Half my Powerbook G4 Display Just Went Out!

Question

My promblems started in June when I got one vertical line. In July I got another.
Now, Half my screen just went blank. No vertical lines. Nothing. Just several fat pink lines in the middle (about 2 inches across) and the rest of my screen is white!
My 17" screen has now been converted into a 8" screen! When will this end? When will Apple do something about this?

Answer 1

I hope you're right, but I'm not optimistic. It's hard to imagine that any amount of jostling of the outside of the Powerbook could disturb the display cable inside the hinge without causing visible external damage, but it's not hard to imagine heavy pressure on the display while in transit damaging the LCD panel. I gather that the Powerbook wasn't well packaged on the plane, and may even have been in a piece of checked luggage. That would certainly be a recipe for disaster.
The "bizarre proprietary screws" used in Powerbooks aren't proprietary at all. They're standard Torx screws, and any good hardware store should have drivers to fit them. You'll need a Torx T-8 and, if you get into the interior of the machine, there are some Torx T-6 screws as well as Phillips #0 screws in there. You're right to wait until you can get the appropriate drivers, though — the screw heads are quite soft and easily stripped if you use the wrong size or kind of screwdriver in them.