It probably is fixable, you can always find an equivalent machine that has some other problem and mix and match parts. The individual parts do pop up from time to time on eBay as well. It would also fetch a little bit of cash if someone was looking for a running machine, and could live with the blue line. Doesn't sound like he's planning to toss it though?

Another use for it would be to hook up an external monitor, and use the Fn + F5 combo (or whatever's marked on your keyboard) to switch output to the monitor. Depending on the model, it should have sound, and with a CDROM it would be a nice capable little unit.

It is usually a fault in the lcd screen matrix ..and if so there is no cure other than to replace the screen..
Very occasionally it can be the connecting ribbon ..or indeed the ribbon plug/socket contacts.
That said ..sometimes the problem can be 'bodged' in such a way as to make the screen useable.
I recently did this with a red vertical line on a toshiba panel.
very gently apply finger pressure around the screen ..and if you are lucky ..there _may_ be a spot where the line vanishes.
having found the spot ..sometimes packing behind the screen to apply pressure with a semi rigid foam packing can provide a bodge fix...but this may not last .
rgds and good luck
VS

that is probably a great idea. a retro small pc slim connected to a crt. and this model came with drivers for win3.1 . win,95 and win98 that are stil available on the toshiba website.

but the lcd screen defect is kind of sad. maybe there are other models using the same flex cable or screen since the service manual is the same for all these models:
satellite / satellite pro : 220 440 460 470 and 480 models

in dos..if used with the dos screen with normal resolution cut (not stretched) the line does not affect the picture.

Vipersan wrote:

That said ..sometimes the problem can be 'bodged' in such a way as to make the screen useable. I recently did this with a red ve […]
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That said ..sometimes the problem can be 'bodged' in such a way as to make the screen useable.
I recently did this with a red vertical line on a toshiba panel.
very gently apply finger pressure around the screen ..and if you are lucky ..there _may_ be a spot where the line vanishes.
having found the spot ..sometimes packing behind the screen to apply pressure with a semi rigid foam packing can provide a bodge fix...but this may not last .

I did exactly that to "fix" a greenish line on a more recent Sony notebook panel. Over two years later, it still looks good. The line was right near the left edge of the display, in that case.