HIGH CONTRAST OR BRIGHTNESS ON LAP TOP

try this

press f3 to increase the brightness, f2 to decrease

or,

hold fn key and press f3 to increase the brightness
fn+f2 to decrease

let me know if it works

There should be brightness controls on the keyboard. Look for a key with the image of a 'sun' or 'light' symbol.

the Fn key amd the brightness direction keys are the only keys to operate the brightness.
There is a limit stop Min and Max brightness that the function will reach and that is built in

Install the latest Video Drivers from the dell website.

Go into display settings and click on advanced settings, then click on the color tab. There is a slider in there that controls the screen brightness. This is for windows xp but vista should be similar.

on most laptops there are function keys that will adjust the brightness and the contrast for your display. they are usually the up down left right arrows and you have to hold down FN and then press one of those corresponding keys and it will adjust the levels.

there are 3 possibilities I can think of

1. The brightness or contrast has been turned down (check your manual)
2. The power save settings are telling monitor to be at low brightness to save power (check manual)
3. the back light has failed

Post back exact model notebook and I may be able to assist with more specific advice

I have to assume you have tried through existing means to change brightness and contrast.
These are generally provided for the user.

LCD screens are backlit via a fluorescent lamp. This is a high voltage device so the problem could come from either a failing lamp or the inverter circuit that drives it.

Access to the lamp varies greatly and to even check it may well be a job for a technician.

If you really want to format it and wipe everything then you will need a copy of Windows Vista to boot up from, but if I were you I would give Vista the elbow and buy XP instead.

If you feel good about opening your set then you can try this: Look for the flyback (high voltage) transformer, with the thick red wire which goes to the top of the picture tube. There are 2 controls on the flyback transformer, focus (top) and screen (bottom)Turn the brightness and contrast all the way down and then increase the screen control until you see retrace lines, and then back it down until those lines just vanish. Return the brightness and contrast to normal and adjust the focus control, if necessary, for a nice sharp picture. Let me know if that brings your brightness back.