Macbook hinge/screen problem

A friend is having trouble with her 13" macbook (unclear if it is unibody or not, guessing not) - she can't open up the screen the whole way, and the thing will turn itself on when opened up to a 45 degree angle. I am guessing it's either the hinges and/or the flex cable running inbetween the screen and the motherboard that are the problem, so my main concern is this: will simply opening it up and shuffling the components back to their proper places solve this odd problem, or will she need a new cable?

Anyone else had this problem?

 

Does she have Applecare? Is the machine still under warranty? If so don't open it up and try to fix it yourself, Apple will fix it.

 

Nope, it's the older non-unibody model, so applecare has expired.

 

Well, if there is no warranty I would suggest a little "exploratory surgery" on it, but only if you feel comfortable doing so. Meaning that if you feel like you can open it and know whether or not you should attempt a fix once you see what your dealing with, it's worth a shot. But if your one of those people (and I am not judging) that thinks they can do it but he moment they open it they go hog wild and make things worse, I would take a different approach.