[tjmcs]

I'm a dummy when it comes to computers. I'll admit it. I ask a lot of questions. But a friend is having a problem with a laptop that tops all I have heard on computers.

Her teenage son grabbed the laptop by the screen to turn it. He grabbed to hard and the screen cracked. Immediately, the laptop went haywire. We did not get into what "haywire" meant. Anyway, the repair shop she took it to said that when the screen cracked it leaked into internal parts causing it to short out. They said they would have to replace the screen and then run diagnostics to see what the leakage shorted, that the repair could be very expensive.

Is this repair shop full of bull? And on a more serious side, can a laptop screen "leak"? And what will the "leakage" do?

Only way to learn is to ask. So I am asking.

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I'm a dummy when it comes to computers.
I ask a lot of questions

The second statement proves the first is false.

That is bad terminology on the part of the shop. There is no leakage in the sense liquid leaks out of a container and runs all over the counter, or in this case the electronics. But a broken circuit board can cause two circuits to short (connect) when they shouldn't and the resulting current flow could cause damage to components in another circuit. Replacing the screen then seeing what else is wrong seems quite possible. The question then becomes, is it worth it? Depending on how old that notebook is, it may be time to just replace it.

[Digerati]

I'm a dummy when it comes to computers.
I ask a lot of questions

The second statement proves the first is false.

That is bad terminology on the part of the shop. There is no leakage in the sense liquid leaks out of a container and runs all over the counter, or in this case the electronics. But a broken circuit board can cause two circuits to short (connect) when they shouldn't and the resulting current flow could cause damage to components in another circuit. Replacing the screen then seeing what else is wrong seems quite possible. The question then becomes, is it worth it? Depending on how old that notebook is, it may be time to just replace it.

[tjmcs]

Thank you. We were both under the impression that something "leaked" out of the screen. She was worried about contamenates and I did not know what to tell her. One thing I did tell her, was that since the screen was inoperable, a part of the "system", the rest of the system might not function properly. Thanks again for advice.

[Digerati]

To be clear, I don't think the shop was trying to pull one over on you. In electronics, when there is an unwanted voltage or current in circuit, it is often called a leak. But it was somewhat irresponsible for the shop to use such colloquialism with customers without further explanation. Perhaps adding to the confusion is the "L" in LCD displays stands for liquid - as in liquid crystal display. But still, the liquid is not liquid like water, it just has fluid type properties in the way the molecules can move.