I have an Acer that is working and I can just see the opening page very very dimmly, but not bright enough to see the cursor,

[Guy-6-]

No idea what this means! I'm on explorer vista tho......

 

[webworkings]

It may be the backlight going on the display. Try turning off the laptop, connect an external monitor, turn on the external monitor and then turn on the laptop. Can you see things fine on the external display? If so, then you will need to (or have someone do it for you) replace the backlight on your display.

NOTE: If the laptop is still under warranty, then I would contact the manufacturer to see about having them repair or replace it.