About a couple of weeks ago I took out the Bluetooth adapter to make room for a 16 gb flash drive. Apparently the adapter got stuck between the lid and the screen when it was closed. The next day the screen looked as if a giant ink bug got smashed in the lower right. I left it alone for a long time, hoping it would cure itself, but that didn't work. It's a Dell Inspiron laptop, about 5 or 6 years old, with Windows 8.1, although I was hoping to try Ubuntu, which is why I put the flash drive in that slot. I have no external monitor and not a lot of money. What can I do about this?
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Pc screen fried
- Thread starter Rgarner
- Start date
That's definitely the LCD screen is cracked and busted. Replacement/repair is required. How much, don't really know for sure, probably not so cheap.
It would just be a regular desktop monitor. They come in different resolutions so it depends on the one you buy, it wont make the laptop any faster.
Rootabaga covered used ones, a new monitor will be around $90 and up.
Or if you have an HDTV you might be able to use that - if the laptop has HDMI out you can use an HDMI cable. Some HDTVs also have VGA if that's all your laptop has.
I doubt this pc has any of that. However, I'm adding one of my crappy photos to show what there is on the left side. The right one has the disc player, the front is for the sd converter or whatever it's called as well as earphones and one more thing, and the back is just hinged. I could also show the tv, which I think does have hdmi. It's funny that the tv set works but somehow manages not to get channels. Ok, it's actually four pc photos and two tv, which are probably worse because of bad lighting. The purple thing is a flash drive, but not the one for Ubuntu. The round hole is for the power plug.
This is VGA out on your laptop:
https://androidforums.com/attachments/20190121_222525-jpg.139208/
If your TV also has that type of connection you can use the TV as an external monitor.
None of your laptop pictures had HDMI.
https://androidforums.com/attachments/20190121_222525-jpg.139208/
If your TV also has that type of connection you can use the TV as an external monitor.
None of your laptop pictures had HDMI.
Milo Willamson
Android Expert
Had my "new" one for fifteen years, its a plasma t.v. 
D
Deleted User
Guest
If you can't find a monitor with VGA input (becoming increasingly rare these days), you can use a VGA -> HDMI adapter.
Davdi
Android Expert
It's really not hard to replace a damaged screen. Search YouTube for videos featuring your laptop.
I replaced the screen on an Acer laptop a while ago. from memory, the new LED panel cost around £30, and took around half an hour to fit start to finish. And that laptop is still going strong with Linux Mint having replaced Windows a long time ago.
I replaced the screen on an Acer laptop a while ago. from memory, the new LED panel cost around £30, and took around half an hour to fit start to finish. And that laptop is still going strong with Linux Mint having replaced Windows a long time ago.
Milo Willamson
Android Expert
Again it is super hard without seeing much on the monitor itself.
Only way I can see is to play videos in an appropriately sized window, that avoids the damaged area of the screen. Videos on a laptop either play full-screen or windowed, that's it.