Macbook A1181 2139 Display black / weak?

[lectrocrew]

Upon power on I see a temporary (~1 sec) very dim screen followed by black screen twice, then I see the box showing 'OS start-up' > 'user login screen' temporarily (still very dim) then back to black screen. The display image will brighten up enough temporarily to faintly see the display every time I press the 'CM' + 'OPT' keys. Is this a display issue, or GPU or what. This notebook has a Mini DVI graphics output but I don't have an adapter to convert mini DVI to hook up one of the external displays that I have which are VGA, HDMI or Composite. If this problem can possibly be solved via external display then I'll spend the $ for a Mini DVI adapter.
 I'm limited on $ I can spend and also on repair ability due to only 1 hand + prosthetic hook so I really don't want to attempt a display replacement if I can avoid it. What to do next? Should I order a Mini DVI adapter?

https://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/MacBook_Mid2007_UserGuide.pdf

[BC_Programmer]

It is possible the backlight inverter in the display failed. You might be able to confirm this by seeing if you can see anything on the black screen by illuminating it manually (with a strong lamp or something).

If the backlight inverter failed then it would be an issue with the monitor, so you ought to be able to plug in another display with the adapter you mentioned.

[lectrocrew]

Yes I can see the user login screen faintly with a flashlight shining on the screen at the correct angle. I'll go ahead and order a DVI to VGA adapter. I'll post the results when I get an external monitor hooked up.
Thanks BC!

[lectrocrew]

I received the adapter today and it enables use of an external display just fine. One screen resolution adjustment and it is good to go. Thanks again for your help BC!