Laptop Screen

I have an A31 IBM laptop. It is about two and a half years old, and about 6 months ago, just after the warranty expired, I had a problem with the screen. It flickered and just sort of went off. I thought the screen was completely bad on it, but I started it up today to check it out and I realized I could, in fact, barely see the screen. Some things arevisible to see with light to my back, and I can just barely see some of the lighter colored windows. Otherwise it just appears black. It seems to act like there is a light bulb or something out that is not illuminating the screen. I am not terribly computer literate, but I was wondering what might be wrong with it and how expensive/difficult the fix for it might be? Thanks for your help.

 

you migth just need to replace the inverter and/or the backlight. You can Google both parts for your system. If you are handy with a soldering iron you can easily replace the backlight for around $15-$30 (but by two in case you break one...) The inverter is also very easy to replace...and not expensive as a rule.

Here is a good source for both parts as well as tutorials to read so you can see what is involved to relace the parts:

http://www.ccfldirect.com/index.html

 

I'm also thinking the backlight went bad; try the above suggestions. Check Lenovo's support website for documentation of your machine.

 

And when you're replacing the bulb, WEAR A DUST MASK. If you break a fluorescent bulb, it contains mercury and all kinds of other nasty stuff you don't want to inhale. Be careful, and good luck I will agree that it's almost certainly your backlight though, especially since you can see activity on the screen even though it's very dark.