So I finally sent my laptop in for repairs.

I'd worn out my alt key, my wifi chipset seemed to be overheating, and the display was exhibiting these annoyances:





Before sending it in, I put on a blank install of xubuntu, a weak password, auto-login, and had Firefox automatically start, maximized, with a local homepage including a complete description of the problems, and localized playback (which I tested without network access) of the above photos and video. I also explained some things they could skip, being merely cosmetic fixes, and told them not to bother putting Windows back on if it was going to be a hassle for them. (I didn't have a restore CD to provide.)

Since all the problems I've been seeing are based in hardware, they should be able to either fix it or declare it a lost cause. If they declare it a lost cause, my warranty says I'm supposed to get a replacement or check to go towards a replacement, so it's no skin off my teeth.

It'll be interesting to see what happens.