The screen went blank and my mum thought that you had to press a button to get the screen back, it wouldnt come back on so she has pressed every button and caused the screen to darken, you can just make out, the page where you log on. I have tried using the function key and up/down buttons but that isnt working, any ideas how I can the screen back to its orginal brightness?

It is a power saving item to prevent drain on your battery. Go to the Control Panel -> Power Options and adjust it there. Being that this is Vista then you will need to click the "Adjust the display brightness" on the left pane then you should have scroll bras under both the "On Battery" and "Plugged In".

I cant see to be able to go into control panel, is there anything else that I can do?

... try <Fn> and another <key> on top row of keyboard which should have an icon on it for sun "up" ... sun "down" ... well it looks like a sun on mine! ... combination Function keys also alter sound etc ... oops ... sorry just reread your post . . ... Posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/... Grrrr... ....more

First try mavis007 suggestion. If no joy one likely cause for this is the backlight lamp that suddenly stopped working. How long have you been using this PC? i_Xp/VistaUser

I have tried the Fn key and up/down buttons, but no luck. I can sort of see the screen as if it is still working, but im unable to get the picture to become lighter

Do you have an external monitor that you can pug into temp.? That might help you but you still need to figure out the Function Keys because you will need to hold the FN key and hit the appropriate F key to switch to the external monitor. You might be better off consulting your instruction manual because not all laptops are alike and some have manual adjustments on the left or right of the screen or the laptop its self. Better yet, call the tech support for this laptop. http://support.dell.com/support/top...