Macbook screen won't stay lit?

[DNAnthonyy]

Just yesterday my macbook screen got dim... I thought the computer went off but it just went dim. I restarted it and it was fine, then 1 minute later the backlight went off. I closed the lid and when I opened it the backlight goes back on for a short time. What could be the problem? The macbook isn't that old. I can't get it lit enough to grab the specs.

It's the white macbook non-unibody. Core2Duo. Snow Leopard. I haven't had any major problems with it so far. It is about 2 years old and unfortunately I do not have the Apple care plan anymore. I would really hate to have to buy a new one.

I would really appreciate it if anyone could help me.

 

[pvmacguy]

If you can shine a flashlight onto the screen after it goes black while it's still on and see things, then it's most likely the inverter board and it will need replacing. Or it's possible once of the connectors has come loose to the inverter board and can just be plugged back in.

 

[pintsizemacman]

first make sure that ur energy saver settings arent turning it off every minuete. or try this. http://mac.softpedia.com/get/System-Utilities/Caffeine.shtml

 

[DNAnthonyy]

I can still see things. I already have caffeine installed. I was thinking of the inverter board... but wouldn't that just cause the backlight to stay off. When I close the lid and open it again... the light comes on again for like a minute or two.

 

[pvmacguy]

I can still see things. I already have caffeine installed. I was thinking of the inverter board... but wouldn't that just cause the backlight to stay off. When I close the lid and open it again... the light comes on again for like a minute or two.

Then it's possible that the cable going into the inverter board is coming lose and needs to be plugged in more securely. I would take of the display bezel and also the hinge cover and see what's going with the cords and connectors.

 

[eman]

You can find the specs to your macbook under the battery. The cheapest fix is an inverter; if you're going to order an inverter, also get the inverter cable. There are about three different types of inverter cables.

 

[DNAnthonyy]

ugh, I hate fixing the inverter board. SO much to disassemble to get to the cable. >.<

 

[DNAnthonyy]

UPDATE: I think this is a software issue because when the screen goes dim, I just turn the brightness allllll the way down and I can see it move down. I turn it up again and my screen lights up. This is so agitating.

Any other suggestions. Re-installing leopard maybe?

 

[pvmacguy]

It wouldn't hurt to try before you start taking apart the display bezel and pretty much the whole machine. Also try and smc reset too.

 

[johnnyham]

Not sure if the same problem exists with the unibodies, but my 2006 white Macbook had a similar problem. I thought it was just an issue with the inverter board, but when I tried to replace it, I found that the connection on the logic board was not outputting the proper voltage.

That's worst case though. Even then, I managed to salvage the computer as a "media center" of sorts with an external monitor.

 

[DNAnthonyy]

UPDATE: I reinstalled Snow Leopard, and so far. I did a 7x pass. I haven't had a single blacklight black out for 3 hours and still counting. I will let you guys know if I do get another one.

 

[lemonbaby]

update?

Sorry for bumping this thread. I'm experiencing the exact same problem and have the exact same macbook make (non-unibody white MB, mid-2008 Santa Rosa). Any news on this? I'd really rather do everything I possibly can before bringing my macbook to the shop.

Help, anyone?

 

[pvmacguy]

UPDATE: I reinstalled Snow Leopard, and so far. I did a 7x pass. I haven't had a single blacklight black out for 3 hours and still counting. I will let you guys know if I do get another one.

Sorry for bumping this thread. I'm experiencing the exact same problem and have the exact same macbook make (non-unibody white MB, mid-2008 Santa Rosa). Any news on this? I'd really rather do everything I possibly can before bringing my macbook to the shop.

Help, anyone?

 

[lemonbaby]

Yup, I wanted to know what happened after several days of the reinstall, if after those three hours things still went well. I suppose it worked for him, unfortunately, it didn't work for me... so, I guess it's back to square one over here.