Video problems in Pismo

[Pismo]

I have an August 2000 PowerBook (400MHz Pismo). I bought it brand
new from the online Apple Store and has served me well up until a few months
ago. I admit to accidentally dropping my PowerBook one night when I tripped
over some cables and the PowerBook came crashing to the floor and the
display opened fully. I looked at the screen and it was all messed up.
There were lines across the screen and the computer was frozen of course (I
was using OS X). The problem gets worse from here...

Ever since then, whenever I try to boot the laptop the screen sometimes does
not turn on. So I then have to force restart and move the display around a
little until the screen fires up. When the computer is booted, if I move
the display, I'll see lines go across the screen and then the computer will
freeze. Sometimes the display will also get washed out where lines will go
horizontally across the screen and the screen will get REALLY bright. I
move the display a little further and the lines disappear but the computer
is still frozen so I have to restart. I've been looking for replacement
parts and I think I messed up the Video Data Cable as well as something
called the Display Inverter PCB. I'm going to have an Apple Technician look
at the PowerBook and see what they say. What do you think I should do?

 

[King Cobra]

If you have AppleCare, it shouldn't be that bad.

blakespot, another forum user, accidently dropped his 700 iBook and didn't have AppleCare. He said he may have to pay up to $800 for repairs. Or it may just be about $300 or whatever.

Everytime I hear about an Apple portable hitting the hard ground and receiving damage, it almost breaks my heart. Your story is no exception, man.

If you have AppleCare, you can probably bring it to your local Apple Store and have them check it out. If you don't have AppleCare, I'm not sure what to say, as you may have a heafty bill to pay. It may not be as bad as blakespot's possible $800, but it may not be as cheap as $300 either.