My Dell DJ LCD screen goes blank - the replacement

My Dell DJ has been a good, not great product. Since I got it (My previous review of the Dell DJ), I have switched between MusicMatch and Windows Media Player. This required an upgrade of the firmware to 2.11.04 with the PlaysForSure version, and cuts out usage of the MusicMatch Jukebox. The sound quality is good, but I began to have some problems with the LCD going blank.

The screen would go blank and fail to come on even after a soft reset (insert a pin or toothpick into the hole at the base). A couple of times, it would come back on, but the characters would be reveresed, or corrupted. When I tried to sync, it would show the sync image correctly.

I was able to continue using it only because I could mentally scroll through the menu to the "Play All Music Tracks" option, but it was more than frustrating. I called Dell, dreading the interminable wait times. The IVR system put me through the hoops before placing me in the Dell Axim (PDA) queue, although I entered the correct service tag. Good-bye.

I next tried the Chat support. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the software they use is from a company I was product manager with, way back when in the boom. The chat support was much better - after confirming the problem, and asking me to run a few tests, they created an RMA and told me they were shipping out a replacement.

The replacement arrived yesteday. I have to set up a pickup with Airborne and have the pick-up slip signed by the driver. I wanted to format the old Dell DJ before sending it back, but couldn't quite figure out how to access the menu on the device. Finally, I resorted to reloading an older version of the firmware, which flashed the memory.

I hope this one does not fail on me - it would be very disappointing.