Problems with Lenovo laptop (display)?

My sound is working, but normally when pressing the button to higher or lower it would show up with bars indicating such action. It's not working with mine and I'm worried. I've had this problem for days. Also there are certain lit up icons on my keyboard (above the keys) and normally if I pressed them something would pop up, but nothing is happening. Someone help

I'm running on Windows 7 (64-bit)

Which laptop better: Toshiba or Lenovo?

I need to buy laptop. My choice is between these two. Price exactly same for both:

- Lenovo: G570.

Specs:

Intel Core i5 - 2430M
2.4 GHZ
4 GB DDR3 RAM
500 HDD
15.6" HD Bright View
64 MB
HDMI + 3 USB
Win7 Home Basic (64bit)

Toshiba:

C660-24E

Almost same specs as above, but with Core i3:

Intel Core i3
4 GB RAM
320 HDD
Win7 Home Premium (64 bit).

Which one would you recommend. I know that Toshiba is big name in the laptop business, but the Core i5 makes quite difference, I think!

I plugged a wired monitor monitor into my laptop but it only worked for a minute?

When I checked in device manager there were only wireless choices as default not wired. It did work for a minute but now it looks like the laptop is not detecting this hardware. There's a green light lit up whre I plugged it in. It is not usb but regular fitted plugs with spikes. Laptop is ibm thinkpad. Monitor is ibm thinkvision.

Would a Sony Vaio or Lenovo Ideapad run sims 3 well?

I'm getting a laptop, I'm willing to spend around $1000. The most needy game I would play is sims 3. So basically, I don't want to blow thousands on a hard core gaming laptop when that is all I will need it for. I would like to be able to run it on max graphics and it be fast!
I've looked into the sony vaios and the lenovo(IBM) ideapads (Y series probably). I would upgrde processor to i7 if not already. Will this work for me?
Thanks!

Added (1). I haven't put exact models because I'm not sure which exact model I want, and I plan to customize it. I'm just hoping someone with some experience with either of these PCs might have a general idea if they can be powerful enough laptops for what I need.
Having said that, the Ideapad would probably be the Y460

http://shop.lenovo.com/...ontainer-5

Still not sure about the Vaio

Dell Studio or Lenovo Ideapad?

I'm looking at buying a new computer, and I've mostly narrowed it down to the:

Dell Studio 15 or Lenovo Ideapad Y530

The Dell looks way better in my opinion, but looks aren't everything, so has anyone had either of these computers? What do I need to know reliability-wise?