The other day my laptop screen started acting up. It almost looked like static bars going horizontally across the screen. Then the screen went white with strands of color running vertically every here and there.

Now, when you power up the screen is just white with the strands. Is this a monitor problem, video card problem, Mo Board, etc., or a software issue?

Unless you added a video card, the card is on the MB, so MB or video card is same problem. Does it act the same way on battery and AC adapter? It really sounds like a voltage supply problem.