Laptop screen hue changes to purple/green

[Hayamaneko]

So recently my mom's laptop has begun acting up. Depending on the position of the screen the colors would change to mostly purple or green. It has gotten progressively worse over time to the point where now my mom has to postion the computer in an awkward angle so that the screen doesn't need to move but the keyboard is elavated at a 45 degree angle, making it uncofortable to type. I tried calling HP tech support and they said it was either the monitor or the graphics card. Since the laptop is no longer covered under the warrenty they would charge at least $80 to look at the thing, plus whatever the price of repair is.

Me being the cheap bastard that I am would rather try to fix it myself so I have been looking up how to open the laptop up and replace the screen. So far I have been unable to find the right screwdriver and even then I am not 100% certain that the screen is the culprit or where I would buy a replacement. I asked this question on another board and they suggested that it might be the LVDS cable, though I have no idea how to test that theory out.

What should I do? The laptop is an HP Probook 4520s

[synaesthetic]

The flex ribbon cable connecting the LCD to the rest of the laptop is probably about to die. Those things are very thin and prone to damage if they're handled too roughly (repeated opening and closing with too much force, for example).

You can test if it's the GPU easily enough. Plug an external display into the laptop via the VGA port (or HDMI if it has one) and use it for a while. If the color issue persists it may be a dying GPU. If it's not, it's likely the LCD panel that's at fault.

[SeijiSensei]

My daughter and I disassembled her HP dv6t a few months back when the damn thing started having keyboard problems three weeks after the warranty expired. The ribbon cable was the hardest part of the task. However we were working on the keyboard/mousepad component. Everything I've read about replacing screens makes me think it is worth having a professional do it.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

The flex ribbon cable connecting the LCD to the rest of the laptop is probably about to die. Those things are very thin and prone to damage if they're handled too roughly (repeated opening and closing with too much force, for example).

You can test if it's the GPU easily enough. Plug an external display into the laptop via the VGA port (or HDMI if it has one) and use it for a while. If the color issue persists it may be a dying GPU. If it's not, it's likely the LCD panel that's at fault.

This ... very well said too.

Man ... the ribbon screen connector thingees drive me up the wall. -_-

[Hayamaneko]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

You can test if it's the GPU easily enough. Plug an external display into the laptop via the VGA port (or HDMI if it has one) and use it for a while. If the color issue persists it may be a dying GPU. If it's not, it's likely the LCD panel that's at fault.

Tried that, the screen that was connect looked normal regard of what position the screen was at so I already out the GPU.