hello all - hope you can help,
when i turn on my pc, the monitor screen doesn't power up 9 times out of 10. If I pull the power cable out of the back of the monitor and then re-insert, the monitor screen works but there must be a better (and maybe safer) way
Thanks

A brief word of warning before I think about this problem. Only ever disconnect the mains power from a monitor by switching it off at the wall socket. Never pull a live power cable out of the back of a monitor and DEFINITELY never plug a live power cable into the back of a monitor. I've accidentally blown up a monitor in the past by doing this. A bang and a load of smoke. Suffice to say that the monitor had to go straight down to the local rubbish tip.

The same goes for PC base units - it's asking for trouble.

Now then, to your problem. Erm .........

...... well, it's either a faulty monitor or a loose or faulty graphics card. First of all, disconnect the mains power and open the PC case. Don't touch anything inside. Does the graphics card look firmly seated in the slot on the motherboard? If you've got the copper contacts a lot more visible at one end than the other, then it's not sitting straight and will need to be re-seated.

If it looks OK, you'll need to borrow another monitor so that you can see if that has the same problem. If another monitor works perfectly with the same power lead, then try it again after swapping the power leads for the monitor and PC. If it's still fine, then your original monitor has a faulty internal power circuit. Monitors are so cheap these days that they're really not worth fixing any more - repairs are expensive and often a similar problem returns. Take it down the tip and buy a new one, which will probably have a 3-year warranty.

thanks for this - it makes sense as i've also been bluescreening and getting an 'irql less than equal' message. A separate post and reply about that error message suggested a graphics card prob.
thank you

i too am having this problem with my monitor. the problem started after i had just been trying to reseat the memory sticks as i am also having a problem with my pc automatically restarting. the graphics card definately seems in correctly. could it be my monitor/cable or does it seem lie ive damaged the card somehow?