The screen on this 4 year old A190 started flickering then went dark, with the desktop still visible on the screen, but only up close and at a weird angle. Now I read that this could be either the backlight or the power inverter, I guess my first question is: is there a way to tell which? I ended up accidently turning the brightness down when connected to an external screen and next time I woke the computer up (Power save to shut off screen after 3 minutes) the laptop's screen woke up as well. The flicker is light at the lowest level and before more violent as it gets brighter, giving black flashes and dying at 80%? At 100% during boot up it will only last 2 seconds at best. I guess the next question is, if it is the inverter that would be needing replacement, anyone know any sites for them? Thanks for any help you can give me. Oh, if it's the bulb I guess I'll put cement on this laptop's feet and buy an external for my desk (Not this Samsung 900p I have next to me which will crack this glass desk in two.) the battery dies a month ago anyways. (Fixing that one already, damn chemical memory.) Dan Nickerson (Sorry about any spelling mistakes, I have no VGA cables around so once I killed the screen agian this was done over an AV cable on low res.)

"The flicker is light at the lowest level and before more violent as it gets brighter,.." Was that supposed to be violet? If so, that's a tinted display - that's likely to be the backlight failing, rather than the voltage inverter being faulty - that is difficult for the average user to replace and get good results unless one is very careful. Some technicians won't even attempt to fix that, and will insist you get a replacment display module instead. Unfortunately, some laptop manufacturers only warranty the backlight for one year - the power inverter usually has a longer warranty, usually the same as for the computer overall. "At 100% during boot up it will only last 2 seconds at best." A common symptom is the screen is at or near full brightness at first, but somehow the voltage inverter is able to detect the backlight is defective, and goes into a lesser mode to protect itself. So the voltage inverter may be okay. It's much less likely, but possible, the voltage inverter is defective. It's much easier for the user or a technician to replace the power inverter -you could try that first. For some info about replacing a voltage inverter or backlight, and what some typical symptoms are, see response 5 in this: http://www.computing.net/hardware/w... ....... "(Not this Samsung 900p I have next to me which will crack this glass desk in two.)" I recommend you use that until the display is no longer good enough. A CRT monitor is likely to yield you a good display longer than any LCD monitor, and it probably has better specs by far than your LCD display. E.g. Buy a piece of plywood (not particle board), or a couple pieces of solid hardwood lumber, e.g. oak, 3/4" thick or thicker, and cut it so it fits properly under the glass. .... "the battery dies a month ago anyways. (Fixing that one already, damn chemical memory.)" If the laptop is only about 4 years old, it does not have a NiCad battery pack - those were the ones with the "memory" problem. It has either a NiMh or a Lithium battery pack. All laptop main batteries begin to deteriorate after the first year. Many are incapable of being charged so they last as long on the battery as when they were new by the second year. You're actually fortunate to have gotten 4 years out of it, if you just replaced it. Replacing laptop main batteries about every two years, if you need to use it on the battery alone sometimes, is just something you need to do as part of regular maintenance. You do not need to buy the brand name's battery. Any clone battery that is compatible with your laptop model that has a one year warranty the same as the brand's product has will do and they can cost a lot less.