I was reading MR today when my kernel panicked. * I guess a tornado just passed. Hmm...* Anyway, when I restarted it the startup chime didn't sound. * There go the sirens again. Heading to the basement... * Now the speakers sound raspy and nasty. Also, my screen has been acting up lately. It will suddenly blink out and only recovers when I close and open the top. I'm planning on looking into these problems myself since I am both out of warranty and cash. If anyone could suggest possible solutions to this problem or the best method of getting into my 'book I would greatly appreciate it. I'm pretty handy at taking things apart, so with the help of the great MR community, I hope to perform this surgery relatively painlessly. It's a 500 Mhz model purchased July of 2001.