[Ti] Oh shoot, display...

[Kynan Shook]

THIS is why I always tell people to buy AppleCare on the portables...
Anyway, the problem is most likely the LCD itself.  The easiest way to 
tell is to connect an external display and turn on mirroring; if the 
problem only shows up on the internal display, it's a cable or the LCD 
panel; unfortunately for you, the cables are part of the LCD panel.  
The inverter pretty much never fails, and it's only related to the 
backlight anyway.  More often when the backlight goes out, it's also an 
LCD panel problem.
However, I have some good news for you.  There seems to be a lot of 
confusion by MANY people about Apple's repair pricing, and I don't know 
where the misinformation is coming from.  Their laptop repairs are all 
flat-rate, UNLESS the problem is caused by abuse or something similar 
(most commonly, dropping the computer).  So, in your case, you're 
covered under flat-rate repair, not tiered repair.  Flat-rate will 
probably run you around $380, not too much more than AppleCare, so 
hopefully you won't have any other problems with your computer.  ;-


Kynan Shook
kshook at mac.com
http://homepage.mac.com/kshook/index.html)

John Pariseau <simplymail at ururk.com> writes:
> I chose (why oh why, it was only 300 dollars) not to buy AppleCare.
> Don't ask me why, I should have bought it when I had the chance.
>
> Anyways, how do I pinpoint where the problem is - the LCD, the
> inverter, or the motherboard (please tell me the inverter is NOT part
> of the motherboard)? Could it even be the cable? Is this part
> replaceable? I know that some LCD panels have a socket a thin ribbon
> cable attaches to.
>
> Should I try reinstalling OSX? Or, when the problem starts to happen
> nearly every day, should I boot into 9 to see what happens?
>
>
> In addition, if anyone would like to - if anyone out there pays me for
> the parts, I will document (with a Nikon 995) the whole process, from
> taking the Powerbook apart, to installing the part, to taking the part
> (lets say the LCD display) apart. You will get a CD, with all the
> images on it, and exclusive rights to use them as you see fit. I will,
> if no one steps up to the challenge, email the various magazines, as
> they may be interested in the whole procedure to repair the little
> book. However, this may go down as the worst purchase I have made in my
> life, as I really can't afford to pay the Level 4 Apple Repair cost (as
> high as 1,300)! I am assuming it is a level 4...