09-19-2010, 08:12 PM

I have a issue with my screen and was hoping that someone had a solution or some advice.

I have Mid-2007 17" A1229 Macbook Pro and the screen all of a sudden was black. I have read several threads about this problem on the forum but have noticed mine is different. I will list the symptoms and computer reactions below.

-The screen is black but I can connect it to a external monitor and it works fine.

- Randomly the internal screen will come back on and work for random amounts of time.

- When the screen is black and I use the brightness keys (F1 & F2) it will change the shade of black.

Any Help I could get would be greatly appreciated. Thanks alot

09-21-2010, 02:29 PM

I tried resetting the PRAM and the SMC like a lot of the posts on here said to do but with no luck.

09-21-2010, 02:36 PM

It sounds like either the backlight or the inverter (which powers the backlight) is not functioning properly or could have gone out completely. Since you can use an external monitor OK, that eliminates the graphics chipset - which is good.

However, the backlight on a MB or MBP is a very difficult repair. Usually the recommended repair is to replace the entire display (the backlight is enclosed with the display body case). And it could be a bad inverter. Probably best to replace both. I'm assuming your machine is no longer under warranty so you may want to do the repairs yourself. Go to iFixit: The free repair manual. They have the parts and also instructions on how to do the repairs.

09-22-2010, 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by chscag

It sounds like either the backlight or the inverter (which powers the backlight) is not functioning properly or could have gone out completely. Since you can use an external monitor OK, that eliminates the graphics chipset - which is good.

However, the backlight on a MB or MBP is a very difficult repair. Usually the recommended repair is to replace the entire display (the backlight is enclosed with the display body case). And it could be a bad inverter. Probably best to replace both. I'm assuming your machine is no longer under warranty so you may want to do the repairs yourself. Go to iFixit: The free repair manual. They have the parts and also instructions on how to do the repairs.

I read about a backlight test using a flashlight where if you can shine a flashlight at the screen and lightly see the screen contents then it is definitely the backlight. I tried it and couldn't see anything.

Have you heard about this test? and Does this rule out the backlight and only leaves the inverter as the failed part?

09-22-2010, 10:06 PM

Yes, I know about the test and thanks for posting back. It would appear that your display itself is either defective or a power cable to it has come loose. Look at my last reply to you and the link I referred you to. Go there and look up the take apart instructions for your model. Either way, (bad display or loose cable) if you do the work yourself, it means disassembling the display panel from the machine.