When I first started to
learn to troubleshoot PCs, I
found a blank monitor to be one of the most frustrating things I
encountered. With the screen blank, there's not a whole lot you can do
except to hit the power off button, check the connections and hit the power
on button again.
In this article, we'll look at the top 5
reasons why a monitor goes blank. Once you understand the reasons,
you'll understand how to troubleshoot the problem more easily.
1. Introduction
Computer monitor problems can be very hard to troubleshoot - I mean,
if your monitor goes blank, how do you check anything on your screen. So
that's why it's important to have 2 monitors in the house. Usually, if I
have my desktop PC's monitor going blank, I'll immediately hook up the
video card to another monitor. If the screen remains blank, then it
could point to a video card problem. If the new monitor displays an
image, then it's probably the first monitor that has run into problems.
A typical computer monitor - don't panic if it goes blank!
Reason 1: Wetness
The number one reason why computer monitors go blank is - wetness.
Believe it or not, when your computer monitor is exposed to humid air,
sometimes water can condense and accumulate in the monitor. This causes
the monitor to malfunction and go blank. I've had this happen to my
desktop PC at least three times before. What you need to do is to leave
the monitor alone for some time and allow the water to evaporate. That
usually solves the problem.
Reason 2: Faulty Graphics Card
The next reason why your computer monitor goes black is due to a
faulty graphics card. The best way to detect this kind of problem is to
connect up a new monitor to your PC, then check if you have a blank
screen. If you continue to have a blank screen, then it's likely your
video card is faulty.
Reason 3: Faulty RAM
This one is less obvious and less common, but it can happen. You
might sometimes get bad RAM modules which prevent your PC from booting
up even to the basic BIOS startup screen. To detect this kind of problem
is more troublesome, you might need to remove those RAM modules and
insert them into another computer.
Reason 4: Loose Connections
Another reason why your monitor goes blank is due to loose
connections. The connection from the monitor to the mains is usually a
culprit, as is the connection between the monitor and the video card.
Check those connections before you declare your computer monitor as
faulty.
Reason 5: A Short Circuit In The Motherboard
And the final reason why your computer monitor goes blank? It's
possibly because of a short circuit in the motherboard. This is the most
undesirable outcome of course, as you might have to replace your entire
motherboard. However, it's possible that this can happen - so keep your
fingers crossed and hope it doesn't happen to you.
Conclusion
And there you have it, the top 5 reasons why your computer monitor
goes blank. Make sure you do a mental check of the above points the next
time your monitor goes blank - don't be too quick to declare your
monitor as faulty. Until next time, happy computer building!