How to increase brightness of screen on Android?

cranky 17" g4 powerbook screen

• Why does my 17" PowerBook G4 screen suddenly go black? Last night the screen started going wiggy ... I tried to wake it up from screensaving mode, and the display was VERY dim, such that I could barely make out the login prompt. It brightened up normally after that, but then it happened a couple more times over the course of the evening. I then tried powering off and on again. When I turned it back on, the screen would get bright just like normal initially, for about two or three seconds, then go black again. Completely black this time, I couldn't make out a login prompt even in an unlit room. (When the problem began I had an external drive that I've used for a couple of months connected, but when I powered down I disconnected it and tried with the notebook alone, then with the power cord plugged in. Same results.) With the exception of anything screen-related, everything seems to be working fine (as much as I can tell without being able to see, anyway). Keyboard backlighting works and I can increase/decrease brightness, sleep mode seems to work (in that I close the notebook and the indicator light on the locking mechanism lights up), I can hear the hard drive making the usual noises it does when the machine is operating properly. I just can't see anything. I've tried adjusting screen brightness, moving the mouse, striking keys, that sort of thing, to no effect. Any ideas what this might be? I thought it might be a dying LCD, but the fact that it lights up normally initially seems to disprove this theory. (Disclaimer: I have a sketchy internet connection here (see previous AskMe re: PloieÅŸti), so I've tried to include as much information as possible, and will check back at every opportunity, but it won't be as frequently as I'd like.)

• Answer:

  You can tell if the backlight is failing by shining a flashlight on the screen. If you can see the contents of the screen then the backlighting has failed. If all the backlights have failed then it's probably a lose connection, and you might even venture to fix it yourself if you're technically able. However, notebooks can be bastards to get into and take apart/reassemble.