Chosen Solution
Just picked up a used MacBook Pro 15 that looks like it has been dropped. The display works when hooked up to an external monitor, but there’s a vertical bar near the middle of the screen about an inch wide. I’ve uploaded a photo of problem. Any ideas what it might be?
Sadly someone banged the lid to the point the interconnections from the driver logic and the LCD broke. It’s time for a new display assembly, the LCD is not repairable. Luckily, this is one of the easiest repairs swapping out the display assembly part. Follow this IFIXIT guide: MacBook Pro 15" Unibody Mid 2010 Display Replacement, the part will cost you about $250 US for the standard Glossy, the hires display is a bit more and the hires anti glare is the most at $375.
