Compaq Presario C500 backlight/inverter problem

Hello all, I was wondering if any of you had this problem. I accidentally dropped my Compaq Presario C571NR and it fires up Ok, but the screen is black. I have tested the video card with other monitor and it seems to work fine. I did some research and I found that it could be that either the inverter board or the backlight might have gotten damaged. I have purched a new inverter card online (awaiting arrival) to replace the existing one, but I wanted to know if any of you know which of them has the propensity to get damaged first, the inverter or the backlight?
I'm hoping is the inverter because it seems the easiest to replace, but if it's the backlight, then I'm screwed because I've read it's quite difficult to replace and it's more expensive. Compaq says they'll charge me $300 to fix it (since my warranty has already expired) but I might as well get a new one if the new inverter doesn't fix the problem.

Thanks for the advice!

 

Just go to ebay and pickup a new screen and install it yourself,its not that hard.Lots of guides on how to do it.

 

i would say its the backlight, for sure.

i had the same problem twice with my old nx9030 - although never having damaged the notebook physically. after a while the screen started flickering occasionally. then it happened more often and suddenly it didnt turn on anymore.

after HP repair (while under warranty) i got a new screen. now, some 2 years after that, the same happened again. since the warranty is gone, and i have a new notebook, i dont mind. obviously some specific (older) HP/compaq screens tend to have backlight issues.

btw. with the lid opened almost completely (some 150°-180° and fully open - its a bit more than 180°) the backlight goes on normally (you have to open it BEFORE you turn on the notebook, it doesnt work when you open the lid that far after its already powered on with the backlight off), so it doesnt seem to be the backlight itself, but the trigger that turns it on, at least in my case.

 

Thanks for the replies, yeah, I have the feeling is the backlight too. I opened the notebook yesterday and took the inverter out and back again (just to test in case there was some lack of connectivity) and also tried to check the backlight, couldn't do it because it was all taped-up and I didn't (was afraid) to mess it up. Turned it up and didn't work. I'm still waiting for the new inverter, but I feel I might have purchased it in vain (it was just $30 w/ s&h). Oh well, I got my eye on a Sony VIO ($500 at BestBuy) anyways. I guess I'll just go for it.

Thanks a lot anyways!!

 

I guess that once I get the new inverter and if it doesn't work, I might as well put it back on eBay.