17"G4Powerbook: Good to hear you've taken photos as well. I've taken photos at every step of the way, but unfortunately something's gone wrong as my LCD display shows vertical lines (see attached photo). But held at a certain angle it changes to display a flickering and distorted desktop. It's obviously a contact problem, but where? It could be the LCD panel itself or the video cable which attaches to the Powerbook. I'm going to try to fix it, or else I'll need to buy a new Samsung LCD panel (or have the LCD panel professionally fixed, depending on the cost compared to a new one).
Anyway, the plan is to fix my Powerbook, and when I do I'll make a "how to" document with text and pictures showing it all step-by-step. I really need to do the editing on my Mac and not on this PC which I'm using as an emergency solution in order to check my mail etc.
If you beat me to it, no problem
bloodycape: What you need depends...
If your LCD display is working fine, but the backlight is getting dim you only need a new CCFL tube. However, opening up the LCD panel to exchange the CCFL tube involves a lot of patience which can be nerve-wrecking at times. On the other hand, your other option is to buy a brand new LCD panel, so you have nothing to lose by trying to exchange the $15 CCFL tube first.
If you don't want risking damage to your working LCD panel, but also don't feel like wasting money on a new LCD panel just because the $15 CCFL tube is burnt out you could have some professional company do it for you.
Moniserv/LCDparts seems to be able to do this as they repair LCD displays, sell CCFLs (that's where I bought mine from), inverters and other LCD related parts. Their price-list didn't reveal any costs for just replacing the CCFL, but fixing damaged LCD panels is there. I suggest you contact them to ask.
If you want to attempt to replace the CCFL tube yourself I strongly suggest you wait for myself or 17"G4Powerbook to finish making a guide with photos you can follow. It's been a real pain to go through this for the very first time without any real instructions. And quite costly too, provided I don't find a simple solution to my display problems.
I have no idea if the part is legit or not. The seller does have a pretty high rating (99.7%) and according to his customers' feedback they seem happy. However, there's not much detailed information about the brand/model of the screen. This price on the other hand seems pretty low, because compared to my Powerbook screen I would have to pay around $300 to 500 for a new one (I haven't searched eBay though). I would assume a Macbook Pro LCD panel would cost around the same, but I really can't say.
I don't have a Macbook Pro, so I don't know the details, but I'd suggest you open up the display to see the actual model number, then ask the eBay seller to tell you which model/brand of the display he sells, checking if it's the same kind or not.
There are at least a couple of different ways to open up the display (so you can check its brand/model no.).
I believe the Macbook Pro is designed more or less along the way of my Powerbook G4, so if that's the case you can either do it
the simple way, which involves just removing the back (top) part of the display, which exposes the actual LCD panel to you, without actually having to unmount the LCD panel. The difficult part here is to access the two screws on the front sides of the display. On my Powerbook these are hex screws, on the Macbook pro it seems like they've used regular screws.
Once this is done you use a "spudger" tool (I bought a pair for $10 from
Techound1 at eBay -they also have a separate
webstore site, and the purchase also includes download access to Apple service-manuals! Very useful for me as I haven't been able to find a Powerbook service manual elsewhere).. to pry open the rear display cover (the big plastic section which has the semi-transparent Apple logo which lights up) from the display frame (which also holds the actual LCD panel).
You can also use a credit card (I'd suggest an expired one as it can get damaged) or something similar. Done carefully and with some patience it should "pop" off. Take care not to push down on the LCD panel while you work your way around the display frame. If you need to hold somewhere, press your fingers on to the frame (the "picture frame" section all around the LCD display).
If you have problems accessing the front screws of the display you need to separate the whole display unit from the rest of the computer so there's no computer blocking access to those screws.
Basically, what you do is remove the top of the actual computer (this holds the keyboard, trackpad etc. as a single section), then you disconnect the internal display cable, the backlight cable and the Airport antenna cables from the main board, unscrew the display hinges from the main board, and presto! you've separated the display from the computer. From then on you remove the two front screws of the display frame, then use the spudger/credit card as explained above to "pop" up the display hood.
Once the hood (the big plastic section with the backlit Apple logo on it) has been removed you will see the back of the LCD panel itself.
It should look
something like this where a large sticker should reveal its brandname and model number which you should be able to look up on the Internet for more details and prices.
(Actually, the above link (Laptoprepair 101) was where I learnt the most about how to open up the LCD panel and replace the CCFL tube. I plan to make a much more detailed guide though as the one above leaves out a lot of details, assuming you've done this sort of thing before (which in my case I had never done, which explains a lot of my mistakes and possibly the reason for why my display doesn't work properly any longer).
Keep in mind that Apple doesn't actually make the LCD panels, so you don't need to buy a new LCD panel from then even if you have a Mac.
In fact, if they do agree to sell you a replacement (I have no idea if they do, or if they only supply spare parts to their repair-centers where qualified personnel do the actual job) they will only sell you the complete display unit which means the whole top part of the computer, at an outrageous price.
You can save quite a bit of money if you buy just the LCD panel itself from other places where they sell replacement parts for all sorts of laptops or specialized LCD display stores.
macbattle: I have no idea as I don't have a Macbook Pro. I suggest you do what I suggested to bloodycape; open up the display to confirm 100% which display your computer uses. If you want to change the display or CCFL backlight you need to open it anyway, and with the hood off you can still use the computer in my opinion.
I'd recommend getting the exact same LCD display as the one you already have as that leaves out any guesswork.
Given that CCFL tubes need a high voltage "inverter" circuit to supply its power (around 1000V I think), and LEDs work at a much lower voltage (around 2V as far as I can remember) the computer's main board would have that section made very differently. I would love to have an LED backlight for my Powerbook, but given that it's not simply a matter of supplying power to that strip of LEDs, but the fact that you can control its brightness and on/off from the keyboard there has to be some electronic circuitry to drive it.
Unless you're a dedicated hardware hacker I wouldn't try exchanging a CCFL backlit LCD panel with one that uses LEDs or vice versa.