Laptop LCD won't show an image?

[Kevindv10]

Hello. I'm looking at an older Toshiba Satellite running WinME. The reason i have it is because it boots up with little more than a black screen. I can see faint images of the windows desktop but nothing more than that. I was able to get it running and check to see if the drivers were okay and they were. Then shortly after the screen boots up without a picture again. Given that even the Toshiba splash screen during POST is dark too i'm guessing that it's hardware but i'd like to at least confirm what the problem is before i give it back and tell the people they're hooped!
Can anyone offer any suggestions as to how to diagnose something like this?

Oh ya, I tried to plug an external monitor onto the machine but i can't get the laptop to switch between modes with the function key. And I've also fiddled with the toggle that puts the laptop into sleep mode when the lid closes but it had no effect.

Cheers!

 

[kiwiguy]

It sounds like the laptops screen backlight has failed (or the inverter that powers it has failed).

Many backlights are incorporated into the screen, so replacement involves a new screen. That can get expensive on an old laptop