As you say nothing appears onscreen the first thing to check is that the cables are firmily connected.

Failing that can you swap the monitor to another computer so you can decide if it is in fact the monitor or the video card acting up?

Does the activity light on the front of the tower continue to blink as though the computer is in fact going through the startup procedure?

Thank you for responding. It's not the monitor I am using it with another computer. Yes the activity light on the front of the tower blinks.

it could be a heat problem, have you opened the case and cleaned out the inside of the pc? if not do that, if it is full of dust and crud it can definitely stop it from running and at start up is when it uses the most power and generates a lot of heat, plus if it has been a while since use if the fans and stuff are full of old gunky dust it could be blocking their movement.
Also could be a power supply going bad.
When you say it shuts the monitor off do you mean the whole pc shuts down> on the tower do the lights go out and it stop running? Have you tried a different monitor?

Give a little more info on exactly what is happening

Cleaning the computer and its components

When I start the computer up the green light on the tower flashes.. the monitor comes on.. meaning green light on the monitor comes on.. within a few seconds the monitor shuts off the light turns amber.. I push the button on the monitor and it comes on again.. then shuts off. The computer tower stays on with the green light flashing on the front of the tower

By the way the monitor is the one I'm using right now and it's the original monitor that came with the computer that keeps shutting it down

So you should be able to see the desktop when you turn the monitor on at least briefly before it turns off again, if so then it is most likely a monitor problem.

It could be that the video card is going bad.

Assuming this is XP click Start, click Control panel, click System, click Hardware, click Device manager.

Now look down the list to see if there are any yellow exclamation marks. Click the plus sign beside Display adaptors then double click on the listed video card to see if it reports an issue or is running properly.

How will the user be able to see to do that?

How will the user be able to see to do that? Good point.

So perhaps Shyness will have to decide whether it is worth buying or borrowing a video card and install in the old Dell. As the activity light continues to work it suggests the computer is going through the motions of starting up.

Another thought is perhaps the video card - if it is not onboard video - may just need reseating in the slot.

"going through the motions of starting up."

That's what I think too, and that's why I asked if she can see the desk top for the brief moment that the monitor stays on after reboot.

Windows ME, I think it's an old CRT Monitor power problem.

Someone came to the other forum yesterday that I work on an said they could not connect to the Internet and had pops up right before.

I posted the instructions for "downloading" Malwarebytes :)LOL!

fwiw, my desktop monitor has a green indicator light when its lighted up brightly, and that green monitor power indicator light changes to yellow when it goes into power savings mode after the screen saver kicks onto 'blank' the screen.

I'd guess from non use it has a poor connection on one end of the cord, or corroded pin, or the video card is loose or corroded and needs to be removed and re-inserted.

Maybe the mouse or keyboard connector is bad too.

I would definitely open that case see if it needs cleaning and while in there make sure all wires cables and cards are well seated.

Dont want to overstate the obvious, but when opening the side of the case, make sure that the tower is unplugged before playing inside

OP has stated that he/she is using the monitor on another computer, so it's not likely a connection or anything with the monitor itself.

I lean towards the video card going bad and/or the tower needing a good cleaning/dusting.

Thanks everyone I'll try giving it a good cleaning and check the video card. To answer the question of seeing the desktop it's no. I don't get anything it shuts the monitor down before anything appears. Thanks again