"Paul" wrote in message news
VanguardLH wrote:
Paul wrote:

Kenny wrote:
Been given a Samsung N150 netbook with broken screen and HDD removed.
Attached HDD from Win 10 laptop, it appears to boot OK and I can just
about see the clock in System Tray. Attached monitor to VGA port then
using WINKEY+P and arrow keys/Enter tried to switch to external monitor
but no luck. Netbook originally had Win 7 so tried Fn+F4 in vain. Also
tried removing screen connector plug thinking it might detect no display
and switch to external monitor.
Not worth buying new screen for, question is is there any other way to
get the display to drive external monitor?

Kenny Cargill
You can get a new panel for $36.

https://www.laptopscreen.com/English.../NP-N150~PLUS/

Generally, the internal cable to the panel is unidirectional.
The conductor count is kept to a minimum, so the cable won't
be stiff. And I've not heard any symptoms that suggest they
have impedance detection on that interface either. There should
be no EDID, so the motherboard cannot sense the resolution
options the panel might support. It lacks that automation.
Instead, the BIOS is hardwired with a fixed resolution choice
assumed for the panel.

Check Ebay, and maybe you can get an entire machine, for the
same price as shopping for a panel.

Paul

Depends on what the OP meant by "broken". If that meant the screen was
physically damaged then, yes, just the screen is needed. If instead the
problem is with lack of backlighting then you have to buy the
backlamps. As they go bad, they stress more the inverter which also
goes bad, so you put in new backlamps but the inverter sucks and you end
up with a dim display. So when replacing the backlamps, also replace
the inverter. Because removing the screen often requires destroying the
butyl tape used to keep wiring in place and replacing backlamps require
soldering, some backlamp+inverter kits will include a solder roll (of
the correct mix w/flux), butyl tape, and other components that get
destroyed during disassembly.

In that $36 cost for just the screen, remember to add in the sales tax
and shipping cost. If it is not physical screen damage but backlamp
and/or inverter problems, those can be more expensive. When I looked at
replacing the CCFLs and inverter for my LCD monitor (with the install
kit), the cost was two-thirds that of buying a new monitor the same size
and specs. If I were a hobbyist and had other monitors, I probably
would've gone that way. Since it was, at the time, my only monitor, me
fixing it didn't guarantee the job was correct and I could end up with
an even more expensive dead monitor. I just bought a new one but then
that was just for a monitor, not a screen in a netbook/laptop. From
what I recall, taking apart the monitor was easier than disassembling a
netbook/laptop case to get at the screen panel.

There is something suspicious about the site you mentioned. They say
they are selling the "LCD screen only". That could be just the screen
panel (the matrix layer) and not the diffuser panel. It does not say
they are selling a screen assembly: the whole shebang already assembled
as a component to put in all at once. I made sure that I was going to
get a screen assembly: matrix panel, diffuser panel, already aligned,
with the metal frame keeping it all together. With a screen assembly,
the replacement job is doable by a hobbyist. With just the screen
matrix panel alone, I doubt you could disassembly the old assembly
without damaging it making reassembly something of a frankenjob. Just
because they show a picture of an assembled unit even with the inverter
board attached doesn't mean that is what they are actually selling.

That seller also does not note if their screen panel (whether just the
panel or the whole assembly) is new, used, or refurbished. Lot of
buyers get damaged monitors, laptops, and netbooks for cheap to resell
them off as parts. Car owners sometimes do the same thing by parting
out their vehicle instead of get the dismal pay out from a salvager.

The panel in the example, is brand new.

Another thing of note - it is LED illuminated.
No inverters and CCFLs to worry about.

Paul
Thanks for the replies. The screen is visibly damaged with just a small bit
bottom right visible so I can just about see the clock but nothing else so I
don't know if it has fully booted, I know it's set to boot straight to Win
10 on the laptop the HDD came from.