I got my laptop about a year, maybe more. And it was working fine. then one day these vertical lines started filling up about 60% of my screen and now it fills up my entire screen. i tried using another monitor, but nothing showed, it was all black. do i need a new screen or a new graphics card?

It could be that your power supply is acting funny. I would experiment a little. Maybe find someone with the same kind of laptop, and switch out batteries. If if happens when you switch, try swapping a video card (unless it is on board). If all else fails, you might check your hard drive, and display properties. Sometimes if you are not running the recommended resolution it will do funny things... Let me know how you fair!