Dell XPS M1730 black screen and warranty issue.....

Hi there...

im a relative novice at this stuff but here goes..

Yesterday i got a black screen on my M1730.. it will not boot past the dell screen and just goes black, but all lights and back panel are on.. im almost certain after trying out various things that the 8800m gtx sli GPU has packed up. I can go into safe mode, have tried diagnostics and switching various bios settings (sli etc). The only thing i havent done is try an external monitor, but after reading much stuff on this matter i think its down to the GPU. The MO is an x9000 extreme clockable card.

My problem is that i bought it from someone else for a LOT of money about 18 months ago, who is now untraceable and has moved, as i spent hours tonight trying to find his house by memory, and the neighbour said he has gone. I have over one years warranty left on the laptop, but the warranty was never signed over to me by the original owner. After contacting Dell they said unless i can provide proof of purchase/invoice from where HE got it and he transfers the warranty over to me so the warranty is in my name there is nothing they can do. Is this right even though i am the legitimate owner of the laptop and it is in warranty? I think this is very unfair.

If so i am aware that the GPU probably cannot be replaced because there are no more 7 8 or 9 m series nvidia cards around... or very rare at least. I am also aware that even if i could find a card that its probably faulty due to the ligitation against nvidia for these cards, and a settlement payment is only available in the US???:

Nvidia GPU Settlement Covers Apple, Dell, and HP

Does this mean i now have an expensive door wedge that i can do nothing with unless i decide to stick the GPU in the oven? I have no idea what to do.. Is it worth taking the risk of trying to find another card?

Very distressed and p***** person

p.s I got the ring of death on my xbox 360 the same week too... unbelievable!!