What is wrong with my computer monitor?

If this is an LCD monitor – flat screen – the problem could be the backlight. When it fails, the monitor is dark, but sends no problem signals back to the computer. Shine a flashlight on the screen to see if you can make out anything.

Once the backlight is gone, if it’s a desktop monitor, just junk it and buy a new one. Repairs are too expensive, and LED backlights are starting to go into production. They have a longer lifespan.

If the problem is an ordinary CRT monitor – send it to recycling. It’s not worth fixing, either, but check your video card with another monitor to make sure it’s working first.

Start eliminating things, what’s left when you are done is what’s likely causing the problem.
Here’s the starting list:
– Problem with the monitor or its components (power and data cable)
– Computer or its components (video card or motherboard)

The green light is on, that means the monitor is receiving power, which means it’s not the power cord between your monitor and the wall. Replacing the data cable would confirm or eliminate it being the problem.

The easiest way you can take the next troubleshooting step is to plug in a known working monitor to your computer. If that monitor works, then you know it’s a problem with the old monitor, proceed with repair or replacement as @IchtheosaurusRex advises.

If when you plug in the working monitor, you still have the problem, then it is likely the graphics card (or another component inside the computer) that is the problem. If you are not computer hardware-savvy, it becomes pretty hard to keep troubleshooting from this point on because it requires getting inside and replacing computer components, so I would advise bringing it into a mom-and-pop computer store (don’t go to Best Buy, their “geek” program is seriously flawed and not worth the prices they charge).

If you can’t get your hands on another monitor, I would go straight to bringing the computer (both the tower and the broken monitor) to a computer repair store. They have the diagnostic tools to tell you quickly what is the problem, and they can offer you a quote to repair it. Once you have the problem diagnosed (which may or may not cost money depending on how nice the company is), you can go quote-comparing if you want to.

Try the old tried and true first step….
Un-plug it. From A/C The plug it back in after oh say 10 15 seconds.
Might just need to re-set itself… This method works with most new fangled electronics.

If it is an Envision CRT it is constructed so cheaply that it will burn out within one year. Upgrade to an LCD.

If there’s a problem with the video card, you’ll probably get POST beeps, too. When you power up your computer, you should hear only one beep, which means everything is cool. If you hear a series of beeps, it indicates a hardware problem. What the beeps mean varies depending on the BIOS vendor, but if you have that one all-seems-well beep and a dark monitor, then your video card is probably OK. I say probably because I’ve seen bad video cards that report ASW to the BIOS.