[cormierv]

Lately a problem has arisen with my iBook that has basically rendered it useless. A while back my ibook's display started flashing on and off during normal usage, it was always annoying, but it would fix itself for a period of time after rebooting. Recently though, the ibook's display will no longer turn on on boot; the startup sound still plays and you can hear the hd working (when connecting an external monitor the same thing happens, it detects no signal). The strange thing about this problem is, that if I apply a fair amount of pressure to the portion of the handrest left of the touchpad when I boot up, the display will turn on, and remain fine untill I release the pressure. I was wondering if sending it to Apple is my only option? I did not buy the 3 year extended AppleCare, but I did purchase it only 8 months ago, so it should still be under the 1 year warranty. Is this kind of thing covered by the 1 year plan that comes with the purchase? Finally, could this have anything to do with the fact that I performed the monitor spanning hack? (I did the spanning hack soon after I purchased the iBook, and spanning and the iBook in general worked fine throughout its life)

Any help/information anyone has is appreciated.

[SupahCoolX]

Sounds like a hardware issue. Applying pressure to that spot is likely helping a loose/damaged cable make a connection, which "fixes" the screen.
This should be covered under warranty. Call Apple, and consider purchasing AppleCare for future issues (you are still eligible to buy AppleCare until your original 1 year warranty is up).

[mark2]

<Finally, could this have anything to do with the fact that I performed the monitor spanning hack?>
I can't say if the hack caused your problem, but I wouldn't mention it when you call Apple.

It sounds like you have an intermittent connection, and Apple will probably fix it for you. I would call apple and get the machine shipped back to them.

If you plan on keeping your laptop for a while it would be a good idea to buy Apple Care for it. Laptop repairs are expensive. smalldog usually has AC available a pretty good prices. As was already stated, you can still buy it since you're still under the original warranty.

[The Placid Casual]

Yep, I'd give Apple a call ASAP. I'm sure they could sort it in double quick time...

[druber]

Sounds like the very same problem I'm having. Only, I bought my warranty through MicroCenter (actually included for free, since it was an open-box return), so I'm an extra step away from Apple. It took three trips to MicroCenter and almost two weeks of watching them trip over themselves before they sent my iBook off to Warrantech to check it out before they sent it to Apple. They found nothing wrong. Yeah, right. Can't wait to hear how much they'll want to charge for shipping, etc., if they give it a clean bill of health, but I don't even want it back if they haven't fixed it. Needless to say, I won't be shopping at MicroCenter again. Not that re-explaining the entire condition isn't fun and all...