How to fix dead pixels on your LCD monitor

Although the term 'dead pixels' is commonly used to cover all typesof pixel fault, there are actually three distinct subcategories: stuckpixels, hot pixels and dead pixels. To understand why dead pixelsoccur, it helps to know how an LCD monitor works.
Inorder to generate all the colours of the spectrum, each pixel is madeup of three subpixels � one each for red, green and blue light. Whenall three subpixels are on, the pixel is white, and when all three areoff , the pixel is black.
If one or two of these subpixelsremain on, the pixel will appear as a solid red, green, blue, cyan,magenta or yellow dot on the screen (depending on which subpixelsaren't working). This type of pixel fault is called a stuck pixel.
Whenall three subpixels are stuck on, the pixel will appear to bepermanently white. This type of pixel is known as a hot pixel.
Deadpixels are either whole pixels or subpixels that do not turn on. Thesepixels always look black. When LCD panels first started to becomepopular, stuck and dead pixels were quite common and would often appearin clusters.
Too many faulty pixels can render a monitorworthless, so the ISO 13406-2 standard was created to define themaximum number of faulty pixels that are permitted for any given classof display. A Class One panel can't have any faulty pixels, but a ClassFour panel can have up to 50 permanently white pixels.
Fixing stuck pixles
Stuckpixels are usually caused by manufacturing defects, and they will oftenstay illuminated for the life of the panel. In many cases it's possibleto fix the pixel using either software tools or manual manipulation.
Thesoftware solution will generally flash a series of images that vary incolour and intensity onto the screen in an effort to unstick the pixel.
Manual manipulation involves gently pressing on the affectedarea with something like a pencil eraser. Doing this compresses thelayers of the panel, forcing the oil within the panel to move.
Becareful, though: this is by no means guaranteed to work, and it couldcreate even more stuck pixels or move the problem to elsewhere on thescreen rather than repairing it.
Dead pixels and hot pixels aregenerally the result of faults in the circuitry of the panel. It'susually the case here that the transistor does not switch statesproperly.
Dead pixels generally mean that the transistor has failed completely, and this is rarely fixable.
Hotpixels may be due to manufacturing defects. They can often be fixed inthe same way as stuck pixels, but again, success is not guaranteed.
More help

Ifyou have stuck or dead pixels, we recommend that you try a softwaresolution and only press on the screen as a last resort, as you couldend up damaging the panel further. UDPixel is a program that tries to find and fix faulty pixels, as does JScreenFix.
Ifyour screen is new and seems to have an excessive number of faultypixels for its class, you should contact the manufacturer for areplacement instead.
Three ways to try to fix a stuck pixel
1. The pixel method

UDPixelwill attempt to detect and fix problematic pixels for you by changingthe screen colour to highlight any problems. Once a fault has beenfound, you can choose the size of the square and the flash speed tostart the fixing process.
2. The browser method

JScreenFixruns in a browser window and requires the Java Runtime environment. Goto the JScreenFix site, start the applet and then press [F11] tomaximise for full screen. You should leave the application to run foran hour or so before viewing the results.
3. The last resort rubber method

Insome cases, stuck subpixels can be fixed by gently pressing on theaffected area using something that won't damage the panel, such as thetip of a pencil eraser. You should proceed with caution, however. NOTE: this method isn't guaranteed to work, and can make things worse.