# monitor randomly turns off, can't be turned back on



## nb2214 (Mar 3, 2008)

This happened two weeks ago and I ignored it - it happened again today. My computer monitor just randomly shut off (i.e., the screen went black), like it was preparing to go on stand by, but when I moved my mouse/touchpad, which usually wakes it back up if it's on screensaver or the monitor's gone to sleep, it did not "revive". So I tried to shut it down manually. It had no response to that either. I tried Ctrl+alt+del, which did nothing. I pressed escape for a while and that didn't do anything either. Eventually (it could have been a response to my shutdown attempt), the screen went to a deeper black, it stopped making any noise, and the power light started to blink, like it does when it's on standby and the hard disks are turned off. So I pressed the start button again and it woke up (not a restart, it's what happens when it comes out of standby) and took me to the login screen. I had a word doc open and it was prompting me if I wanted to save changes (presumably because I had tried to shut it down) - I pressed cancel and everything went back to normal (of course, my internet browser had been closed, presumably also because of the shut down attempt). 

This has happened twice now, and I have zero idea what could have prompted it. Any ideas on what's going on and what I should do? Is my monitor slowly dying?


----------



## Branewalker (Mar 3, 2008)

Hi nb!

I'm new to the forums, but not to computers.

I've had a monitor do something similar to me.

Is this a desktop or laptop? Also, are we talking CRT (big chunky) or LCD (slim, flat-panel)?

Here's my issue, and the cause of it. Seems pretty similar.

I had a 19" CRT. Aquaview, I believe. Good monitor for several years, but one day it went off by itself, but the little green light on the front stayed on. I heard the soft "pshh" of dissipating electricity, as if the screen shut down, like it was on standby, but no reason it should have done that. I turned it off and back on with no result.

I unplugged it, and jiggled the plug a lot, and eventually it came back. Then, this turned into a recurring problem, happening more and more frequently until it wouldn't stay on even 10 minutes.

I looked at monitor repair sites, and eventually discovered the problem to be a bad solder join in the high voltage line somewhere. Ultimately, not worth the money for me to have it fixed.

Good news: it might be something on the low-voltage side, if it is going into standby. Also, if your monitor is LCD, it could also be a failing backlight, which can be cheap to fix ("Black, then blacker" description is interesting). Furthermore, it could be a failing video card.... bad capacitors can cause intermittent failure of equipment like that.

Bad news: if it is a CRT, and it is anything in the high voltage or flyback, unless you know a good repairman, is probably a sign you're ready for a new monitor.

Hope that helps, and as always, the more we know, the more we can help!

--Branewalker


----------



## nb2214 (Mar 3, 2008)

Hi, thanks for your reply.

It's a laptop, and an LCD. I really think that it looks like it's trying to go into screensaver mode, but doesn't actually start the screensaver for whatever reason (I have one of those slideshow screensavers that doesn't fill up the whole screen, and the black behind the pictures on my screensaver is the same color of "shallow black" that comes up during this problem). There was also no sound of dissipating energy. Everything still seemed to be running, though there was no input. I certainly didn't have to turn the computer off. 

I just updated the video driver. Don't know if that will help but I guess it couldn't hurt.


----------



## Branewalker (Mar 3, 2008)

aha. Yeah, that screensaver sounds like it could be locking up. Recently updated video drivers would be a good thing to check! Roll them back with system restore, if you've got it turned on, or just a good ol' uninstall (reinstalling the older set after restart, of course).

Has it worked before? Has any other change been made to the computer since then? Also, what OS are you running, and what kind of laptop? I seem to remember something with Vista and certain models' sleep functions. But it's probably unrelated.

--Branewalker


----------



## nb2214 (Mar 3, 2008)

It's just strange because 99% of the time the screensaver does work... 

And I actually updated the drivers just now, in response to the problem (my cousin, who is a tech person, recommended it). They hadn't been updated since 2005 before. 

It's an XP. My computer's over 2 1/2 years old and it's had its ups and downs (now resolved, through reformatting), but this issue is new.


----------



## Branewalker (Mar 3, 2008)

If I had a guess at this point, this is software (or firmware) related. It could possibly have to do with your power management settings (you can change those in the Display Properties menu, under "Monitor Power" or in the BIOS (though, less likely place to play, even after a reformat, if this problem has never cropped up before).
Beyond that, a model number on the laptop might let us track down similar problems in that model line, if there are any.

--Branewalker


----------



## nb2214 (Mar 3, 2008)

My cousin thought it was a software thing too. 

It's a Dell Latitude D610.


----------



## oldmn (Oct 16, 2005)

One question:
If you shine a light on it can you see an image.
If you can then the inverter or the back light has went out.


----------



## nb2214 (Mar 3, 2008)

I'll keep that in mind, if/when it happens again. thanks.


----------



## Branewalker (Mar 3, 2008)

Thanks for weighing in on this, oldmn! Good to see some veteran help around here. =)

Nb, I'd also suggest you check out this thread:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/f10/xp-freezing-while-screensaver-is-on-10456.html

Seems reinstalling XP on a laptop can cause some problems with power management, as I was suspecting.

Hope that helps!

--Branewalker


----------

