hair in embarressing places

December 20, 2006 9:18 AM

Hair inside laptop screen?

For a few weeks now, it appears that a piece of hair is stuck inside of my laptop's monitor. Here's a picture. It was stationary until yesterday, when I flew home and brought my computer with me. Now it has shifted away from the end of the screen, and there is a new shorter piece about half an inch above it. Both pieces to be under the surface of the screen (so I can't just brush them off) but above the actual display -- the pixels look like they are under the hair. Is there anything I can do to get it out? The laptop is a ThinkPad T42 if that makes any difference.

posted by puffin to Computers & Internet (2 answers total)

If it's under warranty, see if they'll remove it for you. If it's not under warranty, or if they won't touch it, you may just need to bite the bullet and take the laptop apart. I've taken apart Thinkpads at work before (I work in Tech Support), and they're pretty easy to get back together. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, I'm sure a reputable computer dealer in your hometown will be willing, though it might cost you a little much. If you decide to take the computer apart, make sure you arm yourself with a can of that compressed air stuff -- you don't want to touch the screen with your hands.
posted by fvox13 at 9:59 AM on December 20, 2006

That's very strange. Last night I disassembled the display on my Thinkpad T21 to replace a cable, and I honestly can't see how a hair could get inside the LCD panel. As far as I can tell, it's pretty well sealed.

If you're crazy enough to want to disassemble your thinkpad, you can find directions here (you'd want the service and troubleshooting guide). Warning: This is not for the faint of heart - it took me 3 hours to take mine apart and put it back together. I was ver-r-r-ry careful, though.

Alternately, you might want to check the Thinkpads forum to see if anybody there can help you.
posted by SteveInMaine at 10:07 AM on December 20, 2006