# Computer Monitor Goes Blank for 10 or so Seconds and Then Returns to Normal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-goes-blank-for-10-or-so-seconds-and-then-returns-to-normal/824054 "2018-11-06T04:22:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-goes-blank-for-10-or-so-seconds-and-then-returns-to-normal/824054/1 "2018-11-06T04:22:41Z")
Note software programs such as browser haven’t shut down so I don’t think it is a computer problem. 27" 7 year old lower-end Viewsonic monitor. Several days between occurrences. Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-goes-blank-for-10-or-so-seconds-and-then-returns-to-normal/824054/2 "2018-11-06T04:29:15Z")
I get the same thing if I open too many Youtube videos. The display driver crashes and recovers. I always get a popup to that effect, though. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-goes-blank-for-10-or-so-seconds-and-then-returns-to-normal/824054/3 "2018-11-06T10:58:27Z")
I had a problem on a monitor where it would work fine on static screens and video would make it go blank intermittently. I think it was due to a faulty capacitor. Anyway, a shiny new monitor fixed it right up. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-goes-blank-for-10-or-so-seconds-and-then-returns-to-normal/824054/4 "2018-11-06T15:56:34Z")
I have a ViewSonic monitor that does this, but I get an error message talking about a display driver interruption. Usually it’s out less than ten seconds, though, so maybe not the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-goes-blank-for-10-or-so-seconds-and-then-returns-to-normal/824054/5 "2018-11-06T17:24:11Z")
My Viewsonic just randomly shuts off sometimes in the first 15 minutes or so of being on. Turning it back on works every time, but it’s kind of surprising. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-goes-blank-for-10-or-so-seconds-and-then-returns-to-normal/824054/6 "2018-11-06T20:26:01Z")
When I have a video running and I close the player or web page sometimes a glitch occurs. The computer freezes, after a few seconds the screen goes dark, the screen comes back, an annoying error thing pops up in the taskbar (a triangle with a yellow exclamation sign over it) and a completely unhelpful message. I just chalk it up to the driver and player not playing by the same rules. I could probably avoid it by stopping the video first but it doesn’t happen often enough to worry about remembering to do that. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-goes-blank-for-10-or-so-seconds-and-then-returns-to-normal/824054/7 "2018-11-06T22:20:19Z")
Another possibility I am wondering about is if it a Firefox problem (I have the latest version automatically updated). While I have been using Firefox every time it happened, it is also true that browser use is the overwhelming percent of my computer use. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-goes-blank-for-10-or-so-seconds-and-then-returns-to-normal/824054/8 "2018-11-06T23:27:27Z")
Drop the last theory–it just happened with Pale Moon. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-goes-blank-for-10-or-so-seconds-and-then-returns-to-normal/824054/9 "2018-11-06T23:48:06Z")
Do you know how to view the System Log to see if there are any errors? If it’s a graphics device driver issue, there may be a log entry which says what happened. My laptop will occasionally black out and then refresh. When it comes back, there’s a dialog in the status area saying that the graphic chip had an error. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-goes-blank-for-10-or-so-seconds-and-then-returns-to-normal/824054/10 "2018-11-07T04:14:59Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Drop the last theory–it just happened with Pale Moon. That doesn’t truly remove Firefox/Mozilla as the possible cause – Pale Moon is an offshoot of Firefox, another fork of the Mozilla code base. So if the problem is deep in the driver code of Mozilla, it could affect Firefox, Pale Moon, Waterfox. Basilisk, etc. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-goes-blank-for-10-or-so-seconds-and-then-returns-to-normal/824054/11 "2018-11-07T17:51:22Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > Do you know how to view the System Log to see if there are any errors? If it’s a graphics device driver issue, there may be a log entry which says what happened. > > My laptop will occasionally black out and then refresh. When it comes back, there’s a dialog in the status area saying that the graphic chip had an error. This is good advice. But otherwise, an obvious culprit could be the cable and/or the connections. So first check if the plugs on both ends of the cable are tightly connected, or even slightly wiggle the plugs carefully to see if it makes a difference (as I said, carefully, don’t force it). Or else try another cable. ETA: could be useful to know which kind of cable/interface you use. A VGA connection is more vulnerable to faults because of their fragile pins than DVI or HDMI connections. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-monitor-goes-blank-for-10-or-so-seconds-and-then-returns-to-normal/824054/12 "2018-11-07T17:59:40Z")
nm, double post