Repairing a Dell XPS M140 Broken Screen Hinge

As explained in my previous scibbles, my last computer was a Fujutsu S2020 which was good for its time but its AC jack broke. And it was getting old. Because of the bad experience with the AC jack, I decided to go with a different manufacturer. I decided to try a Dell.

I picked the Dell XPS M140. It's been a decent computer and no AC jack problems.

I've had it maybe a year and a half to two years. And it has two problems.

One is the laptop hinges which, as you can probably ascertain from the name of this blog, completely broke causing the screen to just flop forward and back.

The second, which I am not fixing right now, is the left mouse pad button. Its spring is shot. But the button still works. So, I'm leaving that for now. But I did buy a replacement in case it goes completely. I haven't repaired it because it looks like it is a lot more involved to fix it than just the laptop hinges. And it still works. So, it is just an annoyance at this stage.

Let's get back to the hinges. The hinges I am talking about are the ones that hold the LCD screen up. What happened is.. the left one broke. But at the time the left one broke, I probably didn't know or care because the screen still stayed up.

Then, after a month or so, the right one broke. It broke completely in half. So, the screen wouldn't stay up. And what you do then is try and prop up the screen with something of course. So, I did that a while.

And of course, the screen will fall down once and a while, closing the computer and you lose all the work you were in the middle of. Nice.

What to do? The first thought is to ditch the computer and get a new one. But I kind of like this one. And a new one is around 800 bucks or so.

Let's just fix it.

First, we have to find new hinges. I found them from typing:

"Dell M140 Parts"

into Google. The place I found that sold them was parts-people.com. Here's the link:

http://www.parts-people.com/

Search for "M140 Hinge" in their search box and you'll see it. They were $14.95. They shipped really quickly too.



I got the hinges today and it was 10 minutes or so to replace the old ones. Unlike the AC jack, there is little risk of damaging your computer in the process because replacing them is very simple.

So.. let's do it.

Before we start, find a surface to work on. I picked the floor. Then, get a white piece of paper and a pencil so you can make notes and put the little screws on the paper with notes so you don't lose them.

And get a set of small screwdrivers and a tweezers. That's all you need. Here's my primitive setup:



Next, shut your computer down (via the Start button) and then close it and flip it over. Take the battery out of the back. There are two small screws under where the battery was. Unscrew them and put them on the paper with a note about what they are:



Now flip the computer over, open the screen fully and pry open the right hand side of that plastic panel with the lights on it that is above the keyboard (whatever it is called). You pry it up a bit and then pry it out.



The left hinge is a little tricky to get out but just be careful and don't break anything. Here's a pic of lifting the left side out:



Now you can see the hinges. In my case, the left one was broken up and the right one was broken completely in half. Be sure to pick out any broken pieces that are lying around with your tweezers so they don't gouge anything. Here's the broken left one:



We need to get at the top of the hinges now so open up the screen fully and lay it on the ground.



Be careful if your hinge is broken not to pull the screen up. There are wires still connected to the computer and screen and you don't want to stretch those. Remember that as you go along. Do not put stress on those wires.

Now take off the little rubber circle grommets on the screen. There are 6 of them. Just pop them out with your fingernail and stick them above their holes.

Then unscrew the screws in the holes and put them on the paper with notes about what/where they were (or near where the holes are on the floor or table so you don't lose them).

Then pry the plastic from the screen off. Just go slowly and don't break anything. Just work it out, it will come off if you just work on it.



Now you see the tops of the hinges.

Be careful not to stretch the wires that connect the computer to the screen while you are messing around with the hinges. I know I've said that a couple times but it is just a reminder. That is probably the main thing you could do to screw something up with this project.



The replacement hinges don't look like the old hinges. Which is good because the old ones broke.

Unscrew the broken hinges and screw in the new hinges.



Here's a closeup of a new hinge:



When you are done screwing the new hinges in, tighten up each screw one more time. Not crazy tight, just normal tight. They look like they have some lock-tite on them already or something so they should stay in well.

Now make sure the wires that connect the computer to the screen look like they are in the right locations. They should be, there isn't many places for them to go.

And push the plastic frame back onto the laptop screen. Then screw the 6 screws back in and put the rubber things in them:



Now you can flip the top up and make sure it stays up:



And then put the plastic piece with the lights and power button on it back on. Slide the left side in first and then push it down to snap it in.



Looking pretty good now:



Then flip the computer over and put those two screws back in where the battery goes



Replace the battery

And Voila. The goddamn screen doesn't flop over any more. It is a freaking miracle!



If I end up fixing the left button below the keypad (the one with the spring that is shot), I'll do a post on that. But I can live with this now. At least the AC jack hasn't gone.

Good luck!