Problem with Acer screen turning off

I have an ACER 9520 3 years old.

I think that the screen brightness might have flickered a little for months.

Now the screen goes blank.

At first I would, with a small object activate that little switch which is between the screen and the laptop which tells the laptop if the screen is closed. If I pressed this a couple of times the screen would come back on. Pressing the switch actually turns the screen off, but then letting the switch go would turn the screen back on. Sometimes the screen would turn off again sometimes it would stay on.

It seems to have gotten worse.

At boot I see the Acer boot screen for a little but but then the screen goes off. I can press this little switch and upon release I see the screen for a split second and then it goes off. This happens from boot all the way through to when Windows is complete loaded.

Could anyone tell me if this is a common problem? Can I fix it? For example could I pull this switch out or something.

edit: My searches tell me I need to narrow down some things. I connected it with a VGA cable and it seem to work ok with myTV. Also because even the BIOS boot cannot be seen this means it is not software related.
So I am thinking - can I tell if it is just the inverter or do I need a whole screen. Or is this dam little switch causing the problem.