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Laptop Screen Looks Cracked But Isn’t (Find Out Why!)

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Virtually every laptop user will be confronted with laptop screen problems at one point or another. Maybe you are at that point right now; by this, I mean, at the time of reading this article, your laptop screen display is distorted by multiple, haphazard, multicolored lines that make it hard for you to appreciate any data on the screen. 

It is also possible that your laptop screen has stopped showing anything. Perhaps, it is even showing some inputted information, but together with the responses to the command you gave your laptop are several white blotches or multicolored circular patches on its screen. 

It is equally possible that your laptop screen problem will be heralded by the presence of many rainbow lines on its screen. The signs often differ, but at the sight of the signs, the suspicion is almost always universal: your mind will almost immediately suspect the existence of a crack in the screen of the laptop. This suspicion may, however, be wrong.

This article is written to answer your questions regarding why the screen of your laptop may show undisputed symptoms of a crack, yet its structural integrity is, without doubt, uncompromised and the possible ways to fix those symptoms when they arise. Though, sometimes, when crack signs pop up on your laptop screen, it is because a true crack exists on the screen of your laptop. This content piece will equally furnish you with the next steps to take in this situation; but first, it will start with your first and most important question:


Laptop Screen Looks Cracked But Isn’t

Usually, when you suspect the screen of your laptop computer is broken, this suspicion is almost always true. However, there is a possibility of this suspicion being false if the break is limited to the outer, usually plastic, protective layer of the screen. A tear in the protective film that most laptops are built with nowadays could also disguise as a crack in the screen. It is why you need an expert vision to discern a true crack from what is not a real screen integrity compromise

More often than not, however, a visible crack will not be obvious on the screen of your laptop, but the screen will start to show unsolicited colors or images, or it might just stop working, leading you to believe, quite accurately, most times, that a problem, perhaps a crack, exists, especially when you have not been so meticulous with the use of your laptop computer. In situations like these, before consulting a skilled and trustworthy laptop engineer for a change of screen, one which might turn out to still be good, take some time to do the following; one of them might save you several hundreds of dollars.


1. Fold and unfold your laptop

This should be done gently. In the heat of the moment, many people make the mistake of forcefully opening and closing their devices, and this leaves the screen at risk of damage, worsening the already existing problem. But if this is done gently, it may be the therapy your laptop screen needs. When you fold your laptop, it sleeps automatically. Unfolding it wakes it up from sleep triggering a screen display. It is possible that your laptop failed to leave its state of hibernation at first, which is why it failed to display anything. Folding and unfolding should effectively remedy this.


2. Try an external monitor

You read right: try an external monitor to be sure your laptop screen did not fail to display because it is not connected to the central processing unit. The use of an external monitor with your laptop helps to solidify the suspicion of a damaged screen and rule out the suspicion of an unconnected screen.

Try an external monitor
Connect an external monitor to verify your laptop’s screen


3. Update outdated drivers

Outdated drives frustrate a laptop’s operations. They are a menace for a laptop to deal with. And while a laptop is trying to deal/cope with them, something might go wrong, causing the screen to start acting in an undesirable way. If this happens, it is best to confirm if there are drivers on your laptop that are outdated and try to update them. This should remedy the problem, that is, if the problem was outdated drivers.


4. Detached external accessories

One of the reasons why a laptop screen may cease to display your activities is if it runs into problems while trying to install new/external drivers and updates. If a device is not built to enable the accessories that are being connected to it, other functions of the laptop might be affected, including its screen display. In this situation, the best thing to do is unplug the external accessory and wait a while for the laptop to recover from the failed attempts to install a device it does not support. You need not think it is a non-existent little crack in your screen that is manifesting.  


5. Endeavor to change your screensaver

This may be difficult but if it is not impossible, try to do it. But after squinting to appreciate the display on the screen and changing the screen saver of your laptop, if the screen display doesn’t get better, go ahead and do the very last thing remaining: RESTART YOUR LAPTOP COMPUTER. This should help pin the diagnosis of your laptop screen’s problem.

As mentioned earlier, the above interventions will not work in all situations. Sometimes, when your laptop screen looks cracked, it is simply because there is a visible crack on it. Do well to confirm this with a third-party eye. And after confirming a real crack exists, such a laptop would require its screen fixed before it can serve you again. What should you do in this situation? Find out below.


How To Fix A Laptop Cracked Screen

How To Fix A Laptop Cracked Screen
Laptop screens can be repaired or replaced

There are no two ways about this; the only advisable thing to do when you are trapped in this precarious situation with your laptop screen after all else has failed is to change the screen entirely. When a laptop screen is truly cracked, no patchy remedy will work for such a laptop. Usually, such laptops are beyond repair. Deception is saying this, and that should be done knowing that they will end in futility.

If you are double sure your laptop screen is cracked, and you are not skilled at fixing it yourself, pack it gently, and take it to an engineer who is skilled at diagnosing and fixing laptop problems. You must be ready to part with a fee of hundreds of dollars (between 100 and 200 dollars), and in no time, you will have your laptop back in your room, doing what it does for you again. 

What if it’s a cracked protective layer or a torn protective film disguising a true crack? A laptop engineer is in the best position to resolve this. A change of either part is the way forward. Surely, this change would take a smaller sum of money out of your coffers than a broken screen would.


Final Thoughts

If you think your laptop screen is broken, the chances are high that it is truly broken. You probably just need to look a little closer and more carefully to confirm this. This is not to say, however, that there are no situations where your suspicions of a crack in the screen of your laptop might be wrong. In such cases, you will likely see signs pointing toward a screen problem, not necessarily a crack. But because the signs exist, your mind will tilt you into thinking your laptop screen looks cracked, yet it is not

When you find yourself in either situation (a true crack or a misconception born out of anxiety) with your laptop, go ahead and employ any of the pieces of advice above which solve your laptop’s screen problem. You will be glad you did.

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Pigtou Editorial Team

A group of tech enthusiasts who find pleasure in troubleshooting and resolving various issues. When we're not engaged in writing, we typically enjoy playing table football or spending time with our office dog.
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