Cyan & red speckly vertical lines across my screen?

Emerald3 · 05 Feb 2014

I was listening to music through my headphones last night, and just before I switched off, I began seeing cyan lines and some red speckles around some of my desktop icons. The sounds is still fine and I can still use my laptop, although trying to write this through a sea of bright blue is a little distracting.

I use a Toshiba Satellite C660, on Windows 7. It's a AMD Athlon Dual Core, using 64 bit. Currently on Screen resolution, 1366 x 768.

I did a quick search on the net, and some people said it was a graphics card problems, others said it was a screen problem.

maxie · 05 Feb 2014

Hi there .. It well could be your GPU if you have a Monitor try using that .. If you get the same result its more than likely to be your GPU ...

Emerald3 · 05 Feb 2014

GPU, what's that? The graphics card?

I have a spare big bummed monitor from an old computer, so going to plug that in if I have the right cable.

My hard drive & the stuff on my laptop will be okay won't it? It's just I can't 'see' if properly?

maxie · 05 Feb 2014

Hi there Yes GPU = Graphics Card .. Using a Monitor wont effect your hard drive

Emerald3 · 06 Feb 2014

I have plugged in the other monitor, and the lines have disappeared and. It's back to normal.

This means I have a problem with my laptop screen doesn't it? Are screens easy to get fixed or is it just worth backing up then buying a new laptop?

maxie · 06 Feb 2014

Hi there .. Could mean you need a new Screen or could be some thing else .. They can be replaced not sure how much it would cost you though .. It is possible to replace yourself quite a tricky job to under take it would be for me any how .. Maybe you would be capable of that .. I am sure you could find some youtube Instructions ..

Emerald3 · 21 Feb 2014

I have had a lady look at it and repair it for two weeks. Yet the blue lines have gone and the red is still there plus on the startup page it has gone from black to red. And she claims this is the way it is supposed to be. I dont believe her and it was red when i gave it to her.

Mark Phelps · 21 Feb 2014

You didn't say what was done to repair it ... but I had a Fujitsu laptop screen go back and was able to locate a YouTube video someone had done replacing the screen in a similar model.

The risky part, in my experience, is removing and reconnecting fragile ribbon cables. But, if you can find detailed directions and follow them carefully, you can probably do the whole screen replacement in a half hour or less.

Britton30 · 21 Feb 2014

Emerald3 said:

I have had a lady look at it and repair it for two weeks. Yet the blue lines have gone and the red is still there plus on the startup page it has gone from black to red. And she claims this is the way it is supposed to be. I dont believe her and it was red when i gave it to her.

Was it like this when you first got it? I don't think so, the woman is daft and doesn't know what is wrong. If it is a defective screen, I would get a new machine. To have the screen replaced could be $200-$400 or so.
The GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) probably is not replaceable, that would take a new motherboard.

maxie · 21 Feb 2014

You should take it back to this Repair person .. And tell her to fix it proper .. Failing this do as Mark says its not that difficult just a tad fiddly ...