Guide: Replace Your Dell XPS M1530 Screen

Like many M1530 owners I was shipped the lackluster Samsung "Grainy" (CCFL) screen. After much angst and time spent arguing with Dell I managed to strike a deal. Dell agreed to refund me the cost of a new LG CCFL screen on my M1530 purchase so I could go ahead and purchase the LG CCFL screen myself from Dell parts. Why this was more attractive to Dell than just swapping screens I don’t know but what it meant was me replacing the screen in my machine myself. So here is how I did it.







1. You need to download and use the Dell Service Manual for the M1530. Get it from the NBR **Official Dell XPS M1530 Manuals, Drivers & Utilities** thread. It’s what I used and is a very good, easy to follow guide.



**Official Dell XPS M1530 Manuals, Drivers & Applications**







2. Tools I used:







Small philips screw driver

I actually had two on hand just in case one was a bit too big but I could have done it all with just one.



Tweezers

You might drop a screw into a very hard to reach area or need to position a screw into a hard to reach area so the tweezers came in handy. A small magnetic pen tool would do the job as well.



Needle nose pliers

I don’t think I actually used these but they’re good to have on hand.



Utility knife

I only used the knife to open the box for my new screen and cut some tape that fastened a clear plastic, protective film on to the panel.



Wood or plastic chopstick

I used the flat edge of a wood chopstick like a wedge to pry between spots and it won’t scratch or damage anything like a screwdriver might.



A table and some kind of cloth to protect your laptop from scratches, when working on it. I used my dining room table and a tablecloth.







3. Use some containers to store screws in. There are 6 different kinds of screws you’ll encounter so rather than get totally confused as to what goes where, just store the screws in containers in the order you remove them. Then just go in reverse order when you are putting it all back together.











4. Flip the unit over and remove the battery. Remove the brass coloured screws you’ll find underneath the battery.











5. Now remove the two cover plates on the left and lower mid section. Hint!... don’t take the screws out all the way. Just loosen them enough to remove the plates and keep all the screws in them.











6. Now flip the unit over right side up. To take the plastic control cover off you need to lean the screen back as far as it will go, then gently pull up on the control plate from the far side. It is only held down by some plastic tabs so be careful. I found starting at the top left side and working my way down and across to the right worked best. Also note there is a thin ribbon cable connected to the underside of the cover, so you cannot lift it right off. You need to flip the cover over and disconnect the cable before you can remove it completely from the assembly, as seen in this pic.



Remove the hinge covers. They come off very easily by just pulling the left cover to the left and the right cover to the right.



























7. Now you need to remove the keyboard. Pretty straight forward with just two screws but be careful as there is a ribbon cable underneath that’s attached to it. You need to lift the keyboard off enough to be able to reach underneath and pull up on the cable at its base, where it is connected to the main assembly. A little black housing that it’s connected to will flip up and release the cable. When replacing the keyboard you need to place the end of the cable flat on the assembly against the housing and then push the housing that flipped up back down and it will clamp the cable in. My description probably sounds harder than it is, sorry.



Once the keyboard is off you can see all the cables and how they are routed. Make note and study this it will serve you well.











8. Now we need to get underneath the unit again to remove the mini card cables. Close the unit gently and carefully flip it over. On my M1530 I just needed to pull the black and white wires up for the WLAN mini card and then route all the wires you see here through the hole they are coming from to the other side.











9. There is one far left & one right screw at the top of this pic that need to come out now. Sorry this pic is showing my mini card cables still poking through on this side. They really should be through the hole and on the other side before proceeding. Once that’s all done carefully flip the unit back over to right side up.











10. Flip the screen back as far as it will go again. Remove two screws holding the display assembly to the main assembly.











11. Carefully remove the connectors for the display and camera cables. Now you can dislodge these cables along with the mini card cables from their routing. Once you do this you should have the main assembly and display assembly in two separate parts.



















12. Remove the bezel on the display assembly. Just use your fingers to pry up the bezel from the inside. The bezel is held on with plastic tabs and it comes off pretty easily. Just be careful as usual.



Now remove the 6 screws holding the screen down to the assembly (4 at the top, 2 at the bottom).











13. Remove the LCD panel. Now hold the panel on its side so you can remove the screws holding the brackets on the sides of the panel. Note how the brackets are positioned so you know which side is up when you put them on the new LCD panel. Sorry for the blurry pic.











14. Remove the display panel cable on the back of the LCD. There’s a piece of clear plastic tape holding it on where it connects at the top. Remove the tape carefully and save it so you can secure the cable on the new panel the same way. The cable is also glued down near the bottom with some low tack glue. Just pry it up carefully. Now disconnect it from the top and bottom connections.











********************************

HALF WAY THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

********************************



Yeah I know only half way after all that? Yeesh. :P



Now you just need to go through all the steps above in reverse. The toughest part for me was getting the display assembly back into it’s slots on the main assembly. It took some ‘finagling’ to get it to slide in. But everything else went pretty smooth.



Also note that your new LCD panel shipped with a plastic film held on with masking tape. I left this film on until I had to put the display bezel back on. At that time I just carefully cut the masking tape with a utility knife, close to the edge of the panel, and removed the film. Don’t worry the bezel will cover the tape that’s left.



The other very important part is cable routing. Take your time and do it right, otherwise you will end up with a nice hump in your keyboard.



That’s it. Hopefully you end up with the most frickin amazing screen you've ever seen like I did... well at least compared to the craptacular Samsung you had before. I have to admit this LG screen is 110% better than the Sammy so all my efforts seem way worth it now.



Good luck and if you have any comments or advice for others that could be added to this guide let me know.

Reply 1 : Guide: Replace Your Dell XPS M1530 Screen

Excellent job! Thanks for taking the time and effort to post this information!!

Reply 2 : Guide: Replace Your Dell XPS M1530 Screen

Thats a great pictorial guide. It would have been great to have something like this when I pulled my first m1530 screen out, lol.

Reply 3 : Guide: Replace Your Dell XPS M1530 Screen

Thanks for a great guide and tips, it makes me want to try to call to refund and purchase the LG Screen and install myself, but where can I order the dell part? From official dell website or third party?If you order and install the screen yourself, will it void the warranty?



Last time I call the sales department if I can just downgrade my screen from 1600 to 1440 without returning the whole system and they said I couldn't. Is it hard to get a partial refund (the price of the screen)?

Reply 4 : Guide: Replace Your Dell XPS M1530 Screen

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jakpro Excellent job! Thanks for taking the time and effort to post this information!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by booji Thats a great pictorial guide. It would have been great to have something like this when I pulled my first m1530 screen out, lol.

Thank you gentlemen

Quote:

Originally Posted by tempomusic Thanks for a great guide and tips, it makes me want to try to call to refund and purchase the LG Screen and install myself, but where can I order the dell part? From official dell website or third party?If you order and install the screen yourself, will it void the warranty? Last time I call the sales department if I can just downgrade my screen from 1600 to 1440 without returning the whole system and they said I couldn't. Is it hard to get a partial refund (the price of the screen)?

Thank you. As noted throughout the How Do I Fix My M1530 Grainy Screen thread, getting Dell to acknowledge the poor display quality of the Samsung screen and arranging for an LG replacement is nothing short of a miracle. I spent hours making phone calls, sending emails and generally making a huge nuisance of myself until Customer Care decided to cooperate.



Frankly I have no idea if this operation voids the warranty or not. Maybe someone else can confirm this? Or maybe call Dell and ask?



I purchased the LG screen from Dell Parts Canada. I know others were able to actually have Dell replace the screen for them through warranty but alas this was not how it happened for me.

Reply 5 : Guide: Replace Your Dell XPS M1530 Screen

I just did this on my Inspiron 1520 on Friday night, and the procedures were very similar to this. The hardest part was removing the bezel around the screen... you literally have to spend 20 minutes of finger-cutting torture to carefully snap that thing off. At least I have some battle wounds to show for my hard work.



I would recommend following the Service Guide found on Dell.com in addition to these pictures, for either the m1530 or the Inspiron 1520. See my other post about this here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/show...39#post3200539

Reply 6 : Guide: Replace Your Dell XPS M1530 Screen

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryanmcv I just did this on my Inspiron 1520 on Friday night, and the procedures were very similar to this. The hardest part was removing the bezel around the screen... you literally have to spend 20 minutes of finger-cutting torture to carefully snap that thing off. At least I have some battle wounds to show for my hard work. I would recommend following the Service Guide found on Dell.com in addition to these pictures, for either the m1530 or the Inspiron 1520. See my other post about this here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/show...39#post3200539

Sorry to hear about the battle wounds. The bezel on the 1530 was a breeze to remove and replace. No scars to show for it here just a fantastic display. Yes as I mentioned in Step 1, anyone attempting this should download the Service Manual.

Reply 7 : Guide: Replace Your Dell XPS M1530 Screen

This is a great guide. Well written and illustrated. Thanks for your contribution!

Reply 8 : Guide: Replace Your Dell XPS M1530 Screen

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smoothieboy This is a great guide. Well written and illustrated. Thanks for your contribution!

Thank you and you're welcome.

Reply 9 : Guide: Replace Your Dell XPS M1530 Screen

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thund3rball Sorry to hear about the battle wounds. The bezel on the 1530 was a breeze to remove and replace. No scars to show for it here just a fantastic display. Yes as I mentioned in Step 1, anyone attempting this should download the Service Manual.

Yeah the 1520 is a real beast... It's a very sturdy and well-built machine. I'm glad I took my time and didn't scratch or damage anything. Now I have the screen I wish I would have ordered to begin with!



I'm also curious as to whether or not this voids the warranty... Anyone have any idea?