Hello.
I have a Dell Inspiron 5100 Notebook with Windows XP Service Pack 2, and it has a little problem.
All of a sudden after 5 years of use, my laptop's backlight keeps going out at random times, from every 30 seconds, to every 10 minutes. I do not know what is causing the problem, but it only happens when the AC Adapter is unplugged. When i plug the AC Adapter in, it continues to go out. I know it is the backlight because when it goes out, i can still see the desktop and all the icons if i shine a flashlight onto the screen, but it is extremely hard to see. I have to close and open the laptop for the screen to come back on. I have ran diagnostics test and everything passed, but the backlight still goes off during the test as if the computer is working normally.
Sometimes when i move the screen around, the backlight stays on longer before it goes out, but once it goes out, it continues to go off every 30 seconds afterwards. I can confirm it is not a overheating problem. I can confirm the backlight is working fine because it continues to come on everytime i close and open the laptop.
My question is, could this be a software or hardware problem? Could the LCD Screen on my laptop be going out?
*I have tried safe mode and the backlight still goes out.
*I have tried system restore.
*I have tried squeezing the bottom of the screen minimally and it helps keep the backlight on longer, but still goes out.
