[hortoncj]

Hey everyone, I'm in desperate need of some help here, and I'd really appreciate your advice.

I own a Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop running Windows XP Media Edition. A couple of months ago I discovered my computer sitting on my coffee table with a small puddle of water beneath it. How this accident occurred is still beyond me, as it had to have happened in the middle of the night (I have 2 cats and a dog, so there's no telling).

I let the computer dry out as best as I could. After several hours I started it up, and it booted just fine. Then I noticed the left side of the screen going dim. The far right side is lit perfectly, but the left side is so dark I can hardly read it in the daytime.

The brightness is not a perfect split either, it fades from the darkest part of the screen being on the far left to the brightest being on the far right.

Also, every time I try and turn the brightness of the screen to its highest, it sort of "shorts out" (for lack of a better description) and just turns off completely. The computer still running, but the screen stops working. I have to leave it at a lower brightness setting for the screen to stay on. If I make the computer hibernate using the keyboard commands, then bring it back up again, the screen will come back on. But at the brightest setting it lasts only a couple of seconds - and that's with the computer plugged in. While its running on the battery, I can't get anywhere near full brightness without it shorting out.

Here's some more information. When I first boot my laptop after it having been off for several hours, the screen will function almost perfectly (it still won't let me take it to the highest level of brightness without shorting out). Then after several minutes, the dimming begins to occur on the left side, and then within a half hour it's almost too dark to read. There's also a very soft high-pitched "buzzing sound" (again lacking in better description) coming from the screen that stops when it shorts out.

So, in summary...

(*) After being off for several hours, screen functions well
(*) Left side of the screen becomes almost too dark to read within 30 minutes and stays that way
(*) Screen "shorts out" when I take the brightness setting to its highest
(*) "Buzzing" sound heard while screen is on

Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated! I'm hoping you guys can save me from buying another computer.

[Mike0001]

Nasty! It should be covered by home insurance if you have it.

Replacing the lid isn't a difficult job so you may get a cheap repair.