# My monitor is black. What's at fault? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 29, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-monitor-is-black-whats-at-fault/723782 "2015-06-29T13:15:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-monitor-is-black-whats-at-fault/723782/1 "2015-06-29T13:15:55Z")
Is there a way for me to know if the problem is the desktop computer or the monitor? I mean short of buying a new monitor and seeing if it works? Not even the little light that’s always on is on. Everything was fine last night when I turned the computer off. Something must have crapped out but I don’t know how to determine what it was. Any ideas, Dopers? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-monitor-is-black-whats-at-fault/723782/2 "2015-06-29T13:18:35Z")
First step is always check the cables. Pull them out, make sure they’re clean, put them back in and make sure they’re well seated. After that if you don’t have another monitor see if you can borrow one. If there’s no light on the monitor it’s a good indication the problem is the monitor. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-monitor-is-black-whats-at-fault/723782/3 "2015-06-29T13:19:18Z")
Is it plugged into a power strip that’s been turned off, or blown its circuit breaker, while the computer is plugged into the wall? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-monitor-is-black-whats-at-fault/723782/4 "2015-06-29T13:20:53Z")
After checking the cables/power/etc, if you can manipulate any programs/applications with sound without the monitor (such as, for Windows, trying to move the mouse blindly to the bottom right where the volume indicator is and playing with it to get the little “ding” sounds), you could try that. If not, I would try and borrow a neighbor’s monitor and see if it works. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-monitor-is-black-whats-at-fault/723782/5 "2015-06-29T13:23:45Z")
Ok, this is bizarre. I posted my question from our laptop. Came down to the office just to double check the cables - again - and the monitor was on and working. I don’t know what this means, but to me it indicates something may be about to go. Are there any diagnostics I could run that could indicate the source of the problem? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-monitor-is-black-whats-at-fault/723782/6 "2015-06-29T13:32:03Z")
Could be the cables, or worse an open connection internally in the monitor or computer that needed a little warm up time to close the connection. Clean and reseat the cables and perhaps it will never happen again, or as you say it could be a sign of an upcoming total failure. Monitors are cheap, if there is a major problem hopefully it is isolated there. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-monitor-is-black-whats-at-fault/723782/7 "2015-06-29T14:08:26Z")
Next step - back up everything you consider valuable. ---
**Author:** ![I.Dunno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-monitor-is-black-whats-at-fault/723782/8 "2015-06-29T20:47:26Z")
Just a WAG but if it was a power supply light that was not on (you indicated that “not even the little light that’s always on is on”) then possibly the power supply in the monitor is failing. As someone said, monitors are cheap. Too cheap to even think about fixing. Now if it was a light that indicated a video signal is present, then that is likely an issue with the computer itself. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-monitor-is-black-whats-at-fault/723782/9 "2015-06-29T21:23:31Z")
A monitor not powering on right- either taking a long time or requiring a few tries- is a sign that it’s power supply is failing. Usually due to crappy capacitors. If this is the case, either replace the capacitors (if you’re good at that sort of thing) or get a new monitor. (I bought a non-working LCD monitor at a garage sale years ago. Replaced a couple capacitors. Still works fine. The woman asked 50 cents. I gave her a buck and told her to keep the change. A lot of fixable, or even working, electronics gets thrown out.)