Computer monitor repair tips: It can be very frustrating to sit down at your computer. You want to check your e-mail, see what your friends are doing on Facebook, Twitter, etc or see if you can hit the next level of Warcraft. However, that's not going to happen. You've booted your computer, you can hear it running but the monitor is as dark as ever. Before you fall into despair you can try to see if it's an easy fix. First ...A warning! The monitor, like the power supply unit should never be disassembled. CRT monitors contain capacitors that retain large amounts of electricity, with enough juice to seriously harm someone, even after the monitor is unplugged. Computer monitor repair that involves opening the monitor should only be repaired/opened by trained professionals. It's not a dead issue, though. Some computer monitor repair problems can be handled at home, without professional help and expense. The first step is to determine what went wrong. Plug the monitor into another computer. Check another monitor with the original computer - the resolution may be too high. You may need to lower the resolution settings on your computer so the monitor will display. If the power light on the front of your monitor does not come on. If your screen is blank and this light doesn't turn on, no power is running to the monitor. Never neglect the simple answers, check to see if the monitor is plugged into the outlet or surge protector. The plug on the back of the monitor should be firmly seated as well. Sometimes the answer to computer monitor repair issues are the most obvious ones. Check the outlet itself by plugging another appliance into it. If you're using a surge protector, unplug the monitor cable and plug it directly into the wall to see if the problem is with your surge protector. If everything looks to be where it should and the surge protector and/or outlet has power, try turning the monitor on again. Maybe you didn't actually turn it on or the computer may have been in sleep mode and you turned it off. If your power light is on and you still have no picture. If the power light turns on and the monitor remains blank, the monitor is getting power; it just isn't displaying the images on- screen. Maybe the contrast or brightness settings were accidentally changed so that the screen appears black. See if your monitor will display the on screen menu. The computer may be in sleep mode. If you walked away from the computer after starting it, it might go into sleep mode automatically after several minutes to conserve power. To "wake up" the system, press a key on the keyboard or click your mouse. If this is not the case, check the cable between your computer and your monitor. Make sure they are connected securely. This is usually done with the thumb fit screws on the sides of the connector.  Check the pins on the connectors. Disconnect the monitor cable from the back of your PC and check that all the pins are in place and none have fallen out. Also make sure none of the pins are bent or pushed in. If you find pins to be bent over you can straighten them in a number of ways. You can take a small pair of needle nose pliers and gently straighten the bent pins or you can use the end of a disposable pen with the nib removed. Slide the end of the pen over the bent pin and gently move it back into place. It may not even be a computer monitor repair problem. Your video card which sends signals to your monitor may be the problem. Remove the left hand side of the case, ground yourself by using an anti-static wrist strap or by touching the metal chassis of your computer case to prevent shocking any of the internal components, and locate your video card, which is plugged directly into the motherboard. Your monitor cable will be running to the back of the video card. Make sure the video card is firmly seated in the slot inside the PC. If a computer monitor repair solution still eludes you, listen to your computer as it starts. Boot the computer and listen to the sounds it makes. If you hear it run through its POST test and emit a single beep, the computer has successfully run through its start-up testing and everything checks out OK. If, however, you listen and nothing happens after a minute or two, the problem may not be with your monitor, it might be with the inner circuitry of your computer (such as your motherboard). Then again, if you hear a double beep instead, this indicates that the computer has run across a problem with the system and it could mean something is wrong with your video card. You can find more on beep codes here. If you cannot fix your monitor it may be time to request professional help. Or you may determine the age of the monitor and its warranty status and just decide that this is the time to make that upgrade. Before you make that choice make sure that you exhaust all options of computer monitor repair. Computer Monitor Repair by PC Apprentice 2009 - 2017 “Where is the ‘any’ key?” – Homer Simpson, in response to the message, “Press any key”