My laptop screen has gone black. What is wrong with it?

[smile]

(I'D APPRECIATE IT IF YOU WOULD READ WHOLE THING BUT SKIP TO LAST PARAGRAPH FOR SHORT VERSION OF QUESTION)
I have an Acer laptop I purchased about 8 months ago. First the hinge snapped off it really easily. I can still use it, but it means one of the cords is exposed. I'm about to get it fixed as it has been like it for months. Today I was using my laptop and I was just on all the usual sites like Facebook,nothing different to usual when I got the blue screen. It happens to the laptop a lot but I just assumed maybe it was overheatingg easily. When I turned my laptop on I could hear it working, all the buttons and lights are fine, but the screen is black. I can't even see anything faintly on it. I've plugged it into a computer screen and it's working fine on that. I can't hear the fan on my laptop as loud either. Do you know why this suddenly happened?

How much is this going to cost to repair. It's been a pretty horrible laptop as it always shuts down and has problems. A few keys are missing and I need the hinge fixed. By the time I pay for these repairs, would I be better off just to get another laptop or iPad??