I have a T23 IBM Think pad and my screen went black. I can usually get it to come back on if I tap the back of the screen (Probably NOT the best idea) This time, however, it just stays black. I attempted to locate the display close switch which was mentioned above and cannot find it.

This could be just connection related issue. It’s possible that you can fix the problem by reseating video cable connectors.
This requires laptop disassembly. If you don’t feel comfortable taking it apart, probably you should take it to the repair shop.
It might make sense to fix this laptop if you do it yourself. Probably not worth fixing if you take it to the repair shop.

or should I just go out and buy a new one?

T23 is a very old laptop. Probably it’s a good time for a new one.

So I just had 1.5GB of RAM put into my friend’s computer three days ago (by a professional). After it was installed, the guy turned on the computer and it worked. But my friend went to turn it on tonight and he said that his screen was completely black and there was a green angled Z within a circle that was lit up on his screen. He said he can hear the fan coming on, but it’s like the screen is in hibernate mode. He said the DVD works, but if he pushes the power button, it just turns the fan on and off.

Sorry that I can’t be more specific about the symptoms – doing it over the phone is hard. Has anyone experienced anything like this? Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks!
Laura

I just purchased a replacement lcd screen for my Dell laptop. I didn’t realize that it didn’t have an inverter attached. Can I remove the inverter to reinstall on the new lcd screen?

Yes you can. If the new screen is the same as the old one, there should be no problem at all.