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??

[Stewart Johnston]

When the hinge broke, you probably damaged the cable that goes to the screen. It can be replaced without costing too much.
Always shutting down is normally a symptom of it overheating - that can be cured by setting it on a hard surface, not your bed, cushions, etc.
Switch it off when not in use, make sure your anti-virus is up to date, don't install dodgy software, and take better care of it, that way you should get many years use out of it.
Alternatively, abuse it and replace it every 6 months, if you can afford to!

[no one]

get the ipad or a cheap macbook from ebay the acer is not worth it. and yes I read the whole thing.