EMERGENCY! Problem with laptop monitor

HELP!!!

Sorry I had to gather your attention in such a disruptive manner but I don't have constant access to the internet so I wanted to make sure that I would get some replies the next time I check.

So yesterday morning when I started using my laptop something weird happened with the monitor. I couldn't get a photo or anything of it so I've uploaded the best depiction I could make of it in MS paint.

Basically, nothing is wrong and everything is working fine other than the output of the laptop's monitor. There are thick dark bars of display and thinner lighter bars of display in between. It isn't noticeable while doing something but if you just stay still and look at the screen, you will see it at arms length at least if not requiring to look closer.

The image I've attached basically shows what would somewhat look like the display output if looking at an entirely red screen.

I'm assuming the worst but please tell me it's not all bad. Power outages have been horrible and I really need to study load of hours of .pdf files on a computer.

And I haven't updated drivers or BIOS in forever so I can't blame it on that.

I also assume the problem is with the monitor itself as the display is like that even from the exact moment the monitor turns on and the BIOS bootup screen shows.

 

Do you have an external monitor you can hook up for testing?

 

Well, I do have a LCD TV with an HDMI connection. Although, I don't have any HDMI connection wires. I'll see if I can't find some cheap.

 

bumping for advice

 

Well, if you want to pinpoint the problem, you'll have to hook it up to an external screen. This will point to either faulty LCD or LVDS cable or faulty GPU depending on the results.

HDMI cables are usually at decent prices online.

 

It might be appropriate to post this in the Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades section as it may not be a brand specific issue. I've received some good advice for problems there in the past.