A hairline crack in the hinge won't be the problem. Sometimes a plug at one end of the cable that carries signals and power between the laptop motherboard and the screen works loose, so you could check those, but it sounds as though your screen, like mine, is actually broken. I'm planning to take my Amilo Pi1536 to Rolta in Hayes next week for a while-you-wait screen replacement. Not cheap but cheapest I could find.
Nick
May 2008