Part of Laptop LCD screen fades; screen malfunction?
 

I opened my laptop today to discover the left ~3 inches of my laptop lcd screen significantly less lit than normal. It's dark, and gradually fades to normal brightness. It's very noticeable; the rest of the screen looks great.

Before I decide to purchase a new LCD and replace it myself (I'm told it's easy), I want to check with y'all experts if this is indeed a screen malfunction (backlight burnt out or w/e) that can be remedied w/ a replacement.

Thanks in advance.

Tech specs:
Dell Inspiron 6400/E1505
Screen = 15.4" Widescreen XGA display

Roughly 1 1/2 years old, out-of-warranty

edit: this is w/ the power supply plugged in, already tested rebooting, changing screen res, the standard w/ no go.

edit2: upon a restart, the fade has now spread to half the screen. quite amazing. if the screen becomes homogeneously darker it'll at least be easier on my eyes...

Dimming is basically a symptom of LCD screen death, yes. It's not easy. What may be easy for a desktop LCD, is definitely not trivial for a laptop. If you got the engineering skills, excellent. If not, then you're gonna have to get it repaired. Sometimes the price is so expensive, you're better off buying a monitor (to use as your primary screen) or another laptop...

But anyway, if you feel you're up to it, here's the link to some useful websites:

1. Laptop Repair Guide - Replacing Backlight, step-by-step guide with photos
2. Dell Service Manual for your laptop model