Has anyone ever dealt with the dark screen issue? A few days ago when I opened the lid on my notebook it went dark after a minute. I can still vaguely see the screen it's just become incredibly dark and when it first happened if I unplugged the battery cord the screen would stay normal. Now it doesn't matter if it's plugged in or not.

For various reasons my only option is to open it up. From what I've gathered from online this isn't an uncommon problem for this make and model. Problem is I've never opened up a computer before and I'm nervous. Does anyone know of a step-by-step online I could refer to? Has anyone else had this problem?

I am not a laptop repair expert. But I did have to replace the backlight/backplane on an older model Compaq laptop a few years ago. I found one on eBay pretty cheap. It did the same thing you describe.

Have you checked with Emachines Customer Care?

http://www.emachines.com/support/pro...es&model=M2350

It's not just a matter of opening up the notebook, you'll have to get the backlight assembly from someone

I would ditch the Emachine. It is going to be more of a problem than anything. Emachines are basically expensive paperweights, or at least it will be in a few months lol. Next the power supply is gunna die and then the hard drive lol.

Are the eMachines laptops as bad as their desktops? I do know that getting parts for eMachines is not easy, and their tech support sucks

generally I don't recommend people opening laptops by themselves. It's quite tricky and you can really muck things up. I suspect one of two things.

1. your video / power properties is not set right
2. or your back screen is going bad. -send it to a shop.

Someone on another forum suggested that it was a problem with a bad inverter board and after doing some research online my dark screen problem fits it exactly. I was going to go ahead and buy a new board (found one on ebay for my M2350 from a respectable seller) and then switch it out for the old one myself. What do you guys think?

And yeah, emachines is pretty craptastic but I'm a poor college student. With rent and food and paying off other bills I won't be able to afford a new computer for a good long minute

Ok MDR,
just take your time. I can get service manuals for most major laptops/notebooks, but not for eMachines. Some notebooks are tricky to get apart. Be careful to not break the plastic tabs and the ribbon cable connectors. Pay attention to the disassembly so you can reassemble easily.

Good luck!