So sorry for your trouble! 

I would call ASUS back and ask for a supervisor and tell them that you don't feel this is fair since you did not cause the damage and see what they say.  If that doesn't get you anywhere I think I would get my eee back and write a nice but firm letter to ASUS corporate headquarters listing your story and assure them that you did not damage your unit in any way (if this is true :-) and mail it.  They might do something for you.

If not if you feel comfortable working on the eee you might be able to pick up a used lcd and install it yourself.

I agree with stan - his advice is sound.

If you didn't damage your EeePC, and it is indeed a unit with some sort of defect which has caused this problem, you shouldn't have to stand for that sort of poor service.

I dunno, looks to me like the screen was crushed between two books.... not enough to crack the casing, but as we all should know, lcd's themselves are very fragile. I think it'll be tough to prove you did NOT damage it, purposeful or accidental.
This of course is IMO, and IANAE(xpert).

I was advised quite a long time ago to avoid putting *anything* on top of a laptop..

Why? Because the pressure exerted by books or whatsoever can damage your screen.

And eventhough most of you would know about this, I have to ask you if you placed anything on top of it?

Regads

SteveLawUK wrote:

I'm no hardware expert but I've seen almost exactly that same effect on an LCD monitor  (The only difference being the curved part was at the bottom).  That was caused by physical damage.  I don't think it's entirely unreasonable for Asus to be suspicious.  I'd say the damage in the photo looks consistent with pressing the screen with a thumb when picking it up by the screen (even pressing the back of the screen when closed can cause damage to the screen).  I'm not saying you did, if you say you didn't, but I can't blame Asus for thinking it.  (I can't imagine what sort of fault would cause that effect - but like I say, I'm not a hardware expert.)

It looks exactly the same as your description, as if someone has used their forefinger and thumb to pick it up at the top and it's snapped.

htwingnut wrote:

Regardless, if it is that sensitive to pressure, then they need to either protect it with a reinforcement, or offer to fix it. A laptop, especially one like the Eee, is highly portable and subject to some casual abuse. Kind of like telling someone they shouldn't put their cell phone in their pocket because its subject to break. That's unreasonable for the type of device it is.

Sorry, no.  That's like telling someone that if they broke a wine glass by squeezing the top of it that they are entitled to a refund.  Wine glasses are, too, meant to be carried, but not in that manner.  Same with the Eee.  In fact, the Eee was specifically designed to be carried by its back portion, where the battery is.  That is why it was made round.  Both glass and LCD screens are fragile by their nature.  People should use common sense when using them, and transport them carefully.  Asus should not be required to pay for others' lack of common sense.

BTW, I didn't like to ask, but what is the significance of pictures from inside an Eee?

As a hardware expert and former Dell certified laptop tech(I didn't renew my cert. since I no longer work on them) I have worked on literally hundreds if not thousands of laptops of every make and model and I can safely say this is due to physical damage due to mishandling or improper storage. Something as simple as leaving your laptop in your car in freezing temps. can cause damage to the LCD(the freezing liquid in the LCD will expand and cause it to crack). As others have said, this looks like the eee was grabbed and carried by the screen or someone(jealous co-worker?)/something applied excessive pressure to the top center of the screen while closed. This would never be covered by warranty. Best bet would be to keep your eye out for an eee that is being parted out and buy just the screen and replace it yourself.

Picotrain wrote:

htwingnut wrote:

Regardless, if it is that sensitive to pressure, then they need to either protect it with a reinforcement, or offer to fix it. A laptop, especially one like the Eee, is highly portable and subject to some casual abuse. Kind of like telling someone they shouldn't put their cell phone in their pocket because its subject to break. That's unreasonable for the type of device it is.

Sorry, no.  That's like telling someone that if they broke a wine glass by squeezing the top of it that they are entitled to a refund.  Wine glasses are, too, meant to be carried, but not in that manner.  Same with the Eee.  In fact, the Eee was specifically designed to be carried by its back portion, where the battery is.  That is why it was made round.  Both glass and LCD screens are fragile by their nature.  People should use common sense when using them, and transport them carefully.  Asus should not be required to pay for others' lack of common sense.

I'm sorry, but I definitely and respectfully disagree. I am an engineer, automotive engineer actually, and *MUST* design with these failure modes in mind. This is not a failure mode that is difficult to predict.

Yes, LCD screens are fragile, so screw the customer if it breaks? No, design it so that the LCD screen is protected and robust enough to handle day to day handling. It is a small laptop that is subject to some sort of abuse. Kind of like not enclosing a hard drive in its dust-free casing, and telling the customer they need to be careful not to use it in the presence of dust.

If I let my designed products go out the door that break under minor abuse conditions I'd be out of a job. We fix all of those, and even those that are obvious extreme abuse conditions.

I just get tired of people making excuses for companies when they never had an issue themselves, so it must be the other person's stupid fault. These large corporations need to be accountable and challenged to make a reliable and robust product, and treat customers with respect. If the casing of the PC was severely mangled or scratched, I'd say its blatant abuse. But if its a broken screen with little evidence to suggest stupid negelect, just fix it or replace it.

Last edited by htwingnut (2008-05-06 9:03:36 pm)

F J Walter wrote:

A similar thing has happened to me on a desktop LCD screen and it just happened one day, no abuse, not even moving it.  Big vertical coloured lines appeared one day.  No visible physical damage though, just the vertical stripes.

I just got it replaced (well, my work did).

I've seen this before, too.  A loose connection can cause this problem, amongst other things.  However, the picture clearly indicates a crack at the top of the LCD, running along where the white part starts.

htwingnut wrote:

Yes, LCD screens are fragile, so screw the customer if it breaks? No, design it so that the LCD screen is protected and robust enough to handle day to day handling. It is a small laptop that is subject to some sort of abuse.

Define "day to day handling" and "abuse".  If you design for one, you don't design for the other make up your mind.  Would it be acceptable if I throw my Eee off a roof and claim a warranty replacement?  After all, it should be designed for some sort of abuse.

But of course, we don't know what happened to this screen.  It looks like it's been mishandled or otherwise damaged, but the OP claims not.  I notice though that he hasn't replied since the original post.