Short story

• Buy a single 3 euros diode (or a few…)
• Read this article to disassemble your screen
• Change the defective diode using a soldering gun
• Still not working? Buy a new power board

Long story

I bought myself a 30” DELL 3008 WFP screen in 2008 (for 1,600 euros). I was super happy at the time, and it even took me a few days to get used to so much space on my desktop. I had decided about that purchase after reading articles mentionning how faster you were with a bigger desktop, and what the heck being on a computer all day long is my job.

Sadly, after a few years of good use, the screen went pitch black. I called DELL and they said they don’t repair screens, but were happy about selling me a new one, at full price… I insisted but no repair, no help for fixing it, no contacts for help. I went to the AppleStore and bought a Thunderbolt display, done.

I kept my broken DELL on a side knowing one day I would fix it. Man I’m happy I did. Reading online (see my DELL bookmarks), I found this article showing you how to disassemble it, and fixing it with a single 3 euros diode. Please note I have no specific soldering skills but borrowed a soldering gun from a friend and I actually managed to replace the diode just fine.

The screen worked… for a few minutes :) I tried replacing with a new diode again, tested the diode with multimeters but decided to spend more time and money on a complete new power board on a shady looking website but I actually received the power board 2 weeks later, from Hong Kong.

Replaced the board (was fast, as I disassembled my screen twice already), and tada it just worked. Hopefully I’ll use this a few more years. Yes, I know I shouldn’t just connect an Apple TV to this.

Oh and screw you DELL, I won’t buy from you again.