Does ballast death = bulb death?

[ryberg21]

A ballast died on my light (current usa outer orbit). It was the CF bulb. It flashed on and off for a bit and then just died. So, I ordered a new ballast, and installed it. I'm fairly confident I did it correctly ("white to white, black to black"), however the bulb won't start. The bulb looks burnt (see pic) however it's less than 3 months old.
Is my bulb dead? or did I do something wrong?

 

[flower]

No expert here, but can you test ( use a tester) to see if you have power to the bulb, and if you do then replace the bulb...if the tester has no reading then work on the ballast.

 

[scsinet]

Wire colors are not always the same. If you ordered an exact replacement ballast, that's one thing, but if not you should compare the wiring diagram of the new ballast to the old to ensure that the wires are the same color before matching wires up by color. Usually the wires are the same, but not always.
Ballast death does not always equal lamp death, but it can happen. The darkening on one end of the lamp is not a good thing. The way I handle it is... if the lamp is operating fine, then I don't worry too much about the discoloration, but if the lamp is not operating and is discolored like that, it's probably bad.
If I were you, I'd take the lighting system into an LFS and have them stick a new lamp in it for you. If it works, great. If not, they shouldn't make you buy the lamp.