If you’re using a laptop for a while, it’s common to see the screen showing distorted colors and weird lines. It can happen to new laptops as well. Imagine you’re watching movies or doing something important, and suddenly your laptop screen starts flickering.
It’s not something enjoyable, right? I personally found myself wanting to smash my laptop every time it happened. Don’t worry. You don’t have to do it. It took us some time, but we figured out how to solve the issue.
If you’re having these issues and looking for solutions, you have come to the right place. Today, we’re going to tell you why these annoying screen problems appear and what to do about them.
Alright, now let’s get to the good part. Buckle up and read along as we run you through some of the best solutions to these laptop screen problems.
What’s the reason behind the laptop screen’s weird colors and lines?
You need to find out the problems first and then try fixing them. You need to make sure which component of your machine is responsible for the problem. It can be a hardware issue or a software issue. There are two probable reasons in this case.
1. The monitor/screen can be at the root of the problem. You can normally identify it by pressing on the panel gently and observing the changes.
2. Another problem might have to do with your graphics card driver or any other driver. You need to update and fix them.
No matter what your issue is, this article will help you fix it. Now, let’s learn what you can fix the distorted lines or weird colors on your laptop screen yourself. If you have no experience or knowledge regarding this stuff, we advise you to take your laptop to an expert.
Fixing the hardware problems
If you are seeing distorted lines or colors on your laptop screen, you can take it to a good laptop repair and maintenance shop nearby. If you have a warranty, it’s best to take it to the manufacturer’s authorized repair centers. It will save you money.
If you don’t have one, don’t worry. You can take it to any laptop repair shop. I’m sure you’ll find some good shops nearby. You can replace the laptop screen with a new one. It will solve the hardware problem and stop your screen from flickering.
So, the most common thing to do is to take your laptop to an expert. But if you decide that you will fix the problem yourself, do as we tell you. Following are the steps you can follow to fix your laptop screen yourself. Please read them carefully.
Restart your laptop computer
If you see distorted lines on your screen or weird colors on your screen, the first thing you should do is restart your laptop. Simply shut your computer down properly and wait for 5 minutes.
Sometimes unfinished processes, RAM overload, malware, viruses, and similar things might cause your laptop screen to show weird colors and lines. If your problem is this, a good old restart will fix it! If it doesn’t, there are other ways that you can try.
Use an external monitor and fix the problem
If a restart hasn’t fixed your screen problem, you need to figure out whether or not your laptop screen is having problems. So, you can use a monitor to test your laptop screen. However, you may not have an external monitor at home. So what do you do?
You certainly shouldn’t buy a new laptop monitor just to check your laptop screen. Take the help of a repairman on testing your laptop. You can take your laptop to a repair store. They will check it out for you. You shouldn’t be charged for that.
If you have a friend or someone else who has an external monitor, you can ask them to let you check your computer. It just takes a few seconds. Then, you can work on fixing the issue.n
If you have access to an external monitor, you can test your laptop easily. Here’s how you can do it.
You need to have a VGA cable/DVI cable/ S-Video cable or HDMI cable to test. Simply put, you need to have any of these cables to be able to test your computer on that monitor. Keep in mind; all monitors don’t support HDMI cables. Be sure about that before buying one. Almost all laptops allow VGA connections. It’s safe to use a VGA cable for that purpose. Don’t forget to check out the external monitor as well. Make sure it’s good.
VGA cable & HDMI cable
Connections are automatically detected on modern-day laptops. So, you will start seeing results on both the monitor and laptop screen. If your monitor can’t do that, you need to establish a connection manually.
You need to use the function buttons of your keyboard to switch the display between internal and external modes. The buttons are different for different brands.
• For HP laptops, press the Fn+F4 key
• For Toshiba, press the Fn+F5 key
• For Dell, press the Fn+F8 key
• For Lenovo, press the Fn+F7 key
You will access the connection menu this way. Now, manually connect your laptop screen with the monitor.
You will see results on both screens now. If the display is weird on both screens, it’s probably because of outdated graphics drivers, a poor LCD connection, or a bad cable.
If you see good results on the extra monitor, but the laptop screen displays weird lines, you need to fix your laptop’s screen. You can take it to a repair shop. If the problem is minor, you can do it yourself.
This is a pretty simple thing to do. If you know the model of your graphics card (Nvidia, AMD, Intel), look for the latest driver for it. Update the video card drivers of your laptop to the latest available version.
If you don’t know your graphics card model or want a simpler experience, you can use an app. We recommend an app called DriverFix. It’s really cheap. You can get a license for a single PC for around $20 per year. The app will automatically detect faulty or outdated drivers. You can update them easily.
If this doesn’t work for you, consider replacing the graphics card.
Check the LCD cable connection with the motherboard
If your laptop screen doesn’t have any issues, but you still see vertical lines on your screen, it’s maybe because of a poor connection between the laptop’s LCD and the motherboard. Let us explain how it works.
The motherboard of your laptop sends signals through a cable. The connection needs to be good to get the expected results. A poor connection or a bad quality cable prevents that from happening.
If the cable has breakage or is worn out, it’s risky for you to keep using it. You will see distorted vertical lines because of this. You should change it.
Check if the cable is plugged in properly. If it’s loose, plug it in properly. The connection between the laptop’s LCD panel and the motherboard is placed under the keyboard. You need to dislodge the keyboard first. Check videos and guides on how to do it.
Replace the LCD cable
LCD cable
A poor LCD cable will disrupt your viewing experience. If the cable is worn out, you should definitely get a new one. It doesn’t cost much. You can try wiggling the cable if it looks in good condition. You need to change the cable as well if you see the computer screen flickering or showing distortion while wiggling.
Check the display screen
If you didn’t have any issues with any previous methods, you should check the screen itself. Before changing the PC screen, you need to be sure that it needs replacement.
Press gently on the upper portion of your laptop’s display. If you see distortions or colorful spots, it’s time for you to get a new display. You can take our word for it. If you don’t get it replaced soon, it’s only going to get worse.
FAQs
How to fix the rainbow screen on a laptop?
You can try out the good old restart method. Shut your computer down, wait for some minutes and restart it. If it doesn’t work, you can test it out on a monitor like we discussed earlier and look for solutions depending on the problem.
How to fix a horizontal line on my laptop screen?
Horizontal lines are not a good sign for your laptop’s display. It means the display is probably of poor quality. This problem can be solved. To fix horizontal lines on your laptop, take your laptop to a repair center where they check your computer’s BIOS settings, which allow seeing if this issue is a software or hardware problem.
What to do if I see my laptop screen with fuzzy colors?
In this case, you can try out the following methods. If they don’t solve the issue, it’s better to take your laptop to an expert.
• Test the LCD panel of your laptop on an external PC monitor.
• Update to the latest version of the graphics card drivers. If you’re using a really old one, consider replacing your graphics card.
• Check the LCD cable connection between the LCD panel and the motherboard.
• Gently press on the upper part of the LCD screen panel and look for changes like we discussed earlier.
Wrapping Up
Having a flickering or distorted laptop display is annoying. We all want a normal display that is well functioning with great screen resolution. You cannot do anything with a distorted display properly. But unfortunately, it can happen to any laptop. You learned what can be done to fix your laptop screen failure by yourself. If you’re not confident enough or don’t want to take any risks, you can take it to an expert.
You don’t have to get a laptop every time you see a flickering screen or replace the display. You need to be absolutely sure before you do something, laptops are expensive. Our advice-don’t smash your laptop when you have weird colors and lines on it next time! If your laptop becomes obsolete or too old to work, you can always replace it and look for what to do with your old laptop.
Hope you found this article useful. Let us know in the comments down below what you think of it, and feel free to share it. Thanks!