Hmm. So yes, I can see faint images in the background on the laptop screen, I can see the computer is Working..... and I can connect to a desktop monitor and see what it's doing there... someone suggested checking the Bios? I know I can Get to the bios by hitting F12 on start up, but I would have no idea what I was looking for once I got there!

If it is the backlight you will be able to see faded dark images of the computer while it runs, especially when you shine a bright light on it or go outside. If it is an LCD inverter you will see nothing, but sometimes get an illuminated black screen, sometimes. Often it just remains black. If you can set it up to an external monitor then yes, the video card is working fine.

The error you mention points to a realtime clock failure - i.e., a mainboard failure. 

 

The dark screen could be a bad backlight bulb, a bad inverter, or since you're seeing a mainboard failure error, a bad mainboard.

 

The only real way to determine is to either consult a shop that can test the components, or start swapping parts.

 

Wouldn't running diagnostics let me know if there were mainboard, inverter or backlight problems??

Not always. I don't use the Dell diagnostics as much as some people, but it is a helpful tool. It seems that you have already run the diagnostics tool and came up with the error you received. There may be a main board problem that is causing some hiccup in the system unrelated to this issue. It was that this issue brought the other issue to light (so to speak) because you ran the diagnostics to see what was causing the more blatant problem.

 

I would bet that the error you received is a more subverted error because it is a mainboard problem and not indicative to the backlighting on the unit. But there is a slight chance that they are related. Have a service tech replace the backlighting, as it is not an easy task, and have them also service the unit and clean it at the same time. After it comes back to you run the diagnostics again to see if it is still there, or the techs might point it out to you while it is in the shop.

 

Regardless service needs to be done to the unit and if it will work after the display is fixed, then you can go from there.

Thanks for all your suggestions I really appreciate it! Sounds like the problem is not going to be something I can Fix myself.... sigh...

when you resolve your issue can you post back and let us know what happened? Best of luck.