No screen (by 2 users)

I had the same problem in my M2000 and found out that indeed the blacklight was not working. There are two common causes for the problem, and the cheapest/easiest and perhaps most common problem is the inverter. I found one on an online auction site, and it fixed my problem. The other problem could be a broken bulb. If your laptop was dropped, then this could be the case. If the bulb is broken, then you will be best off buying a new laptop or finding a used screen. With the age of the laptop, there is no sense throwing a bunch of money at the problem IMHO. My inverter cost about $60, while screens were running about $150 and up. If you find a replacement screen for cheap, it also includes the inverter so it would be a pretty sure fix.

If you decide to go the new laptop route, you can still use the broken laptop as a spare desktop by plugging it into a monitor, USB keyboard, and USB mouse. From the sound of your problem, the computer works fine but the screen does not.