Dell E1705 screen "fuzzy"

[papaschtroumpf]

about 1 month before the warranty expired, my DEL E1705 screen started to be fuzzy/snowy/distorded (scanlines out of sync?)
I called for warranty and after a painful troubleshooting session, they finally admitted that something was wrong, told me it was the LCD (because an external monitor works fine) and me send it in for repairs.

According to the repair sheet, they swapped the LCD display.

A little over 3 months later, the screen is doing it again.
I can't find a way to get anyone at Dell to talk to me since they say my warranty is expired (how long is the warranty on the warranty repair work? 90 days? till the original warranty expired?)
How can a 2nd LCD panel go bad within 3 months????

So basically I'm left with a $2000 laptop (I went with the souped up model, with a good video card, etc...) that stopped working immediately after its warranty expired.

So I'm pissed at Dell and will not buy from them again.

I called one (and just one) repair shop, and they tell me it's going to cost me $600-$800 for them to replace the LCD.
Now is there a way for me to swap that LCD myself? There seem to be a slew of places on the Internet that sell replacement parts, but I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into.
Also, if Dell's replacement LCD went bad a few months after being replaced, is my 2nd replacement going to go bad too?

Any advice would be very welcome.

 

[papaschtroumpf]

If it's too hard to replace the screen myself, are there reputable online places to have it repaired at?
The prices online seem much cheaper than my local shop (for example http://laptoprepairdirect.com/LCD-Repair claims $325 "average" price for a 17" display).
I'm just scared that I'm going to send my laptop in, then they'll hold it hostage for some ridiculous fees ("we have free estimates, but shipping it back unrepaired will cost ya $250")

Also, is the signal cable between the mobo and the LCD part of the LCD assembly? Could it be that Dell was dumb enough not to replacethe signla cable, and there is nothing wrong with the LCD itself?
While hte problem seems to occur all the time, it sometimes goes away for "no reason". this was moreobvious before Dell replaced the LCD the first time, when I could go days without seeing the problem.

 

[compman25]

Check these guys out Parts People. They only do Dell laptop repairs and parts.

 

[frankie38]

I had the same issue. Unfortunately, no my 1705 go 7800 video card is basically dead. Only able to boot in safe mode (low res). Not able to boot normally and have my video stable. I have read of other 1705 owners with their video cards overheating too. Bottomline, $1300 3yr old out of warranty lappie is most likely history. It doesn't even make sense to replace the video card ($150-$250). CYA dell, nice knowing ya...not.

 

[papaschtroumpf]

3 years? I didn't think the E1705 was that old.
I have no reason to believe that my problem is overheating, I often get the problem when I start the laptop cold. also I never see a glitch if I plug it in an external monitor.

 

[papaschtroumpf]

Originally posted by: compman25
Check these guys out Parts People. They only do Dell laptop repairs and parts.

interestingly the WUXGA (1920 × 1200) and WXGA+ (1440 × 900) LCd panels ar the exact same price, whereas DELL charged a hefty premium for the higher resolution one.

My current panel is a WXGA+, is there any reason why I can't replace it with a WUXGA? (my video card is the 7800GS)

I also see that they have a $30 replacement LCD cable, I'm just not sure how to tell if it's the cable or the LCd panel that is bad. All I can tell is that DELL replaced the LCd as part of the roriginal LCD work and the problem came back.

 

[MegaNerd]

Originally posted by: papaschtroumpfMy current panel is a WXGA+, is there any reason why I can't replace it with a WUXGA? (my video card is the 7800GS)

Dell has some pretty good forums on their support site. I got some good help there a couple years back with an old Inspiron 5000.

Suggest you post a query over there.

Linky

Good luck!

David