Adam Lenhardt
Senior HTF Member
For a few months now, the backlight on my laptop's LCD screen has been going. When the computer would start up, the screen would have a pinkish hue that would go away after a few minutes.
Well, today, the backlight finally died. The rest of the monitor is fine; if I get up REALLY close I can see the high contrast areas of my desktop very faintly. I call up Dell, who puts me through the scripted response, only to direct me to their Out of Warranty Repair phone line. Without even being able to pause and think things through, I'm on the line with this high-pressure Indian salesman who talks me into going through with the repair service after cutting the price a couple times. As soon as I hang up the phone, I google "Dell Out of Warranty Repair" and read absolute horror stories. Call the number right back and get them to cancel the order - 5 to 10 minutes after I'd hung up well after business hours. Go on my account on the Dell website, and lo and behold, the repair kit has already been shipped for a whopping $320 and change. I put in a refund status request and check back an hour later. In addition to the $320 order, there's a new mysterious $15 order. I have a feeling I'll be on the phone with my credit card company trying to mediate that whole mess.
And meanwhile, I still don't have a workable laptop and don't see any easy options for replacing the screen. I'd been planning to replace the laptop in a year or two, but that's not financially feasible right now - which is why I just invested in 2 GB of new memory at Christmas. The harddrive in the computer is also an upgrade. I've found compatible replacement screens listed on eBay and rather dubious eCommerce sites, but most are used and the new ones are only guaranteed to be "compatible." Since having high resolution, accurate color is important to my work I don't want to drop ~$200 on a cheap knock-off.
Right now, I'm leaning towards buying a used one off eBay for $60-100. The only thing I'm worried about is having the same problem a few months down the road. I think I started writing this out of a sheer need to vent, but does any body have any advice? Has anyone else replaced their laptop screens?
Well, today, the backlight finally died. The rest of the monitor is fine; if I get up REALLY close I can see the high contrast areas of my desktop very faintly. I call up Dell, who puts me through the scripted response, only to direct me to their Out of Warranty Repair phone line. Without even being able to pause and think things through, I'm on the line with this high-pressure Indian salesman who talks me into going through with the repair service after cutting the price a couple times. As soon as I hang up the phone, I google "Dell Out of Warranty Repair" and read absolute horror stories. Call the number right back and get them to cancel the order - 5 to 10 minutes after I'd hung up well after business hours. Go on my account on the Dell website, and lo and behold, the repair kit has already been shipped for a whopping $320 and change. I put in a refund status request and check back an hour later. In addition to the $320 order, there's a new mysterious $15 order. I have a feeling I'll be on the phone with my credit card company trying to mediate that whole mess.
And meanwhile, I still don't have a workable laptop and don't see any easy options for replacing the screen. I'd been planning to replace the laptop in a year or two, but that's not financially feasible right now - which is why I just invested in 2 GB of new memory at Christmas. The harddrive in the computer is also an upgrade. I've found compatible replacement screens listed on eBay and rather dubious eCommerce sites, but most are used and the new ones are only guaranteed to be "compatible." Since having high resolution, accurate color is important to my work I don't want to drop ~$200 on a cheap knock-off.
Right now, I'm leaning towards buying a used one off eBay for $60-100. The only thing I'm worried about is having the same problem a few months down the road. I think I started writing this out of a sheer need to vent, but does any body have any advice? Has anyone else replaced their laptop screens?