Dell Inspiron 8500 repair questions

With all software issues decided as not the problem, I am trying to decide what piece of hardware needs replacing or is even fixable. The Dell when first turned on looks like a tetris screen, lots of vertical lines and some horizontal, lots of colors. Next boot up will be more lines not as distinct and a white background. This second screen will stay with me through several more power offs, power on. sometimes I will end up with the BSOD stop code which supposedly is a memory problem but the memory checks okay. Finally when the laptop is really warmed up, it boots normally and will work for the entire day. I removed the bezel and keyboard but have no idea of what is "normal" If a cable had been evidently loose or cracked, that would have helped but all I see is a sys board which appears to have a slight film on it (normal?) The display cable is wrapped with electrical tape where it goes into the display unit. Is this normal? If anyone has had their 8500 apart and took photos, I'd appreciate access to them. As always thanks for any suggestions as what to do next.

 

For your reference, Dell provides service manuals for all of its laptops, including the Inspiron 8500: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins8500/en/8500/sm/index.htm

Second, it sounds like you are experiencing the beginnings of a GPU failure. If those artifacts show up on an external display, that should pretty much confirm it.

If such is the case, the GPU in the 8500 is removeable: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins8500/en/8500/sm/video.htm#1000550. You can buy a new card on eBay or the like for anywhere between $25 and $100 (depending on the card you want).

 

Thanks for the links. I was surfing EBAY and came across ads for an "inverter" and lcd cable also. Is it possible that either of these could cause the same problem. I am trying to avoid purchasing unnecessary parts. Yesterday the laptop only took two tries to get into windows.

 

Like I said, test it on an external display. If the image is perfect there, the problem is with your display. Else, it's probably with your video card.

 

Thanks Did that and I did get the beginning scrambled display so it's off to search for a replacement gpu.