you are willing to wait, AliExpress is gold.
2. LVDS Cable
You will need this to connect your screen with the controller board. Here’s a how to guide. In most cases you would need a 40 pin cable. You will need to scout the internet a bit to find a cheap deal [eBay would be the best].
3. Infrared sensor and button control with cable
The controller board often comes with an infrared sensor and a remote control. I prefer a button control. Search for ‘keypad for LCD controller board’. This is fairly cheap.
4. HDMI or VGA cable
Enough said.
5. Adapter for power supply
You will need a 12V adapter for power supply. It being 12V is very important. You’ll find this fairly easily.
Connect everything as shown in the figure below.
If you did it, give yourself a pat on the back. Congratulations! 🥇
Here’s how it should probably look. It’ll look even better with a frame around it.
Why do all this?
There is the insatiable need to tinker or what we call ‘chull’ in hindi. We do this to feed this ‘chull’.
I think it is very important to periodically keep doing things that push you just a little bit out of the comfort zone. Prolonged slumber, inaction, a state of rest are infinite loops. The more you sleep, the more you feel like sleeping. The more you get used to doing nothing, more nothing do you do. I have been a victim to this state. Comfort is easy, it is important, but it doesn’t get you anywhere. A slight discomfort is essential to doing anything consequential.
P.S. I also got the hard disk from the laptop, when dismantling it and converted it to an external HDD. More on this sometime later. Too bad we can’t do this with some of the newer laptops. Sigh! I guess everyone has their reasons. Apart from this please share if you have a better way of doing this.
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