Help, Computer Problems

Hey /comp/ well i have an old laptop [Acer Travelmate 529ATX] maybe 5-6 years old, well latley at random times like maybe 4 minutes after windows has loaded [i run TinyXP] the screen goes black, except its not totaly black, if you look really hard you can still see some of the windows etc [maybe opacity like 90%?] and i was wondering if anyone knows how to fix it, or had the same problem before. I know its about time to get a new computer but all my stuff is on it, anyone know of an easy way to copy harddrives? [i have an external one that i can copy onto] Thanks heaps.

you do not want to copy your hard drive, since your hard drive is full of crap.  crap that you do not want to copy.  just copy important files onto a freaking thumb drive like everyone else.