Pentax k-m screen death

Hi guys, my Pentax k-m's LCD screen completely stopped working just this evening. The camera switches on fine, the little display inside the viewfinder with all the exposure and aperture information still works, and I can still take photos and they go onto the memory card, and when I press buttons like the view pic, menu, info buttons, the orange LED on the back of the camera lights up like it does when it's loading information. It's just the LCD screen is completely black and shows nothing. If I'd dropped it recently I would understand it not working but it just giving up the ghost like this mystifies me!

I know back when I first posted there weren't that many k-m users on here but this is a desperate attempt on my part to try and find out if someone else had this happen and knows anything I can do to fix it myself, or whether I will have to send it away to be fixed. I'm really gutted because I only bought the camera last November and I'm just coming to the final month of my Project 365 which I won't be able to complete if I have to send it away to be fixed asap to not void my warranty

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

Did you buy it from SRS?

Nope, Merchant City Camera in Glasgow.

Did this happen when you were out in sub-zero temperatures?

I have owned my K-m since April 2009 and it DID have a terrible fall a few weeks ago. The live view is okay. The fall effected my auto in the lens.When it is extented all the way out, it will not retract!

I did look into the cost of repair...at least $200 to $250, and in my opinion, that is about what it is worth if I were to sell it. I plan to keep on using it, and will keep my eye on the Canadian market for a second hand K20d, and try a bigger gun this time

Too bad about your project getting bumped, I would use my free ticket for my warrenty, if I were you.

Wishing the best for you, all the same!

If you bought it from Merchant City Cameras, a Pentax Pro Dealer, then you have a 24 month warranty.

However, if you don't want to send it away why not just keep on shooting like you would with film?

It is pretty damn cold in Liverpool right now - and because of Project 365 I do take my camera everywhere with me. It was working fine this morning, and then when I got it out in the evening to take a pic of some Christmas lights the screen just wasn't showing anything up. I did suspect perhaps the cold might have something to do with it but even indoors it didn't kinda warm up and start working again.

Ooh thankyou for that info, I was wondering how much warranty I had as all my boxes/receipt etc are on the Wirral right now. I thought once you notified them it was broken you had to send it in pronto or they might not repair it, but I don't really know much about warranties. And yeah, I plan to keep shooting with it for now - it shall be a good challenge! I'd rather not send it in just now, actually, because it'll get caught up in the Christmas post and take ages.