The well worn Gateway notebook computer is finally fixed
Posted By RichC on January 4, 2010
Success … finally! I been all thumbs in an ongoing struggle (post one and two) to 
fix my notebook computer during the Christmas and the New Year holiday. I ordered the suspect part, ‘an inverter,’ for my Gateway notebook computer and after hassles with pre-Christmas shipping, finally received it only to find out it was incorrect (not my fault). I order once again from another ebay seller and saved $10 – only $7.99 (including shipping — cheap). It was the correct component and finally I’m back to nearly 100% at this blog posting (still need to reassemble the notebook … not necessarily an easy task).
Unfortunately, while waiting for the inverter, I also disassembled the LCD screen with the precision of a chainsaw wielding drunken lumberjack thinking I would test the backlight – not too bright of me. My display of barbarism on my computer and lack of patience required the purchase of a new display for and additional $85 as well. So, my initial $18 repair (first ‘wrong’ inverter) turned into about $100 in total … nevertheless, I’m glad to be mobile once again. (in hindsight, I could have fixed my computer for a total of $7.99 including shipping! Kudos to ebay seller techmechanic)
What I did learn from the project might be poignant to someone reading this: Don’t bother to try and replace the backlight tube in your laptop’s display (photo below), it is extremely tedious … and in my opinion not well designed for replacement. Instead, opt for a replacement screen.
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