I really need some help with my laptop. I had been having trouble with my screen not coming on until the Windows Desktop came up, so i thought that I had a messed up display driver, so i decided to reinstall Vista. Part way through this process the computer restarts but nothing comes onto the screen. If i turn off the machine and turn it back on the screen flashes briefly then then remains black. The hard drive sonds like its booting up but i cant see anything on the screen. I was thinking that there is a problem with the display, so I connected the laptop to an external display and turned on the laptop but i cant get it to display on the external screen. Any advice or help would be really appreciated. Thanks

If the laptop is under warranty I suggest you request warranty repair. If no video is displayed prior to Windows starting then there is probably a hardware problem. Can you enter the setup screens?

No, i cant access the BIOS or startup at all. Ive carefully opened up the laptop and discovered two problems! One is the LCD tube at the bottom is burnt out and there is a crack in in bottom. Unfortunately the laptop is well out of warranty so a repair is coing to be expensive. Is it possible for me to connect either an external monitor or to the PC input on my lcd tv.

I can't answer that question. Probably best to have the laptop evaluated at a repair station.