Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Do You Think You Have Dead Pixels On Your Notebook Screen?

Do you take good care of your laptop/notebook comptuer? How does your screen look? If you see somthing your not sure but you think it may be a poblem with your screen pixels read this article a learn how to find out for sure. A1-Computers


Take a careful look at your notebook computer screen. Do you find some tiny dark spots? You could have dead pixels. One of the most expensive parts of your notebook computer is the LCD screen.


Your LCD screen is highly sensitive and any amount of pressure, touching or handling may damage it. As such, dead pixels aren't an uncommon thing. Apparently, some degree of dead pixels is to be expected. Still if you have a lot of them, it would be classified as a defective screen. So, how do you determine if you have dead pixels?

First, lets make sure it's not just dust. Clean your screen first. The best way to do that is to use a soft cotton cloth - no rags or paper towel as they can scratch your screen easily. Moisten the cloth with plain old water and wipe the screen gently.

Side note: I've also tried maintaining my screen dust free with a Swiffer Duster. These are inexpensive, very soft and they pick up the dirt not just re-distribute it. It has worked well. Of course, this will not take care of smudges or dried on dirt. So you'll still have to use the cotton cloth and water combo sometimes.

Once you've cleaned it, you can run a quick check with a free software called Dead Pixel Buddy. It's basically a very simple file that will rotate your screen through all the basic colors. This way you can tell if a pixel on your screen is not displaying properly. One tip, you might want to get a help of a friend. Two sets of eyes are better than one especially since pixels tend to be miniscule.

You can also do a low tech way by changing your desktop's background color to black, white, red, green blue and yellow, checking the screen each time you change the colors. This is of course not fool proof especially if you have tons of icons on your desktop but it's a good 'backup' check if you don't have Internet access to download the file or whatever the case may be.

If you do find dead pixels, don't panic yet, as mentioned earlier, a small amount of dead pixels could be inevitable but if you have a lot of them and your notebook computer is still under warranty, this may be a good time to call up the manufacturer and ask for assistance.


For more Tips about laptops and notebooks visit Laptops


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lynn Chan helps new owners learn proper notebook care and use. Take care of your investment, find out how at http://www.notebook-computer-infocenter.com

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