On Sun, 05 May 2013 11:26:06 -0700, PlainBill wrote:
I'd say it's probably the LCD panel, but it depends on how the signal is
broken out.

Thanks - that would be my guess too, but I just wasn't sure what [more-]
modern laptops do with the video path.

I ended up taking the lower case apart (actually far less trouble than
I'd expected - a far cry from the last time I needed to completely
dismantle a laptop, probably ~15 years ago!). There is a daughter-board
in there containing the video hardware, but reseating that board and the
cable connector which feeds the LCD didn't help.

I left it running a memory test for a few hours and all seems well there,
so there's not really anything else to do except decide whether to buy a
replacement panel (it also needs a new battery, but I could do that after
I've confirmed that the LCD is at fault), or simply use it for parts as
was the original plan.

It comes down to what you have the most of and what you need the most.
For your $5 you have a hard drive, sell the laptop on eBay for $20 +
shipping and you increase the profit and minimize the risk. Spending
$50 for a panel still allows some room for profit.

Yeah... and at least it's running, so I can always part it out (DVD
drive, system board, memory, PSU) and sell those individually, which
might net me a little more than selling a complete unit (where a buyer
probably only wants it for one component).

I can also sit on it for a while and see if a broken (in some other way)
laptop becomes available locally; my guess is that the same panel is used
in a few models from a few different vendors rather than being specific
to this Dell. It's not like I need to have it up and running anytime soon.

cheers

Jules