You may recall that last week, the dog knocked my laptop to the floor and shattered the screen. It was a very sad day.

Then several blog readers suggested that I try to replace the screen. So last weekend I ordered a new screen off eBay for $72. There were over a dozen vendors on eBay selling these screens.

The new screen arrived and I installed it this weekend. After watching that video it was surprisingly easy. I unscrewed six bezel screws and pried off the bezel. I had to undo two screws that attached the mounting bracket for the screen to the lid of the laptop. This gave access to the 8 screws that hold the screen in.

The new screen fit perfectly. I plugged in the ribbon cable and the fluorescent light power connector. All the screw holes lined up. The bezel snapped back in very easily and I screwed it back into place. I powered it up and it is absolutely gorgeous. No bad pixels. No alignment problems. No funny colors. Anyone looking at the new screen would have no way to know it was replaced – the bezel is just as tight and the screen’s fit is perfect. And the whole process only took about 20 minutes.

Having this laptop back on line is great. I am typing on it right now. I appreciate all the suggestions to try replacing the screen myself. It worked out better than I would have expected.

PS – I would swear that battery life has improved by about 20 minutes with the new screen, but that could be an illusion. I never wrote down battery life before, although I did pay attention to it.