Porthos
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There are tabs sticking out either at the top or bottom to pull to release the 2 double-stick tape strips.
Correct.
Yes.
Dell G15 Ryzen Edition - Replacing the screen
- Thread starter britechguy
- Start date
It took a lot to kill them but not so much for them to throw an error. I had a huge increase in laptop drive problems shortly after Win10 came out. Almost all were people that had upgraded from 7 to 10. After watching a few of them pack up their laptops to leave it seemed I may have found the culprit. In Win7 days the screen went black during shutdown just as the laptop powered off (and HDD parked). Users slam the screen shut, toss it in the case or backpack and away they go. With Win10 when the screen goes black for shutdown the drive is still furiously writing away. The user slams the screen shut (usually with the right hand right where the drive is next to the touch pad), jams it into their bag or pack, bangs their bag or pack to settle the laptop into the pack and away they go with the drive hopefully still finishing its writes....
britechguy
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@Diggs,
This comes back to not denying your experience, but it's one I did not have. I never had the number of problems it seems that quite a few have had over the years with HDDs in general. It's not like I didn't have the occasional HDD failure, I've even had one (maybe two) over the years on my own computers, but on the whole HDDs had become unbelievably reliable over the long term compared to what I was used to in the 1980s and early 1990s.
And they could take a lot more abuse, too. They went from "fragile flowers" to "takes a licking and keeps right on ticking" status.
I still do all backups to HDDs, not SSDs, and not strictly because of cost. My experience with SSDs is that when they die, they die entirely and completely without warning. I've never had an HDD die without warning signs, and often long, slow death, if one knew the signs.
This comes back to not denying your experience, but it's one I did not have. I never had the number of problems it seems that quite a few have had over the years with HDDs in general. It's not like I didn't have the occasional HDD failure, I've even had one (maybe two) over the years on my own computers, but on the whole HDDs had become unbelievably reliable over the long term compared to what I was used to in the 1980s and early 1990s.
And they could take a lot more abuse, too. They went from "fragile flowers" to "takes a licking and keeps right on ticking" status.
I still do all backups to HDDs, not SSDs, and not strictly because of cost. My experience with SSDs is that when they die, they die entirely and completely without warning. I've never had an HDD die without warning signs, and often long, slow death, if one knew the signs.
This! +1
britechguy
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There were, one side being white which was relatively easy to see, and one being black, which blended in with "the background"
I cannot believe how flimsy the bezel on this particular model is. The plastic is barely thicker than paper, and it's no small miracle that I didn't break it somehow.
Now on to ordering the screen and replacement tape strips!
britechguy
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There were, one side being white which was relatively easy to see, and one being black, which blended in with "the background"
I cannot believe how flimsy the bezel on this particular model is. The plastic is barely thicker than paper, and it's no small miracle that I didn't break it somehow.
Now on to ordering the screen and replacement tape strips!
britechguy
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By the way, the screen replacement from laptopscreen.com is: https://www.laptopscreen.com/English/screen-part-number/N156HRA-GAA/
Once I had the original out, this was the model sticker I found on it:
By the way, I am thoroughly impressed with the ultra-fast customer service from laptopscreen.com. I sent them a query with the above image to make certain that the screen we thought was the correct one was actually the correct one. When the ticket went in the automated reply stated I'd have a reply within 2 business hours. I can't ever recall such a promise for online contact before, and they lived up to it. I had a reply identifying the above noted screen as the one to order in less than one hour after the query went in. You seldom get that kind of responsiveness, period, let alone right now in the age of Covid where many are short staffed.
Once I had the original out, this was the model sticker I found on it:
By the way, I am thoroughly impressed with the ultra-fast customer service from laptopscreen.com. I sent them a query with the above image to make certain that the screen we thought was the correct one was actually the correct one. When the ticket went in the automated reply stated I'd have a reply within 2 business hours. I can't ever recall such a promise for online contact before, and they lived up to it. I had a reply identifying the above noted screen as the one to order in less than one hour after the query went in. You seldom get that kind of responsiveness, period, let alone right now in the age of Covid where many are short staffed.
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Porthos
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Personally, I never quote or order a screen without pulling it first.
Just think, the next time you order, you get a discount as a return shopper.
britechguy
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I never give a firm quote, but I do try to get enough information to give a reasonable ballpark.
I virtually never (I have maybe twice) order any computer part without having the original out first, and determining its part number.
NviGate Systems
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IBM used to have a commercial about ThinkPad laptops. This business guy retrieved his laptop from the airport carousel and turned it on an exclaimed in a very loud voice, like in the classic film: "It's ALIVE!!!!!"
Really? I do all the time and can't ever remember having a problem. I usually have the customer send me a photo of the tag info on the machine though. Admittedly I might not order a WiFi card or something like that without the part number but so many things are generic that you don't usually need to see the machine first. A couple of days ago a customer complained his Thinkpad T520 wouldn't turn on and the power button (which is on the keyboard) was depressed. A T520 keyboard is what it is. Ordered and had it in two days, the customer stopped yesterday and I installed it while he was here. He was a bit flabbergasted. Thought it would take days or weeks....
britechguy
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@Diggs,
I'll walk that back and say, "any computer part where one cannot be reasonably certain that it is the right one."
The dirt common parts, say fans, for a given laptop are "generic," and if you have the make and model of the machine you can confidently know what you need.
But if it's something like a screen, WiFi card, replacement keyboard, or similar I want to see what's in there, first. Screens in particular seem to change over time, or when the manufacturers run out of "screen X" and start using "screen Y" because that's what they could obtain. And sometimes the two are not interchangeable.
Had I gone with the first screen proposed, based strictly on the information that could be obtained via the service tag number, it would have been the wrong one. (And that's no fault of the researcher, either. There's just not quite enough definitive information available).
I'll walk that back and say, "any computer part where one cannot be reasonably certain that it is the right one."
The dirt common parts, say fans, for a given laptop are "generic," and if you have the make and model of the machine you can confidently know what you need.
But if it's something like a screen, WiFi card, replacement keyboard, or similar I want to see what's in there, first. Screens in particular seem to change over time, or when the manufacturers run out of "screen X" and start using "screen Y" because that's what they could obtain. And sometimes the two are not interchangeable.
Had I gone with the first screen proposed, based strictly on the information that could be obtained via the service tag number, it would have been the wrong one. (And that's no fault of the researcher, either. There's just not quite enough definitive information available).
britechguy
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It looks like this particular job may be the death of me.
Got the screen, put it in, tested before even starting reassembly of the machine, and it was working. The machine posted and got to the main Windows 11 login screen. Did a hard shutdown with the power button, as I had no need to log in.
Reattached the hinges and put the bezel back on. Machine will now not boot up. At first I thought I might have accidentally either knocked one of the screen cable connectors loose, or somehow broken a wire in the cable, as it was making the little bell tones that this machine make as Windows 11 comes to life on it. So I pulled the bezel and tape and rechecked the connector on the screen and on the mobo. Both are seated fine, and the backlight illuminates the moment I hit the power button.
But I'm getting nothing else at the moment, no Dell Post screen, no Windows, no nothing. I've even tried the "triple hard shutdown with the power button" trick hoping for something. Nada.
Now, this still could be an issue with the screen, even though it had been working, if I somehow screwed up something with the cable, so I am going to try the HDMI output to my TV set to see if anything shows up that way.
But I've never had a screen replacement start out with such promise and go south so quickly!!
Any diagnostic suggestions accepted with great gratitude. The machine has an NVMe SSD and there is no HDD in it. I am not getting any of the typical mobo beeps that would suggest something's off at that level. Just dead silence now without the lovely little Windows bells.
Addendum: I have also just disconnected the battery cable and done the 30-second power button push and won't revisit this machine until tomorrow. I've never had a good outcome when I continue pushing through when frustrated and confused. Better to sleep on it.
Got the screen, put it in, tested before even starting reassembly of the machine, and it was working. The machine posted and got to the main Windows 11 login screen. Did a hard shutdown with the power button, as I had no need to log in.
Reattached the hinges and put the bezel back on. Machine will now not boot up. At first I thought I might have accidentally either knocked one of the screen cable connectors loose, or somehow broken a wire in the cable, as it was making the little bell tones that this machine make as Windows 11 comes to life on it. So I pulled the bezel and tape and rechecked the connector on the screen and on the mobo. Both are seated fine, and the backlight illuminates the moment I hit the power button.
But I'm getting nothing else at the moment, no Dell Post screen, no Windows, no nothing. I've even tried the "triple hard shutdown with the power button" trick hoping for something. Nada.
Now, this still could be an issue with the screen, even though it had been working, if I somehow screwed up something with the cable, so I am going to try the HDMI output to my TV set to see if anything shows up that way.
But I've never had a screen replacement start out with such promise and go south so quickly!!
Any diagnostic suggestions accepted with great gratitude. The machine has an NVMe SSD and there is no HDD in it. I am not getting any of the typical mobo beeps that would suggest something's off at that level. Just dead silence now without the lovely little Windows bells.
Addendum: I have also just disconnected the battery cable and done the 30-second power button push and won't revisit this machine until tomorrow. I've never had a good outcome when I continue pushing through when frustrated and confused. Better to sleep on it.
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britechguy
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Well, I'm happy to report that I am at least out of "being the death of me" territory and now I'm pretty convinced I either have a damaged video cable or, less likely, a screen that failed almost immediately.
I still cannot explain why the Windows startup sound is no longer consistently playing, because it was. But if the machine is connected to my TV via the HDMI cable the display duplicates fully normally and I can control everything as one normally would. The machine is running Windows 11, but the information from Dell based on the service tag indicates it shipped with Windows 10. The client is using a Microsoft Account linked Win11 user account, which is a big heap off my mind in case of disasters of many other sorts.
I need to get in touch with the folks at Laptopscreen.com to see what troubleshooting steps they want me to take in an attempt to isolate the actual issue, as the screen has a lifetime warranty, and I certainly have not abused it.
Addendum: Since the machine is clearly alive and working with the HDMI cable, I called the folks at Laptopscreens.com, and they gave me one suggestion, trying the keyboard shortcut CTRL + WinKey + Shift + B to force reloading of the drivers. And they've agreed already that if that doesn't work, and since the screen worked very briefly, that it is most likely a screen failure "out of the box" and will exchange it. I still cannot commend this company more highly for its customer support and technical support. They are incredibly prompt, don't treat you like an idiot or make you repeat diagnostic processes you tell them you've already done, and they stand behind their product. All three of those things are just so incredibly rare these days.
I still cannot explain why the Windows startup sound is no longer consistently playing, because it was. But if the machine is connected to my TV via the HDMI cable the display duplicates fully normally and I can control everything as one normally would. The machine is running Windows 11, but the information from Dell based on the service tag indicates it shipped with Windows 10. The client is using a Microsoft Account linked Win11 user account, which is a big heap off my mind in case of disasters of many other sorts.
I need to get in touch with the folks at Laptopscreen.com to see what troubleshooting steps they want me to take in an attempt to isolate the actual issue, as the screen has a lifetime warranty, and I certainly have not abused it.
Addendum: Since the machine is clearly alive and working with the HDMI cable, I called the folks at Laptopscreens.com, and they gave me one suggestion, trying the keyboard shortcut CTRL + WinKey + Shift + B to force reloading of the drivers. And they've agreed already that if that doesn't work, and since the screen worked very briefly, that it is most likely a screen failure "out of the box" and will exchange it. I still cannot commend this company more highly for its customer support and technical support. They are incredibly prompt, don't treat you like an idiot or make you repeat diagnostic processes you tell them you've already done, and they stand behind their product. All three of those things are just so incredibly rare these days.
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britechguy
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It appears to be that one-in-a-million shortly-out-of-the-box part failures!
The graphics driver restart sequence causes a loud beep to be emanated from my TV and the screen on same flashes then comes back. Nada on the laptop.
After that I went so far as to disconnect the battery and pop the cracked screen back on, and when I do that I get display working on the part of the screen that still can display.
At least my worst case scenario, a complete motherboard failure while the machine was in my hands, does not appear to have come to pass.
Time to get that exchange screen and see how it goes. This is a "simple screen replacement" that I'll never forget.
By the way, if all you're doing on one of these G15 machines is a screen replacement, it's entirely possible to do it without tearing down the machine were you to so choose. Once the bezel is off it's just a matter of pulling the existing tape, lifting the old screen out and removing the cable, reattaching the cable to the new screen, testing it, then taping it back into place and putting the bezel back on. I certainly would have taken that approach had I known then what I know now. There is really no need to remove the entire display assembly if you exercise even a modicum of care when removing the bezel. Easy peasy.
The graphics driver restart sequence causes a loud beep to be emanated from my TV and the screen on same flashes then comes back. Nada on the laptop.
After that I went so far as to disconnect the battery and pop the cracked screen back on, and when I do that I get display working on the part of the screen that still can display.
At least my worst case scenario, a complete motherboard failure while the machine was in my hands, does not appear to have come to pass.
Time to get that exchange screen and see how it goes. This is a "simple screen replacement" that I'll never forget.
By the way, if all you're doing on one of these G15 machines is a screen replacement, it's entirely possible to do it without tearing down the machine were you to so choose. Once the bezel is off it's just a matter of pulling the existing tape, lifting the old screen out and removing the cable, reattaching the cable to the new screen, testing it, then taping it back into place and putting the bezel back on. I certainly would have taken that approach had I known then what I know now. There is really no need to remove the entire display assembly if you exercise even a modicum of care when removing the bezel. Easy peasy.
Larry Sabo
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All after disconnecting the main battery, I assume. I wouldn't risk disconnecting and reconnecting a screen with the battery connected, lest it blow a LVDS or LCD fuse.
britechguy
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Something to consider, but I've never seen it happen provided the machine was off, and just off. There should be no power whatsoever in that cable when the machine is shut down entirely (not sleeping, not hibernating, etc.)
In the case of this machine, even if you wanted to remove the battery cable, the process would still be simplified. You'd only need to remove the bottom cover to do that, and no other disassembly except for the bezel around the screen.
The service manual gives no detailed instructions for a simple screen replacement, only for removing the display assembly as a whole unit, and that would have been unnecessary here.
Larry Sabo
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I'd need to check the schematics for that model to be sure but many laptops provide 19v to the LVDS connector even when the laptop is powered off. Disconnecting/re-connecting the screen with the battery connected is a gamble unless you know for certain that that model doesn't have 19v on the LVDS connector. Guess wrong and it could require a motherboard repair or screen replacement.
britechguy
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@Larry Sabo,
If you are able, I'd appreciate it if you did. As I mentioned, over the years as "built-in" batteries have become more common I have done the occasional screen replacement where I did not tear down to disconnect it, and have not, as yet, had a problem.
I'm not doubting what you've said, but it sure seems like a dumb design decision to me to supply any power to something like a screen when the machine is fully shut down.
In this case I had removed the battery cable but I cannot be absolutely, positively certain that I did not perhaps disconnect and reconnect the screen cable after the initial testing of the screen was over. I do not believe I did, but it's within the realm of the possible.
In this case it didn't have any effect on the backlighting, but everything else is just not there. Even the broken screen shows more than the replacement screen does.
If you are able, I'd appreciate it if you did. As I mentioned, over the years as "built-in" batteries have become more common I have done the occasional screen replacement where I did not tear down to disconnect it, and have not, as yet, had a problem.
I'm not doubting what you've said, but it sure seems like a dumb design decision to me to supply any power to something like a screen when the machine is fully shut down.
In this case I had removed the battery cable but I cannot be absolutely, positively certain that I did not perhaps disconnect and reconnect the screen cable after the initial testing of the screen was over. I do not believe I did, but it's within the realm of the possible.
In this case it didn't have any effect on the backlighting, but everything else is just not there. Even the broken screen shows more than the replacement screen does.
Larry Sabo
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@britechguy, I looked but couldn't find a schematic for that model, based just on the model number. If you check for a motherboard model number around the memory modules, I can search again.
Schematics for newer laptops are hard to find. I checked the schematic for an XPS 9530 and it had 19v on the LVDS connector (pins 38-40 in the attached). However, other Dells use just 3.3v instead of 19v. You could measure the voltage at the LVDS to be sure but it's easier to just remove or disconnect the internal battery.
Schematics for newer laptops are hard to find. I checked the schematic for an XPS 9530 and it had 19v on the LVDS connector (pins 38-40 in the attached). However, other Dells use just 3.3v instead of 19v. You could measure the voltage at the LVDS to be sure but it's easier to just remove or disconnect the internal battery.
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