Dell XPS 15z (L511z) Discolored screen problem

[Ramahi89]

Hello,
As the title says, its a fairly used old laptop that has been left 4 dead for 6+ years now.

Specs: FHD screen
i7 2620M
8GB Ram
64 bit Windows 7
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GT525M (Optimus) - Intel HD graphics Family

Problem: Screen is discolored when booting the laptop using the normal laptop's screen. however if you open the laptop using an HDMI connection to a TV all is fine on the TV, Laptop screen is not.

Attached are photos of the problem.

I have asked professional help from multiple maintenance shops, and have had multiple answers which got me confused.

1st: Said that the screen ribbon cable has gone bad, and needs replacement.
2nd: Said that the screen should be replaced all at once. (Dell repair shop)
3rd: Said that the GPU (Nvidia) dedicated card has gone bad and needs fixing.

According to your experiences, which of the following describes the best solution?
I am fixing it for backup purposes only.

Thanks

 

[Rdslw]

all 3 are possible, 2'nd might be common and cheap to replace.
I would start with another OS (like boot pendrive linux and check if its not data corruption on drive.)
if linux shows same problem then I would go to bios and try disable/enable onboard/dedicated graphics. Not sure if this laptop will allow that in bios.
if this won't help you can open it yourself and try to reatach LCD cable/ search for possible problems by yourself)
https/www.ifixit.com/Document/979/.pdf

 

[zohs_alexan]

Hello my friend,
Your laptop possibly it just has a problem with GPU. In order to fix the problem you need to unscrew everything from your laptop and have motherboard on your own hands. You are going to remove everything possible (RAM,Hard Drive,CMOS Battery, e.tc.) + you are going to have to use cotton with some alcohol in order to clean both CPU and GPU from thermal paste. You need to do a reflow to your GPU. So, you are going to have to heat your GPU chip at 300~350oC for about 15~25 seconds around the chip and 10~15 seconds straight at the chip. You will have to wait 5~12 minutes in order to give your chip time to cool down. Then, you are going to put your components like before and install new thermal paste to CPU and GPU. Probably when you are going to hit the power button you are going to see image on your screen.
Hope you find it helpful!
P.S. This is not a permanent solution. Reflow is going to last maybe weeks, months or even some years. Otherwise, you can replace the GPU's chip something definitely not recommend for because it might be expensive + you need a special machine so...

 

[Wolfshadw]

@zohs_alexan - This thread is over three years old and marked as solved already. Please do not rehash old threads.

Closing
Wolfshadw
Moderator