A user reports that the laptop's screen flickers and then goes black. When connecting to an external monitor the operating system desktop is displayed. Which of the following is the cause of the…

The monitor function key simply switches the video output between internal, external, or both displays and would not cause the screen to flicker before going black.

A low resolution setting would produce a blurry or scaled image but would not cause flickering or a completely black screen.

The inverter board converts DC power from the laptop to AC power required by the CCFL backlight of an LCD panel. When it fails, the backlight goes out, making the internal screen appear black, while the external monitor - which has its own independent power and backlight circuit - continues to display normally.

A faulty display adapter driver would affect all connected displays including the external monitor, not just the internal screen.