So far I haven't found a solution. No matter how long I leave DeadPixelBuddy on cycling through colors, or how long I leave it on a blank white screen, or how long I unplug the panel for, nothing clears up the dark spots.

I'm hoping one of the Dell reps will reply to the thread. Otherwise, I'll probably end up calling Dell's help line on one of my days off.

is your problem anything like this one?

I had a 2005FPW (S-IPS) with this darker area forming just above the bottom-center of the monitor. cleaning and rubbing didn't help. nothing like the problems above, but definitely worse than yours. it seemed like it was related to heat. this started happening after 2 years. brighness was set to 100.

After seeing Gertin's post, I decided to give tech support a shot thinking it'd be a straight-forward process. Unfortunately, it wasn't. I was on the phone for a total time of one hour and ten minutes, answering a battery of questions such as, "is your computer infected by viruses or sypware?" and "You're using a DVI cable, that means you have a video card, which could be bad. Please try connecting it to the integrated video port with a VGA cable."

They're not bad questions to ask, and I'm sympathetic to someone who has to sit there and try to help foreigners with their usually non-existant problems with nothing but a computer and a set of prebuilt questions. But, come on. Right at the beginning of the call I explained that the problem occured in both Windows XP and Ubuntu (which I clarified was linux), with either a VGA or a DVI cable. I also mentioned this post and how it demonstrated exactly what the problem is and how I attempted to resolve it. Nevertheless, she had me repeating a host of tests, most of which I've already done, seemingly unsatisfied and puzzled by all of the results. She seemed convinced that it was some sort of software problem, after telling her that I had a second monitor that worked fine dispelled any possibility of a hardware problem. Not even hooking up my gamecube via a composite connection and observing the problem convinced her.

In the end, what she wanted was for me to observe the problem with the monitor's self test, despite explaining that it's only visible with light, solid colors, thereby making it impossible to spot with a black screen and a tiny bouncing color box. This was the first and last test she had me do. The second time while I sat hopelessly waiting for a 20mmx5mm strip of color to overlap with a 1cm tall piece of problem area, she finally gave up and said she was replacing the monitor.

Or at least that's what I think she said. Basically I now have in my posession a 9-digit dispatch number, and the knowledge that I will be receiving my dispatch in 48-72 hours. She was vague when I initially asked if I needed to send in my current panel now, asking me to wait while she entered in the dispatch. I didn't really ask her to clarify, having experience in both tech support and customer service, I can relate to how annoying it is to have to give some idiot free stuff for something that was ultimately their fault. And seeing as my attempts to differentiate myself from the average end user, and establish myself as someone who knew what they were talking about failed, I simply thanked her for her time and hung up.

So, we'll see in 48-72 hours what happened.

Well, I received my new panel today, after missing the DHL yesterday. I had to say I was impressed, shipping me a brand new (well, refurb, but I don't mind that) panel in just 3 days!

I plug it in next to my current panel to snap some pictures, and immediately I notice it looks quite a bit worse than my trusty 2007wfp. Huh, well, maybe it's the VGA cable -- I only have one DVI. So I turn off the display and enter the service menu (hold "plus" + "menu" and then turn on the power, let go once the panel powers up then press "minus").

Oh. 2009w. Great. Well, maybe it could still be the cable. ::Throws 2009w S-IPS at google... ... ..sigh::

I mean, maybe it's not right for me to complain here--Dell did just practically overnight me a new panel. But, the 2007wfp wasn't a cheap purchase. I could have gotten a 22-24" TN panel for less money, even at the time. I got it for the S-IPS panel, and because the only other 20" S-IPS display on the market was glossy and not matte (not to mention it was $600).

So, they've sent me a $279 dollar TN film display to replace my $439 dollar S-IPS panel. I have two options now:

One. Spend god knows how long on the phone with Dell again to see if they can do something. At this point, I'm not sure that they can, and suddenly I vaguely remember news that no one manufacturs a 20" S-IPS panel anymore.

Two. I can put the 2009w back in the box, ship it back to Dell, and pretend nothing ever happened.

I might post some pictures comparing the two later, but right now I'm feeling a little deflated. 

Alright, just got off of the phone with dell.

Total time spent on the phone: 1 hour.

Total times transferred to a different/same department: 7.

Progress made: 0.

So, after seven transfers, seven times of giving my order number and info, seven times of explaining my problem to people who have no idea what I'm talking about, I finally get someone who seems to understand what's going on.

Nope. I get a guy, who basically has the gall to try to sell me a monitor. The initial aggreable responses he gave were nothing but a ploy, as a couple questions he asked proved that he, like everyone else, had no idea what I was talking about. As I come to the conclusion that there's nothing Dell can or is willing to do for me, I told him I would simply ship back the replacement panel. And that's when the hard sales pushing started. Eventually he told me I could get a the 24" for $450 dollars. "Really?" I asked, "Yes." was the reply. Although, I wonder if he really meant the ultrasharp, being as it currently on sale for $619. Now, I'm not about to whip out the credit card then and there and buy something when I have no idea what panel is used in it, so I tell him I need some time to think about it. "Of course," he says. So I ask for the number, he dodges. I ask for the number again, and he tells me to have a nice day. Up until that point I was actually considering buying another piece of garbage for Dell, but this experience pretty much ensures that I never will.

ugh.

I was told they no longer had any of the 2007wfps in the warehouse. Unless you somehow get very lucky, you will probably be receiving the entry level TN film 2009w as an "upgrade."

Here's a thread where someone experienced the same problem: Dell 2007WFP replacement woes.

That guy somehow managed to get a refund, which considering Dell's tech support is some small miracle of negotiation. The only problem is even if you manage to pull this off, there isn't really a 20" s-ips you can buy anymore. The only option is apple's cinema display, but my computer, my TV, my desk, and my TV stand are all black/grey, and a white apple product would stick out like crazy.  Both the 20" size and the 1680x1050 resolution are perfect for me, so I decided I will just live with the problem and hope it doesn't get worse.

Also, as a correction, I have had my panel for 2 years. I was basing my monitor purchase off of how old I thought my computer was--I didn't realize that it was nearly 2 years old already. 

Sorry for the unresized image, but I just reformatted and haven't reinstalled any of my applications yet, so I just snapped off a real quick raw+jpg. The amount of off-axis color shifting is incredible, even sitting directly in front of the panel.I hadn't noticed it before but it also lacks a component input, and (not that I ever used it), picture in picture.

They have improved the backlight, and the display is very bright (like staring at the sun) and vibrant. The 2007wfp looks dull by comparison, until you realize the vibrancy is due to grossly oversaturated color. Skintones are hideous on this display--think doing portraits with velvia.

So back into the box thing goes and time for another fun time spent on the phone with dell to send this panel back.

So what are you going to do now? You're still stuck with your old 2007WFP right?