Alright - if you can turn on your laptop but see no picture -and if you shine a flashlight on your screen, does it show anything? If you see a picture but with no light - your backlight is gone, if you don't see a picture - well your LCD screen might be pooched.
If you google your laptop model and backlight - i'm sure theres already been some people who have replaced their backlight/inverter/lcd. Be warned - it might be hard to do for a first time user!