horizontal lines on parts of the screen (not all)

[draexo]

Laptop is a Toshiba Satellite X205-S9810.
Specs are:
ProcessorIntel Core 2 Duo T5750 / 2.0 GHz ( Dual-Core )
Memory3.0 GB / 4.0 GB (max)
Hard Drive320.0 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400.0 rpm
Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows Seven (upgraded a while ago)
Display Type17.0 in TFT active matrix
Max Resolution1440 x 900 ( WXGA+ )
Graphics ProcessorPCI Express x16 - NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT TurboCache supporting 767MB
Optical DriveDVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM - Integrated

It has been behaving oddly. I do not believe it to be an overheating issue as it is sometimes happening before it has been on long enough to overheat. I have also cleared the vents of any dust and there is good airflow.
What is happening is this:
Horizontal lines appear on the left 2/3rd of the screen regardless of what is on the screen. The right 1/3rd of the screen is absolutely fine.
Now, when I plug in this laptop using its external port to my monitor, the display on my monitor is 100% fine.
It also has random crashes where the screen turns black and I have to pull the battery to recover. The time to the crashes varies greatly. It could sit for hours and nothing happens or it could be off for days, I turn it on, and ten minutes later it crashes.

I was going to re-install Windows 7. However, what has me puzzled is that the display on the external VGA port is fine. It is just the built in display.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Prostar Computer]

The crash may or may not be software related (and therefore may or may not be fixed by reinstalling Windows), but the lines on your screen are a hardware issue. Either the video cable needs reseated (or needs replaced), or the LCD screen needs replaced.

 

[draexo]

Is there a way to tell if it is the screen or cable or do I just replace both and see? The external VGA port displays fine.

 

[Prostar Computer]

As long as it's not under warranty, you can open it up and try reseating the cable before you go purchase anything. Try reseating the video cable at the monitor first, and if it doesn't work after a few attempts, then try reseating it at the system board as well.

Should you need to replace one or both components, you can find them online through parts specialists, or purchase a "for parts only" system that's identical to yours on eBay, then just pull the parts you need to swap.

 

[draexo]

Ok, I will start at re-seating and then start with parts.

 

[Prostar Computer]

Good luck!