Any Computer Nerds in here???

[jzfran]

I bought a new Compaq Presario last August. I went with a real low end laptop just so I could get internet and microsoft word on it. Over the past two months the screen has become extremely bright. Now, it usually starts up at a color that i cant make out anything on the screen. What should I do? Is there a simple solution? Thanks

[Amazinz]

Just so you know, there is a tech forum here at the Cafe home section. Have you tried hooking the laptop up to a standard monitor? I would do that just to rule out the video card and motherboard or check to see if you're still experiencing the distortion in BIOS. Does the screen "fade in" to normal brightness/contrast after it's been on awhile? Does it flicker or fade-in/fade-out?

The panels on cheap laptops are a pain. Is it still under warranty? You might have to take it to a shop if not. If you isolate it to the LCD then it could be the screen itself, the back light, or the inverter cable. It could be the inverter card also but that has a tendency to darken the screen. Really tough to say without testing and more info so just taking best guesses.