Laptop Colour

[Joy41]

I seem to have lost original colour, it is now purple and green. Any ideas on how to correct this please?

[Buenchico]

That sounds horribly like a physical connection problem too me, rather than anything which you can fix with a software tweak.

Laptops need a cable to run between the body of the machine and the monitor in the lid. Repeated opening and closing of the lid inevitably puts stress on that cable and it can become damaged (or pull away from the connections at either end). When that happens either you lose the picture altogether or the colours go awry. That seems to be what's happened to your laptop.

Unless someone here can prove me wrong (by suggesting a software setting you could adjust) I fear that you might need to get a technician to open it up and take a look at the monitor cable. With a bit of luck it might just need clicking back into place. Phone around your local computer shops to see who can offer you the best price for a repair. (PC World charge a flat-rate fee of £50, plus any parts required, for all laptop repairs but you shouldn't need to pay that much).

[Togo]

One troubleshooting step is testing the video output on an external monitor (or TV). You can connect your laptop to an external monitor using VGA cable, DVI cable, HDMI cable or S-Video cable, it depends on a type of connector you have. Most models have a VGA connector, so it would be the most common way to connect. Some laptops detect external monitor automatically and start showing images on both screens right from startup.
Other models can detect the monitor but display image only on one screen (internal or external). In this case you’ll have to switch video between internal and external using the Fn key and one of the F* keys in the top row of the keyboard.

The screen receives data signal from the motherboard via LCD cable. If the LCD cable is not making good connection with the motherboard, it might cause image or colour distortion on the screen. Try reseating the LCD cable connector and see if it fixes the problem. Make sure the LCD cable connector is plugged in correctly. In most laptops the LCD cable connector located under the keyboard bezel ( keyboard cover). If it’s not there, most likely you’ll find it somewhere under the keyboard. The LCD cable runs inside the display panel, under the screen. For this test it’s necessary to disassemble the display, so you can access the cable. A pinched or damaged wire inside the cable also can cause colour distortion.
Try applying some reasonable pressure to the top part of the display assembly. Squeeze it with your fingers. If the screen starts showing different colours, lines, or clears to normal when you squeeze the top part of the display panel, most likely this is screen failure. In this case you’ll have to replace the screen.

[Togo]

Joy to ask the real questions, how old is the laptop? Do you know the make and model? Some lappies have what are called "stock" faults and with the info. on make and model a quick net search will sometimes give a fix.

[bigbanana]

If you'll allow me Togo, I'd like to point out that the screen may be receiving a signal from a graphics card rather than a motherboard. If a graphic card is fitted, this would be the cable that needs checking.

This is where the make and model number of the laptop would be useful as we could then advise whether to check the motherboard or graphics card. On board graphics are not as commonplace as they once were.

[Togo]

Yeah did know that Bigbanana, but did not want to commit without make and model. I have even thought about settings if someone has been playing with the appearance menu. If you go into that menu and do a personal settings sequence you can get some pretty weird results.