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  • Thread starter Thread starter Cillian
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Cillian

I have an HP computer with Windows XP Home SP2. About 3 years old. For a
while now my monitor often, but not always, switches itself off from
approx.2-5 minutes after start up. When I press the monitor switch the
light briefly comes on and then goes off again. The computer light remains
on. I then have to switch my computer off by pushing the power on button and
when starting it again the second time all is OK. The event viewer seems to
follow the same routine and shows no errors or anything unusual. What may
be the problem and what can I do to rectify this?
 
Open the Control Panel, then double click on the Power Options icon, then
select the Power Schemes tab and check what the 'Turn off monitor' option is
set to.

JS
 
Thanks JS
It was set for 2 hours so that can't be the cause. Anyway when I have
restarted the second time all is OK and the monitor doesn't switch of again.
The next day however the same situation is likely to happen again.
 
Set it for 'Never', that will at least take one possibility totally out of
the equation.

JS
 
Thanks mate, I agree it's worth a try and I'll let you know in two days as
although frequently it doesn't occur every day.
Cilian.
 
I had my first try since yesterday without success, still the same problem.
Back to square one.
Cilian.
 
What are your settings under the screen saver tab then power button when
going to display from control panel?
 
Thank you for your enquiry Unknown.

My screensaver is "My Pictures slideshow" and the start setting for this is
8minutes. ( my startup problem is before this time setting).
My normal shut down procedure is on screen and clicking via "start > turn
off computer". My startup problem shuts down my monitor and this makes it
necessary for me to shut down by pressing the power button. The setting for
this in my control panel > power options is to "shut down" when the power
button is pressed.
Does this answer your question? Any suggestions are most welcome.
 
Try this:
Turn the PC on as you normally would. After you have logged on select
'Start', 'Turn Off Computer' and then select 'Restart', this will of course
reboot the PC without turning the power off. Then after you login see if the
problem occurs.

JS
 
I need to use better english---go to control panel---display---click
screensaver tab---click power button---what are settings????
 
Thanks for your replies.

In reply to Unknown;
In the Control Panel I go to "Display" and from there to the screensaver tab
where under "Power" I have 4 settings all set on "Never". On the advanced
tab there is a reference to "Power Buttons" and they are both set on "Shut
Down" this indicates that when I press the power button on my computer it
shuts down.

In reply to JS;
My mysterious monitor switch off problem only occurs on my first start up in
the morning. Further later turn offs and starts during the same day always
work OK until the next day when the problem happens again on the first time.
I tried the "Turn off and Restart" procedure a moment ago and had no trouble
with this procedure. If only my event viewer would show an error at the
time the monitor turn off happens it would be an indication where to
search.........

Cillian.
 
Do you have another monitor you can try. It sounds like Windows is the cause
of the problem but to be certain another monitor might help define where the
problem is.

The only other trick I can think of is sort of a reverse of before. This
time boot up the PC at the beginning of the day, logon to your account and
then turn the monitor off using it's power button, wait 15 minutes and then
see if you can turn the monitor on without having to re-boot.

JS
 
Hi JS, I have tried that a couple of times by starting the computer and
leaving the monitor turned off until 10 minutes or so later. What happens
then is that when I switch the monitor on it immediately turns itself off
again. I am pretty certain that it is Windows. I have also tested if the
various software programs like AVG and MS.Defender may cause the problem
when automatically downloading updates etc. on startup without result.

Cillian.
 
Have you tried looking in the event viewer to see what may be happening?
Start---control panel--administrative tools--event viewer. Also you may want
to verify all your services are set correctly.
 
Thanks again for your comments unknown. Yes, as I have posted earlier my
event viewer does not show any errors or warnings that could refer to the
problem. I have had this problem for some time as at first I thought it
would clear up by itself and my restore program is now no longer able to
restore back to a date before it started.
I have also looked at my "services" and tried some adjustments without
result. I am not really sure about services and there does not seem to be a
default setting in this.

Cillian.
 
I reread your original post. Are you basically saying the AC power is being
turned off to the monitor?
 
Hi Unknown,
Yes, that's correct. The monitor turns off completely after 2-5 minutes but
the computer light remains on. I then have to switch off the computer by
pushing the power button and start again from the beginning. Then after
starting this second time everything works OK for the rest of the day until
the next day when the same problem occurs again.
Cillian.
 
If you just turn on the monitor and not the PC will your monitor display any
messages like "no signal found" or something that is visible even though the
PC is not powered up, if so then leave the monitor on without powering up
the PC and see if the problem occurs.

JS
 
What kind of monitor do you have? Is it CRT or LCD? Very unusual for AC
power to go off. The monitor has its own power cord and goes into standby,
show a screen saver or sleep mode. Can you get the monitor back on by its
power switch only? (without powering off the computer).
 
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