Bright screen.......toggling back forth.................

Hello, Not sure if I should post this here but I am at a loss of where to go and what to do. I have a laptop with windows xp and all of a sudden the screen has started flashing or should I say toggling back & forth between a bright screen where whites are really white and dim, not so bright. Sometimes the screen is very bright and then it goes dim on me and sometime it will just keep going back and forth between the two. I think I am going to lose my screen to where I won't be able to see anything. I am going to take it to a new store in the area that services Dells what I was hoping to be able to tell them what is really happening and what needs to be done to fix it. I have been on Dells site and forum but I got one responds where they asked a question and then nothing more back from them and it has been a couple of weeks. I don't want to wait any longer to get it fixed. Is the computer worth getting fixed? It is and Inspiron 5100 and is 3 or 4 years old. thanks for any help you can give. Diann

If it is best described as "flicker", it is either the motherboard or the LCD, both expensive parts replacements. Just ask for a repair "estimate", which will probably cost $35 to $50 just for the "estimate".

Inspiron 5100 LCD
- http://castle.pricewatch.com/s/search.asp?…spiron+5100+LCD
$414.00

Thank you. I was afraid of that. Of course my warranty has run out this last spring. Last year they had to put a new hard drive in it and now this. Maybe I should just get a new computer. What do you think or what would you do? If I get a new one can I get a computer with basically nothing on it and then install the cd's that came with this one on it. There is so much on this that I don't need and it just takes up space. I just use this one for ebay and the photos to go with it. I have all the restore cd's.

"…I have all the restore cd's." …but they are only good for an exact same model of the PC you now own (driver issues, etc.).

From WSJ today:

- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1193869441…ersonal_finance
November 1, 2007 - "…We're still recovering from the pain of dropping our Sony Vaio notebook and shattering the LCD screen. A comparable replacement costs anywhere between $1,200 and $2,011, depending on the features. But then we learned that a $699 flat fee applied to replace the LCD screen, which Sony considered "major damage." We thought it was impractical to invest $699 in an outdated notebook and decided to apply the cash toward buying a new, upgraded system. (Newer computers have Windows Vista operating systems and Blu-ray disc burners.) A Sony spokesman said that while PC prices have decreased, parts prices remain constant or, in some cases, are increasing…"

.

I have been looking at a new one so now to decide what I need. A friend across town contacted me and has a Alienware laptop that she never used and bought 4 years ago and wants me to buy it. Well what do you pay for a "new, 4 year old computer"? Kinda puts me on a spot with her. It does have XP and not Vista which I hear has lots of problems but I don't know about a price for it. Any suggestions on a price for a "new, 4year old one"?

Google is your friend:
http://www.google.com/search?q=alienware+l…lient=firefox-a

Get the specifications of the friends machine and find a close comparison.

Remember that it may not be as "un-used" as claimed.
Remember that the present owner demonstrated that they didn't value the machine enough to "use" it.
Even if they bought it on impulse, and didn't "need" it, it would not be reasonable for them to now value it as if it were more valuable than they actually treated it to be.
There may have been a "reason" that they didn't use it.
Storage condition of a Laptop may come into consideration. Still boxed and environmentally clean/free of humidity/moisture is better than laying out or in the basement, or banging around the office, or in a car.
Remember that even if absolutely never used, it no longer carries the added value of warranty.
Remember that Laptop batteries age even with dis-use.
And by the way, check the battery serial number for possible risk-recall listing.
Value would be dramatically decreased if the A/C power supply cord was damaged or not available.
Similarly presence or absence of operating system and drive restore disks influence cost to you if you need them later.
Future repair of such a machine is likely to be expensive/difficult. Check with Alienware on repair policy and local repair available.
If you buy the laptop, you are hoping that it will run well for 3+ years without major repair.
The cost should reflect a savings to you, even if you have to add repair costs during that time period compared to paying more for a new laptop that would more likely run well for 3+ years and be repaired under warranty for some of those new-purchase years.

It's an adventure. Be happy to explore your options. You're not obligated to by the friends machine, but it could be a bargain for both of you. If the value is not good for both of you, walk away. Keep the friendship.

Best Regards

Thank you for the advice. I never thought about the battery recall so I better check that. I know that she never used it. She can hardly use the desktop she has. She is a 66 year old woman and had no idea what the wireless was and never had it hooked up in her home and never bought a router or anything. She didn't even know about hooking it up to the phone jack. So on it's use I am positive about it. What little bit re retains of the computer is what I have showed her and she is always calling me to show her how to do something. The warranty is what I was concerned about as I'm sure there is none now after 4 years. I have the computer at my home to try it out but she has no idea what she did with any booklets, cd that came with it or anything. It has been stored in a case she bought for it. Battery doesn't seem to last but 2 hours and mine last 4 hours. I don't know it it is the type of battery that only last that long of if it is loosing it power. This computer is starting to flicker bad again so I better get off now but I just wanted to thank you for your help and I will donate to this site to help keep it going and for the great help. thanks, juneD