I think it's coincidental that unplugging the cord from the monitor did the trick vs. unplugging from the wall outlet. Power cords don't hold a reserve of electricity when disconnected from the wall.

Buy a new monitor if it stops working completely, or get more erratic to the point that you don't want to deal with it. Unless it's under warranty. Monitors are cheap enough now that they're throw-away items.

Make sure your cords are securely plugged in, both ends. Actually make sure all your cords are plugged in securely.

I am seriously considering just going ahead and purchasing another monitor. If I don't, and this one quits working, I will not be able to computer basically all day long as I have been the last few weeks. It's the only entertainment I enjoy.

Do any of you have recommendations as to a new monitor?

You can visit Device Manager, scroll to Display Adapter, choose delete and restart the computer. Windows will reinstall it. That may fix it. You'll need to borrow a monitor.

Is there a message on monitor, "no signal" etc.

I have an Asus monitor. The brand is pretty widely available and not expensive. It is several years old.

@mtvhike: I want no smaller than a 24" monitor, which is what the one I have is. Truly do not believe I want a large one.

@Michael: Had not thought of going to Device Manager. I am not understanding about "borrow a monitor" though. I I delete and restart Windows to reinstall, why would I need another monitor. Also, there is no message stating "no signal."

@graywings123: My monitor is older than I was thinking. Am pretty sure it was purchased in 2013.

why would I need another monitor

I was thinking in case you can't get a screen on the current one...:) Try to reset the Display Adapter

It could also be the cord rather than the monitor.

@Michael: Thanks, Michael. I reset the Display Adapter. Then set it back to my personal preference (the brightness was like sun shining in my eyes). Will see if that helps the issue. Thanks, again.

@maifleur03: I too was wondering if it could be the cord is beginning to fail.

I did find a monitor I liked; however, in one place it was too expensive and then on two other sotes where the price was just right, they were out of stock. Will keep looking and hoping it won't happen again. Just had to spend a goodly sum unexpectedly, so am not wanting to make another purchase right now, but will if I have to do so.

Thanks to all of you for your comments and advice. Keep them coming, please.

I got rid of a monitor last year, it was working fine, but we use a laptop now. Took the old monitor to Best But to recycle it. Cost $25 to recycle it tho, but I paid it.

I don't have a monitor currently since I am using laptops. But my friend just bought a nice one at Walmart for a very good price.

You could also keep an eye on Woot.com. There are various pages that you can go to directly, but they can all be reached from the main page via links across the top. Every day at 10:00 p.m. Pacific, the offering changes. There is one "main" offering for each category that is only available until the next day at 10:00 p.m. (or until sell-out, whichever occurs first), but if you scroll down the page there are other offerings that last longer (expiration date is always given).

Anyway, one of the subcategories to Woot is Computers, and today they have HP monitors. They are factory reconditioned, but good deals. Shipping on Woot is free for Amazon Prime members, and I think it's only $5 for anyone who is not a Prime member. I say "think" because it used to be $5 before Amazon bought Woot several years ago, and I'm a Prime member...

Anyway, check Woot from time to time for monitors. They have them frequently, and sometimes they're new and other times factory reconditioned.

Take a look at Amazon. You should be able to find a decent monitor in the $150-$175 range.

Unless you want a large size, paying more won't really get you more. The brand doesn't matter if you buy it from a mainstream seller. Sites like Woot remind me of Home Shopping Network, average products at best that are overpriced.

The next time you have the problem with the current monitor, wiggle the plug at both ends. It's entirely possible you have a bad cable end or (less likely) a bad socket.

Troubleshooting is usually the last thing most people do when it comes to issues with electronics. They automatically go to replace mode.

My neighbor asked me if we had a spare toaster they can use until their new one arrives.

No, why?

The bread won't stay down.

Is it plugged in?

Oh, NO! WTF!

You're welcome.

IF your computer has an HDMI interface, then the best way to get a good sized monitor is to get a flat screen TV; make sure it's full HD (1920 x 1080). I saw a 30" one on sale at Best Buy for $70 the other day. I got a 55" demo model at Costco for $129! The deals are out there. If you go this route, then you get sound through the TV also.

Are you sure it's sync'ing to the correct HDMI adapter? Next time try switching HDMI ports (usually via front panel menu)

Are you sure it's sync'ing to the correct HDMI adapter? Next time try switching HDMI ports (usually via front panel menu)

Apparently elmer is unaware of the fact that Amazon owns Woot.

It may be less obvious to you than to others but one can be sure that someone who spent a professional career exclusively advising technology companies, on the inside, and following the industry closely as a result (that's me), knows far more about the corporate tech world than someone who worked in administration at some random agency of the state government.

Woot was purchased by Amazon for an unimpressive amount 10 years ago. It operates independently of Amazon as an overstock clearance seller of products that aren't new. Amazon had an acquisitive phase of internet sellers awhile back and also purchased Zappos around the same time for a much larger amount. Zappo's operations based in Las Vegas also have not been integrated with Amazon, to my knowledge.

Lot of people stuck at home right now & cleaning house/ purging things no longer needed. So you might post something about needing a monitor on Next Door, etc.

Apparently elmer thinks “Domain Administator” of a Microsoft Active Directory network is “working in administration” of a large (not random) state agency.

He also doesn’t know that Woot does sell brand new items in all categories.

Something similar happened to my husbands monitor. It was the connector. He took it to Staples and bought a new one and it works perfectly. Try changing the connector, apparently they go bad after a few years.

Jane

"Apparently elmer thinks “Domain Administator” of a Microsoft Active Directory network is “working in administration” "

Haha, you made it too easy. If you're asking if I consider a position that has the word "administrator" in its title as being an administrative job, then of course the answer is Yes. Those in the agency who were engaged directly in fulfilling its mission (what ever it was) were perhaps legal and policy people, managers and directors, and the functionaries themselves. Those who don't do such work are administrative.

Outside of a technical (engineering or software product development, product development, research) context and then not always, internal IT support-type jobs today are most certainly administrative. Many replace what 30 years ago were secretarial and clerical positions.

elmer, in an Active Directory network, a Domain Administrator is a category name created by Microsoft, and that Microsoft "assigns" based upon the security level. A Domain Administrator is as high as it gets in an AD network. A DA has the "keys to the kingdom," so to speak. A DA can do anything, and access anything, anywhere on the network. Being a Domain Administrator in an Active Directory network has nothing to do with the administration of the agency's mission statement.

You said, "Those in the agency who were engaged directly in fulfilling its mission (what ever it was) were perhaps legal and policy people, managers and directors, and the functionaries themselves. Those who don't do such work are administrative."

I created all of the user accounts (and assigned the appropriate login script to each account) and the e-mail accounts. I created the "home directory" on the appropriate file server for the users (and the e-mail account on the appropriate mail server). The home directory is where the users would save the documents they created. I also created shared directories that could be accessed by more than one employee. I created security groups, and applied security groups to network servers, as well as to user accounts. I assigned security permissions (security groups) to the user accounts. Security permissions are what allow users to access various file directories, as well as prohibit users from accessing areas/files they shouldn't, or do not need to, see. I would put users into, as well as remove users from, security groups, to control what they could and could not access. I assigned the initial password new users would use the first time they would log onto the network. I reset passwords for those who needed resets. I disabled accounts when users would leave the agency, and also when an account needed to be disabled for disciplinary reasons. Thirty days after an account was disabled, I would delete the account, the home directory (and its contents), as well as the user's mailbox (and its contents). When employees would transfer to another Department or Office within the agency, I would modify the user's account so that they would no longer be able to access the files/info for their old position, and would be able to access the files/info for the new position. I also created shared mailboxes, which, as the name implies were mailboxes that could be accessed by more than one employee; such as mailboxes for Help Desks or "Contact Us" scenarios. And, you guessed it, access to those mailboxes was controlled by security permissions. Have you ever contacted a company's Customer Service group and received an e-mail back that shows it's from "CustomerService@such-and-such"? That's a shared mailbox. And, yes, I added shared mailbox users to specific security groups that allowed them to initiate a new outgoing message, or reply to a received message, either as the mailbox name (e.g., CustomerService) or on Behalf of the mailbox name (e.g., elmer j fudd on Behalf of CustomerService).

The agency uses a software that monitors Internet access, as all government agencies do. I was also the administrator for that software -- I could see exactly where on the Internet users were looking, and for how long. I could tell which employees were playing Facebook games and for how long. I could tell which employees tried to access porn and/or gambling sites (both of which were restricted). I produced monthly reports for the Chief of each Department/Division/Office showing how much time employees in their area spent on the Internet. Those reports were generalized -- a total of X number of hours on what sites. Upon a signed request approved by the EEO and Chief of HR, I would produce a detailed report on any particular employee's Internet usage.

And, yes, I had a separate login ID and password that I used when doing these "administrative duties." Oh, there were approximately 4,000 user accounts as of the time I retired. There were almost 200 employees in the IT department. THREE of us had Domain Admin rights. Not even the CIO had Domain Admin rights.

So, yeah, elmer, I didn't do much.

It doesn't matter to me (nor anyone else I suspect) that you don't understand what an administrative job is. That indeed is what you've described in more detail than was necessary, it was obvious from the job title.

People with admin jobs often have lots to do. Your job was administrative, you maintained access to tools, files, and other systems so that the people who used them in jobs to meet the mission of your agency could use them as appropriate and with access as authorized. In the old days, the equivalents of many of the tasks you describe were done by secretaries, file or vault clerks, librarians, tool resource and maintenance personnel.

FYI, CIOs and high level reports in larger organizations often don't have high level access. They don't need it, they don't concern themselves with the daily tasks. The worker bees in IT have what they need for their jobs. Higher level approvals, often like when more than one person must sign off, is where the brass may get involved.

This started when I said that as someone who spent their career immersed in the tech industry, I was amused that someone who spent their working years in a wholly unrelated government administrative job thought they had more insights into my world than I had. Sorry, no. You're lacking some insights into your own world.

I hope the OP finds this instructive to resolving her monitor problem....

@kudzu9: Thank you. Truly, I don't pay any attention to it. I was a supervisor for many years and got used to squabbles among employees. Now they are repeated anywhere and everywhere; they're just venting, and if that helps, good.

👍

Did YOU have an administrative job? Just curious.

LOL. I did, Elmer. For the last several years before I retired, I was in charge of labor and employee relations in human resources. We dealt with the union. We disciplined and fired employees from a very, very large hospital, a cemetery, and two smaller hospitals some distances away, and a regional office. Went to court many, many times and in all my years, we lost only one case.

Monoprice.com has very good quality electronic/tech components for reasonable prices, if you're looking for deals...

I don't work for them or anything - just like to share a good find 😉

walnutcreek, sounds like it was a very tough job. Management-labor union relations under the best of circumstances can be tough. How to be a concerned and caring employer without the union running roughshod and without having union members think they're untouchable and unaccountable (as not all but some like to think).

Elmer, it was a very tough and stressful job. But, honestly, I loved every minute of it. I did not retire until I was several years past retirement age. May have kept on working, but body/health interfered.

Your words suggest you were very good at what you did. Congrats on that and on retiring on your own terms, something too few get to do.

elmer, I'm beginnng to think that perhaps our disagreement stems from a misunderstanding of sorts. It seems to me that you perceive people in administration as those who tell others what to do -- that they don't actually do real work themselves. You also said something about "being obvious from the job title." Domain Administrator is not a "job title." It is a security level classification that is designated by Microsoft.

Just to update everyone. My monitor has not failed to start even one time since I did as Michael suggested and reset the display. I am now wondering if lightening/power surges had something to do with it. We were having quite a number of storms during that time. Just grateful that it is still working. I actually love the monitor. Colors are great, pixels are great.