First, be certain that the cable connecting the computer to the monitor is attached securely at both ends. And, it's possible that the connecting cable is bad and needs to be replaced.

Second, I am not quite sure what you mean when you say you cannot turn off the computer without unplugging it. All computers should be able to be shut down and/or restarted without being unplugged. Depending on your keyboard, either the second or third key from the left on the very bottom row should have a Windows symbol on it. When you press that key, a menu window will pop up. One of the selections (it will be on the very far left, at the bottom) is a symbol of a power (on/off) key. Once you select that, you will have the option to either shut down or restart.

If their screen is blank I am guessing they can't see any shut down options. My old computer if that happened I could just hold the power button a few seconds.

When you shut your computer down, do you you choose "Shut Down", "Sleep" or "Hibernate"?

Lindsey, I hadn't thought of the cable but it could be. I'll see if I have an extra. I've checked for secure plug-in but will do again.

Since the screen is blank, I don't have a way to shut down. I was not aware the Windows icon worked that way, so handy, and I'll remember that.

Acrafty...I tried holding down the power button one time, didn't work. But maybe I didn't hold down long enough.

Thanks for all the thoughts, KTers!

Yeah I had to hold mine down quite a bit.

I believe by default Windows does a hibernate when you select "Shut Down".

If it were me, I'd try disabling "Fast Startup" in case it wasn't playing well with my display.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-update/turn-off-fast-startup/5362cd29-86ca-4b39-be60-718446f9d5f8

Richard, I choose “shut down.”

When you think the monitor isn't responding properly, try this: TURN MONITOR OFF...COUNT TO 15...TURN MONITOR ON. Let me know if this makes a difference.

I choose “shut down.”

Yeah, what I was thinking when I asked was that perhaps if you were choosing sleep or hibernate, it might be that it wasn't waking up your display properly.

I don't use hibernation and don't run Windows often but if I remember correctly, certain hardware, such as a display, can sometimes have problems waking up properly.

I wrote the second reply after I remembered the way Windows does it now. When you choose "Shut down", it does a sort of hibernation. That way, it seems to turn back on quicker.

If you keep having occasional problems after doing a "shutdown", try doing a few "restarts".

If the problem never occurs when "restarting", only after shutting down, you might try disabling fast startup to see if it helps.

Just a troubleshooting step, if it doesn't help it can be undone. :)

I don't know if it makes any difference, but I always turn off the monitor power in addition to shutting down the computer. Of course, on startup I have to turn the monitor back on. Sometimes, I leave my computer on (for overnight updates, backup, or when I may access it remotely) and of course I turn off the monitor.

Richard, I have Windows 10 and could not find the window you thoughtfully provided me. Not to worry, don't spend any more time, I'll try a couple of these other ideas. Many thanks.

mtv...do you turn the monitor on after starting the computer or before?

Personally, I don't power down my computer. I turn off the monitor when I leave my desk, but the CPU stays on.

But, to answer your latest question to Richard, if the computer and monitor are both off, you should turn the monitor on first, then the pc.

I guess I shouldn't say I never power down my computer. If we are going to be out of town, I power down before we leave. And, of course, there are restarts when updates are applied.

And I have a portable backup drive connected to my computer. Every time a document is saved or changed, it is backed up onto the portable drive.

Socks, both. Usually I shut the computer down first, then the monitor, but it really doesn't make any difference. Likewise, I usually turn the computer on first (because it takes time to start up), then the monitor. For both my computer I have an additional monitor, but when I turn that on varies.

Perhaps it's just my Dell desktop & monitor but it's (monitor) is synced to power on and power off with computer. I've never touched the monitor on/off button. I didn't realize that some use a two step process.

Michael-

Are you certain the monitor is off, or do you just think so because the screen goes black?

kidzu9, the power light on the monitor changes green to red with I power off the desktop. It may be a Dell sync feature.

" I have a portable backup drive connected to my computer. Every time a document is saved or changed, it is backed up onto the portable drive."

It's not that unusual for an internal or external drive to get fried by a power surge or wonky power supply. Keeping the backup drive connected to the PC it's backing up subjects it to the same risks from the same events of this kind as the internal drive. And doesn't really provide the security most people want from a backup copy.

Better to keep the external drive NOT connected except when doing a larger scale periodic backup. And then disconnect immediately afterwards.

If I see the blue light on, the monitor is on, but when I touch any keys, space bar, mouse, etc. it does not wake up. Worked fine this morning though.

Where did I say that I don't disconnect the external drive? Where did I say that I don't have everything connected to surge protectors? Oh, that's right, I didn't say those things. elmer just assumed things.

I quoted your words, there was nothing to assume. In response to your words, I said I thought it wasn't a good idea to keep a backup drive connected to a PC for the reasons I mentioned. Immediate, right at the moment backups are rarely necessary. Most programs do that as a normal feature on the installed drive anyway, to protect against user error.

If the external drive is not left connected to your PC, how does it do backups "Every time a document is saved or changed". Again, those are your words.

I've learned to quote what you say that I'm commenting on because you've used the "that isn't what I said" response before. If I've copied your words into quote marks inaccurately, you can explain further so that I and other readers can better understand. Or don't, it doesn't really matter.

Sheesh. Although I do spend a considerable amount of time on my computer pretty much every day (I am retired, and genealogy research is done on my desktop computer, I am not on my computer 24/7. So the probability of a document being saved or changed in the middle of the night is negligible.

If a new document has been created/saved, and/or an existing document has been edited/saved, it will be backed up the next time a backup is performed. (Backups are not performed 24/7.)