Why do I get a black screen on my computer after a while?

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My computer seems to be frozen. The background color of the screen is now black, and I can't get on to the internet. I can see my e-mail, but it will not download any new messages. How serious is this? Has my computer crashed? How can I determine for myself what is wrong?

This is actually for my friend who has xp operating system and in recent time has been getting a black screen, he has checked all the connections, they are fine, has also blown the computer out so that it is clean, now he gets black screen sometimes as early as 7 - 10 minutes after start up, it lasts approx 1/2 hour and then can see the desk top again, these episodes are becoming more frequent, could it be the power supply on the way out? The video card....or time to buy an new computer....he was thinking of reformatting the hard drive but not sure that this would help if the problem does lie in the power supply or video card...if we are in an im and the mouse is in the right place he can still send me messages, however with the black screen he cannot read the response..any help would be appreciated.

My monitor just started going off about every 5 minutes. I just turn the monitor off & right back on & it comes up for another 5 or 6 minutes. I've run virus & sypware on it. it still has not stopped it. My computer & monitor is less than 2 yrs. old. Monitor is an HP f2105.

i was like playing some online game then suddenly it freeze.. i wiggle the mouse but nothin happens.. so i restarted my computer but when i restarted it.. message shows "power saving mode" then it went blank screen..
i tried wiggling the mouse and hit the keys in my keyboard but nothin happens! please help!

MY COMPUTER HAS A BLACK SCREEN WHEN I TURN IT ON BUT I CAN HERE THE HARD AND FAN GOING. IT SAID PERITING AND DMI POOL DATE CAN SOMEONE HELP WITH THIS .

I have problem with my DELL laptop..my monitor went to a black screen while I was doing something in Matlab, the system worked because I could hear the sound..I turned off computer and then started it again, my system starts properly but then again I am getting black screen,the picture comes randomly for a second and then loose again..if I wait I can see that my system is going in stand by mode ...after 12h I turned it again and now works properly for about 50 minutes and then again black screen...can you please tell me whats the problem? is it virus, power supply or?

For me the problem was zonealarm, after I removed that program, I didn't have blank screens any more.

When I turn on the computer the screen flashes on for a second and then goes black. I changed the monitor thinking it was the problem but the same thing happened after a couple of weeks. I have also noticed that my computer will sometimes reset its self to Jan 1, 1999 when this happens. I am now on my third monitor.

I have a HP Laptop, my screen will just go black while I am actively using the system. Wiggling the mouse, touch pad, or even pushing the power button do not work. I know that my laptop is still running as all the lights are on and I can hear sound.

I have a Toshiba Tecra A6. When my computer crashes, the backlight to the LCD screen shuts off and a buzzing sound comes out of the speakers. Strangely this only occurs when viewing videos through Windows Media Player or when viewing youtube videos. I updated my flash player and WMP, but I still get this problem. It's been occuring for probably 2 or 3 months now and I've had this laptop since March or April of 2006. The only tinkering I've done is undervolting all multipliers to the CPU. I restored the voltages to default for a bit to see if that would solve the problem but unfortunately it hasn't. I've tried different ATI drivers. I'm sure it's not overheating, well considering the CPU anyways, as RMclock registers temps in the mid 40's. If it means anything, I can watch movies/clips through VLC player flawlessly and I do so several times a week. I've updated as many drivers as I could. I've had someone from dslreports.com check my Hijackthis logs and other logs back last October as I got a virus from accepting to update my JAVA from an internet explorer popup (silly). Any help would be appreciated.

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