Rain on Laptop. Laptop works, but no backlight. Can see icons using a flashlight. Power inverter or backlight?

I was given a Dell Inspiron 700m that has been rained on. I don%26#039;t know the details, but I think the laptop was open, powered on, near an open window, and rain got on the keyboard. Not sure.





The main problem is that the Backlight does not turn on. When I power it on, I can see the LCD screen change its state. And if I shine a flashlight onto it at the right angle, I can see the Dell boot screen and eventually the Windows XP desktop. All other functions are normal.





When I connect an external monitor to the laptop, I can see the picture just fine. I%26#039;ve been researching online and it sounds like the problem is either the Power Inverter or the Backlight.





I%26#039;m going to do this repair on my own. And it looks like changing the Power Inverter is the easier replacement. So I%26#039;d like to start with it. Is there any way for me to tell which it is for sure? Both parts are fairly inexpensive, but I want to keep costs to a minimum.





Thank you!

Rain on Laptop. Laptop works, but no backlight. Can see icons using a flashlight. Power inverter or backlight?
My first suggestion is going to Dell%26#039;s website to see if there is still a warranty, here is a link:


http://support.dell.com/support/topics/g...





If it has a warranty called %26quot;Complete Care%26quot; or accidental, then it may be fixed for free!





I purchased a Dell on ebay from these guys:


http://stores.ebay.com/IT-bySMART


It had the complete care warranty and it had all kinds of other problems (spots on the screen, bad keyboard and something was wrong with the motherboard), I got it real cheap and then called Dell.. they came to my house with in 2 days and fixed it all like new! It was fantastic, in all the thing cost me $215 (laptop with shipping) and not a dime more.





Any how, that would be my first suggestion, second would be replacing the motherboard. I know that when you have wetness or spillage damage it may seem like it is only causing one or two issues, when in fact it will cause more later. If you replace the motherboard then you should be good to go for a very long time.





check ebay and make sure you research the seller.. I have seen some shady folks ok there, but for each shady one there are a bunch of good ones.


Best of luck!





Oh yeah and Dells warranties are transferable, so just because you didn%26#039;t buy it doesn%26#039;t mean you can not get it fixed.
Reply:Did somebody just put the laptop there because rain is not good for the laptop. You don%26#039;t want to send it back to Dell. If you have a dell account you can ask them.
Reply:Short answer to long question -


Backlight. Proof of this is the use of an external monitor. If the inverter wasn%26#039;t working, the computer wouldn%26#039;t come up.



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