[Dakar]

I woke up this morning and went to pack my PB away for work, but when I turned up the brightness (I keep it all the way down while I sleep) I got a weird grayish screen with a barely visible ghost of a menubar. I restarted, but no change.

Could it be the video card? MY PB is a 800mhz/15" and I think its close to 3 years old (I bought it used like over 2 years ago).

If so, what are the repair options for someone who lives in the middle of nowhere in PA?

[mgehman]

It could be the screen backlight. I don't know the degree of difficulty in repairing it, but it can be done.

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by mgehman

It could be the screen backlight. I don't know the degree of difficulty in repairing it, but it can be done.

I think the screen backlight works just fine. I can adjust the brightness all I need, but all I have is a (bright or dim) blank gray screen.

[Dakar]

Yeah, the LCD is definitely dead. I hooked up the PB to one of the monitors at work and it seems to be mirroring just fine.

So the next step is, how/where do I get it fixed. Again, I'm not near any major metropolis (2.5 hours to Philly, NYC)

[kwiens]

We sell a 15" display assembly that would fix your problem. The nice thing about installing it yourself is that you don't have to find a tech who knows what they're doing.

We're out of stock of the display assembly at the moment. There are other online sources for them, if you need one right away. We should be getting some back in stock soon.

15" Display Parts:
http://www.pbfixit.com/cart/customer...=15%22+display

Instructions for replacing display:
http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide/54.11.0.html

You would need these tools do do the job:
* #0 Phillips Screwdriver
* T8 Torx Screwdriver

-Kyle Wiens
CEO, PB FixIt
www.PBFixIt.com
Thousands of PowerBook & iBook parts and accessories.
------------------------
PB 17" 1.0 1GB 60GB SD

[Dakar]

Originally Posted by kwiens

We sell a 15" display assembly that would fix your problem. The nice thing about installing it yourself is that you don't have to find a tech who knows what they're doing.

We're out of stock of the display assembly at the moment. There are other online sources for them, if you need one right away. We should be getting some back in stock soon.

15" Display Parts:
http://www.pbfixit.com/cart/customer...=15%22+display

Instructions for replacing display:
http://www.pbfixit.com/Guide/54.11.0.html

You would need these tools do do the job:
* #0 Phillips Screwdriver
* T8 Torx Screwdriver

-Kyle Wiens
CEO, PB FixIt
www.PBFixIt.com
Thousands of PowerBook & iBook parts and accessories.
------------------------
PB 17" 1.0 1GB 60GB SD

While I appreciate the input, its $600 freakin' dollars and Out of Stock.

Spending $600 on a 3 year-old PB is not a wise decision. I'll probably look to spend 3 times that on a nice refurbed one.

Till then, looks like my laptop is a desktop, I guess. Thankfully I know someone who can lend me a monitor till I have the money to get a new one.

[tooki]

Sounds to me that the backlight has gone out. Failing tubes go gradually, and one at a time. Sudden death like this indicates to me a failed backlight inverter, which is a small board in the computer, IIRC.

tooki