Black screen on Toshiba Satellite laptop- no cursor or icons

I'll just state right off the bat that I am not a computer guru. I know how to work a computer and basics, so sorry in advance :-). My laptop (Toshiba Satellite) was working and then suddenly the screen went black. My dd was using it and said it made a noise like when you would initially start up windows and get the windows start up screen and then it went black. I can hear mechanical noises (fan, etc.) when I try to re-start it (no clicks or unknown noises). I looked on the forum for similar problems (which I did find) but nothing that stated a totally black screen. The power and all the other lights are working, just the screen is black. Is there anything that I can try as a newbie to fix the screen before I call in a repair person or do you think this would be a problem beyond the screen being black? Thanks in advance for your assistance, it is greatly appreciated!