screen had gone dimmer

Hi there, out of nowhere my screen had gone dimmer, it's just not as bright even thought the screen settings are the same as they have always been.

There is also alot of grey horizontal streaks that sort of extend from any dark graphics or text.

My screen if about 4-5 years old, an Acer AL1913, 20".

Is it the screen that's gone bad or the signal to the screen? The Pc is win98 from 2001 so it is really old. Never seen this before so I don;t know what to make of it.

 

ignore this if it doesn't apply, but this actually happened to me.

i accidentally hit the sliders (brightness & contrast) on the side of my monitor. i was moving my system components around and accidentally moved them from all the way up to all the way down. drove me crazy for about an hour until i happened to notice they were there. could be something to check before thinking anything is fried (like i did). luckily i found the sliders before i went out and bought a new monitor or cards.LOL

 

ok, i'll have to track an extra screen then, that might take a while.
But either way I have to replace one or the other so I have to start saving up.

 

I'm having this same exact problem. I've hooked another monitor up and its still very dim. Anybody know what the problem is?