Do LCD monitors just die (go black) after a few years? My Dell UltraSharp went black the other day so I hook up my old CRT and it works fine. BTW - the 10 year old CRT looks better than the ultrasharp ever did. Not so sharp after all
Sounds like one of your cables has gone bad. Contact Dell and tell them about your situation and they sahould send you replacements.
I was a Dell certified technician for 4 years. The display is bad. If the video out is working then the graphics adapter on the mobo is fine. It might be a bad connection but the Mobo plug is held in place with 4 screws on most models so I really doubt it. You will need to look at your paperwork for warranty information. Most LCD displays from Dell have a limited 1 year warranty. Basically they will replace defective components but they will not pay for a display that burned out due to normal use or one that was damaged. Dell will offer to ship you a box that you will ship back to them and they will service the laptop for free if the system is under warranty but you will need to pay for the display. If you send your laptop to Dell expect not to have it for 6-8 weeks.
