Sure sounds like hardware to me. If you shine a flashlight on the screen at an angle can you see faint traces of the normal display? If so the backlight has probably gone out. If not it's likely either the screen itself or the cable going to it from the motherboard.

@backdoc

We are going to narrow down the issue.    Turn off the computer ,   Tap f2 while turning on the computer.   It will go to bios.   If the screen is looking good then it is not a display issue..  

Doing the power drain and bios defaults will really help.  Kindly follow the steps given below:

Turn off the laptop. Disconnect or unplug  the charger cable, devices or any other cables connected to your laptop. Close your laptop. Turn it upside down.  On the bottom of the laptop, you can find a  pin hole. It is a tiny hole. You can a find a battery symbol indicator next to the hole. It is like a + and - sign symbol as though somebody is trying to shift the battery out. Insert the pin on to the hole for 30 seconds. Remove the pin. Flip the laptop. Connect the charger cable, turn on the computer.  Only on laptops where the battery is inbuilt you can find the battery reset hole on the back of laptop.

If you dont find a pin hole on the back of laptop then you might be using removable battery. There is no need to unscrew anything to remove the battery.  Turn off the laptop. Disconnect or unplug  the charger cable, devices and any other cables connected to your laptop. Close your laptop. Turn it upside down.  On the bottom of the laptop, please look at the top or bottom depending on the way you look at it. You can find a long door. It is a battery removable door.  Just below that you can find a latch.  If you move the latch you can remove the battery door. Once the battery is removed,  flip the laptop. Open the top cover, press and hold the power button for 1 minute. Connect the battery back on the back of computer. Connect the charger cable back and then turn on the computer. 

 

If you don’t see a reset pin hole on the back of laptop or if you are not able to remove the battery (if it is inbuilt ) then please unplug all the cables and devices out of laptop.   Hold the power button for 1 minute.   Connect all the cables back and restart the computer.  

While turning on the computer, tap f2. It  will go to bios. Press f9  once. It will show load bios defaults with a yes or no popup. Press enter. Popup screen will disappear.  Press f10 once. It will show save changes popup with yes or no. Press enter. Computer will restart and it will load into windows.   

It might also be the issue with battery, charger or power outlet.   Try to use the charger in a different room on a different power outlet.  Try to bypass the surge protector and connect it directly to power outlet.    Try to use an alternative charger if possible.    Try to turn on the computer without the charger and check it  ( as long as the battery is not drained out )  

After doing all the steps above, go to bios by tapping f2 while turning on the computer.  If the screen is looking good in bios then it is not a display issue..  

backdoc

It might also be the issue with battery, charger or power outlet.   Try to use the charger in a different room on a different power outlet.  Try to bypass the surge protector and connect it directly to power outlet.    Try to use an alternative charger if possible.    Try to turn on the computer without the charger and check it  ( as long as the battery is not drained out )