Dim Screen: Possibly Inverter, Backlight cable, video card or motherboard?

[eelizbic]

I have a 2004 x1000 which overall has been a pretty good machine besides hard drive failure and occasional overheating.  For the past couple of months I've had problems with my screen flickering, particularly when I opened the lid.  Screen images would jump like fuzzy TV or get distorted into a "simple-mode-esque" quality.  Wiggling the screen slightly, or shutting and opening usually fixed the problem.  However yesterday my screen went dim.  The images are still there, I just can only see them really up close if they're high contrast.  At first, if I held the nub that is down when the screen is shut for 30 seconds the backlight would flash back on for a few minutes but after about 4 or 5 cycles of this it went off all together.  Everything else appears to be working fine, I just can't see the screen without the aid of an angled flashlight and let's just say that's less than optimal.

Based on some google searches this is most likely caused by: a) bad backlight inverter b) loose cable connection c) bad videocard or d) failing motherboard.  I just wondered if anyone else had experienced something similar that would enable me to narrow down my problem so that when I take it in to the repair shop (don't trust myself with LCD repair) I can avoid the diagnostic costs and just tell them what I want done or otherwise scrap repairs all together if in fact the motherboard has failed.

thanks, e.

[toy4two]

start with a new lcd cable, that explains why it changes when you move the hinge.

try ebay.