Macbook screen faulty: What's the problem?

[thebeautyisfake]

Hi! I bought a white Macbook back in 2008, and in '09 I handed it over to my parents to use. Long story short, the screen is now buggered. A picture says more than words ever can, so have a look;

(Check out the tidy desktop!)

The top half of the screen is functional, yet the bottom half glitches out as you can see. I used to be able to wiggle the screen, find the right angle and get a normal picture but that is no longer possible. The rest of the laptop is fully functional.

Is this a screen issue or something else? I've found some services on ebay that'll replace the screen for a (relatively decent) fee, and was tempted to go for it. But I want to be 100% sure that it's the screen and not, say, a motherboard issue or something.

Thank you for any help!

 

[l.a.rossmann]

Most will tell you it's an LVDS cable issue, because this is perceived as a cheaper problem.

Insanely enough, with your machine, it's actually a more expensive problem! And usually not the case.

I've yet to encounter an LVDS cable problem with a Unibody machine. I have seen them with the weaker looking cables on the a1181 & a1211/a1150/a1212/a1151 models, but not with the newer cables for LED backlit LCDs.

That is a screen problem. Your machine doesn't have the faulty nvidia GPU many others do.

 

[Spikestrip]

On the brighter side, that whole clamshell piece can be procured for less than an arm and a leg, maybe just an arm or a leg. And the repair is quite easy, as far as LCD replacement goes. I use iFixIt to find out what part I need (they have fantastic tutorials as well), and then cruise ebay, or craigslist, or other avenues for the parts. Of course if the unit is under warranty, just let Apple make your day.

Spike

 

[blackburn]

It ain't an unibody machine, so it might be just the lvds cable.

 

[l.a.rossmann]

It ain't an unibody machine, so it might be just the lvds cable.

Holy crap. I'm stupid!

I didn't even look at the keyboard. The lighting made the bezel look like the black Unibody glass. Cool photography!

Cable intermittency issues on this model usually results in no display or a line, not in that strange inverted nonsense.

Either get a new cable or a new LCD, don't buy the entire top piece.

 

[Spikestrip]

Holy crap. I'm stupid!

I didn't even look at the keyboard. The lighting made the bezel look like the black Unibody glass. Cool photography!

Cable intermittency issues on this model usually results in no display or a line, not in that strange inverted nonsense.

Either get a new cable or a new LCD, don't buy the entire top piece.

Funny, I thought the same thing from his picture, and your post.

Definitely don't want to replace the whole top, but the LCD replacement on the white MacBook is a major chore, and physically a lot of work to get the old LCD out of the frame. That's one you'd probably be best handing off to a professional. It's a pain just to get under the clutch cover for most people, but you can get that repaired for a fair price. Looks like Mr. Rossman would be able to do that for you, and also looks like he has a lot of experience doing so. Good luck.

Spike

 

[l.a.rossmann]

Don't remove the clutch cover. Use a flathead screwdriver. I now use some bent wiha instead of the rat shack crap from the pictures below.

http://www.waylessthantekserve.com/images/thatdamninverterwire/

Remove the white bezel, remove all the screws and use the magnets on the upper left & right of the display assembly(you know, the ones that crack the palmrest!) to hold them.

Then bring the LCD down out of the frame, remove the two screws on the top, two screws on the right, and three screws on the left side of the LCD. the frame will come off, you can hang it by the magnets.

Take the display cable out, webcam cable out, and rip the inverter wire out. Put new LCD in and plug its inverter wire into the inverter board using the method from the above pictures. reassemble.

The beige clips holding the white bezel to the LCD frame need to go back in before you can put it back on.

 

[thebeautyisfake]

I appreciate your replies I wouldn't trust myself to do the screen replacement so I may just bite the bullet and pay for someone else to!

Thank you for your help