Problem solved

Mijn probleem

The display on my MacBook laptop had gone dark. I could bring it back by closing the display some but the viewing angle was ridiculously awkward. Because the display would come and go based on the position of the screen, I guessed it was a connection of some sort gone/going bad. The Apple Geniuses quoted $300 for the repair, no doubt due to the amount of disassembly required. That price would have gotten me not only a new inverter cable but also a new inverter and display, just for good measure. That solution seemed like overkill, so after finding this very helpful ifixit site the DIY repair began.

Mijn oplossing

After pulling up a video or two of people taking their MacBooks apart, it seemed like a doable task. Since the device for watching videos is the device being taken apart, the guide on this site (downloaded and printed) was very helpful. Although there were some variations on my particular MacBook, I did not end up with any leftover parts, and my display is now as good as new, so mission accomplished.

The disassembly took about an hour, perhaps less. Because I seem to have a rogue Core 2 Duo early 2009 MacBook, the inverter cable I thought I should order turned out not to be the correct cable. After getting down to the actual part in question, it became clear that I had ordered the "other" cable. With this new piece of information, I ordered up the proper cable and it arrived within a short few days. Reassembly with the correct part was accomplished in about an hour.

Mijn advies

Had I ordered the proper part to begin with, the repair would have been complete in one morning. This site is very helpful in trying to drill down the details to help with that decision making. There's just no substitute for having the part in your hand before ordering the replacement.

I appreciate the information and effort involved with ifixit.com. Glad to know about this site and to have this online community as a resource.