Dear Dell community,

The video on my inspiron e1405 laptop began to flicker for a week or two, and now has stopped working entirely.  Using an external monitor does not work.  For a little while I could see the beginning boot process when it says Dell and has a progress meter (pre-Windows).  I could hear an electrical noise like a short.  Now the screen is black, except that I can now see the Windows login screen and mouse pointer *very faintly.*  Not sure of my next step.  I seem to need a new display, a new cable to connect the display to the motherboard, or a new motherboard.  Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

Nelson