[mdlug] Laptop repair question

[Robert Adkins]

> 
> 
>  My niece handed me her Sony VAIO (can't remember the model 
> number), and I confirmed that the backlight isn't working. 
> You can, in bright light, sometimes see a shadowy image, but 
> that's it. Things show up fine on an external monitor, though.
> 
>  Now, a little Googling has shown I can get a replacement 
> CCFL bulb for ~$12, or a whole screen for $90-$100. I'm 
> pretty sure the backlight is the only real problem; the LCD 
> panel itself seems to be working okay.
> I'm reasonably sure I can disassemble and reassemble it, but 
> I'm not sure what's involved in replacing the bulb; I haven't 
> done that before.
> 
>  Has anyone carried out a similar repair? Any tips or suggestions?
> 

	You should only have to replace the bulb. Often times those are just
held in place by a few screws or clips and connected to the power source via
a plastic connector and sometimes they are soldered into place.

	It will take you anywhere from 2 to 3 times as long to complete as
you initially believe it will take.

	While performing the job, get yourself one of those little pill
boxes with 7 or more cups. To help in putting it back together, maybe create
some rough sketchs of the laptop showing the position of which screws and
then which of the bins you put those screws into. If you don't... You're
going to stand an inordinately high chance of ending up with more screws
left over than you should.

	-Rob