Summary: Your display might not turn on if the computer's not working or the display's not working. However there are other possible causes we'll look at also.
My display monitor wasn't working. I tried everything to get it back on. Rebooted the computer, pushed the on/off button on the display, etc., but it just wouldn't come on. I knew the computer was running because I could access it via Remote Desktop from another machine on my network.
Finally, I *unplugged* the display, plugged it back in three minutes later, and it worked fine. What happened, and why did that help?
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First, I need to be clear - the top reasons I hear about in general for a display not working or showing "no signal" are:
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Your computer isn't working. Fans and lights may not mean anything - if the computer can't start because of some other problem, it may not be able to provide a signal to the display.
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Your cable's bad, loose or unplugged. If a signal can't get to your display, there's nothing for it to show you.
And in both of those cases the problem is not the display.
Now, let's look at some situations where it is.
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As your question indicated, a great place to start is to simply turn everything off - both your computer and monitor - wait 30 seconds and turn them all back on again. I've talked about 'Why do so many tech support solutions start with "reboot" or "turn it off"?' before, and this is a good situation to give that a try.
If that didn't clear things up, make sure that it is the monitor by making sure your computer is, in fact, running. Remote Desktop is great if you have that ability. If you can connect to the machine remotely, not only is it working, but you can actually use it while the display issue is being resolved. Another good test is file sharing - if you can normally view files on a share hosted on that computer, then seeing those shares on your local network would indicate that the computer is up and running.
The next simplest test I know of is to simply try another display. Borrow one if you don't have a spare but see if that other display will work on your computer. Same for the video cable. If one of those resolves the issue, then you know which component you need to repair or replace.
The opposite makes sense too - if you take your display and cable, and they work when connected to a different computer, it's possible that the issue is your video card.
Finally, there's a scenario that I deal with periodically myself. Nothing's broken, and yet...
You may need to "reboot your monitor" with a power cycle when you reboot your machine.
I have two ViewSonic 23inch digital displays, and every so often, particularly after a computer crash, one or the other seem to get "confused" and stay black. Powering cycling both displays and rebooting the PC fixes it right up.
My theory is that with the advent of LCD/digital displays, they might now be incorporating a micro controller or microprocessor within the display itself that can occasionally crash, and quite literally need rebooting.
Related:
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Ask Leo! - Why do so many tech support solutions start with "reboot" or "turn it off"?
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Ask Leo! - Why do I get a black screen on my computer after a while?
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Ask Leo! - Why does my screen go black after the Windows screen when I boot?
Article C2805 - October 8, 2006
I HAVE TRYED IT ALL AS WELL FIRST I REALISED THAT IT HAD NO OPERATING SYSTEMS. I WENT TO F2 TO TRY AND SEE IF THERE WAS A RESTORE TO MANUF. AND ALL THE SUDDEN IT SHUT OFF AND HAS NEVER CAME BACK ON SINCE THANK U
Posted by: karen weist at December 18, 2007 10:55 AMIT SHUT OFF BY ITS SELF. I UNPLUGGED IT AND PLUGGED IT BACK IN AND NOTHING HAPPENED I WAITED 1/2 HOUR BEFOR PLUGGING IT BACK IN AND STILL NOTHING ,DID IT CRASH??
Posted by: karen weist at December 18, 2007 10:58 AMim using my computer 18 hours per day!!! is that ok? or if i continue using that way is there any problem i have to encounter?
Posted by: vincent at September 28, 2008 11:53 AMmy ibm thinkpad t42 laptop have a problem, my laptop did 'nt open in one press of the on botton,.....im pressing it a hundred times before it open,.... and a day come my computer does not open any
Posted by: vincent at September 28, 2008 11:59 AMMy new computer has been working great. I left it on all night and noticed the screen saver working when I went to bed just fine. When I got up, the monitor was off and the power light on the monitor was amber as well as the light on the tower (flashing). I moved my mouse around, pressed some keys and nothing. I unplugged it, plugged it back in, pressed the power on button and all I get are the amber lights. Any suggestions?
Posted by: John Sweet at October 20, 2008 2:13 PMWHEN I TURN ON MY HARD DRIVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENS, NO WHIRRING NO SCREEN, JUST BLACK. MOST RECOMMENDED FIXES REQUIRE SCREEN TO SEE WHAT YOUR DOING. OR SCANNING IT. IT WONT GO ON . IM USING LAPTOP TO SEND THIS. HELP PLEASE.
Posted by: julia gergely at November 9, 2008 7:14 AMi have had my old computer unplugged for almost a year and was working fine but i tried get some stuff off of it and i can't get it to display on the monitor please help
Posted by: Carolynn at March 21, 2009 6:26 PMIn your article you didn't mention a senerio I have, regards monitor not turning on. My issue concerns, when I boot the computer, then turn on the monitor, the monitor immediatley kicks off. I tried with a different monitor, the same happened. I replaced the video card, still the same thing happens.
Posted by: Alan at May 2, 2009 4:04 AMHow do you reboot your monitor with a power cycle?
28-May-2009
As I press the power button for my Dell desktop on I it gives two beep sound and it keeps the fan running and indicator lights on but the display remains black
Posted by: Dilbert Baimol at October 28, 2009 11:01 PM