Concerns regarding late 2006 MacBook

[furcalchick]

Just a bit of a warning, this is a bit of a long post, and a two parter.

First part. For about a year, the lighting on my MacBook's monitor has been flickering on and off at points, and I would have to adjust the brightness to get it to stay on, and sometimes it would go crazy again. About a week ago, the brightness trick didn't work, as it stayed dark, and I tried everything short of taking the computer apart to get the lights back on it. I can still see the screen (barely) and I can see the screen through an external display mirror. Also, the apple on the back doesn't light up. I think the problem is the inverter, which is cheap to get online, but I would rather have someone else handle the repair process. How much can I expect to spend and how much time should I expect away from my MacBook if I took it to the Apple Store? Could the problem be something else entirely and much more costly?

Second part. Last night, I was on the computer, and suddenly, I knocked the desk that the MacBook was on to the point where the feet of the table moved and the computer had a random restart, and I've been spending the next day in a bit of a panic that my computer is actually breaking down, or that I caused permanent damage to the machine. I also had my headphones, external HD and external screen hookup. There has been no problems since the random restart last night.

Thanks on both.

 

[azentropy]

Just a bit of a warning, this is a bit of a long post, and a two parter.

First part. For about a year, the lighting on my MacBook's monitor has been flickering on and off at points, and I would have to adjust the brightness to get it to stay on, and sometimes it would go crazy again. About a week ago, the brightness trick didn't work, as it stayed dark, and I tried everything short of taking the computer apart to get the lights back on it. I can still see the screen (barely) and I can see the screen through an external display mirror. Also, the apple on the back doesn't light up. I think the problem is the inverter, which is cheap to get online, but I would rather have someone else handle the repair process. How much can I expect to spend and how much time should I expect away from my MacBook if I took it to the Apple Store? Could the problem be something else entirely and much more costly?

Yep, sounds like the inverter or inverter cable or both. IMO you have a 6 yr old MB, probably not worth the cost to repair it any longer at an Apple Store, figure $250 min. You might want to check around for online repair which would be much less or give it a try yourself.