Does anyone know

[Medusa]

what makes a computer screen suddenly go black for just a second, then back to normal again? This has been happening to me for the past couple of days.

[Karen]

Yikes - a problem with your power supply, or the monitor's connection to power ... Does your computer make any noise like it is powering up or down, or is it only the monitor that is effected?

[shepgirl]

Could be a power surge or some short interruption if they work on the lines sometimes. As long as your monitor isn't ages old I would probably guess at something with the power. I sometimes get mails that won't go through so I just unplug the power lines and wait 30 seconds and rehoook and everything works fine. One tech told me sometimes there are just too many users at one time and they have power outages for a second or two.
I wouldn't be too concerned unless this is a frequent occurence.

[Medusa]

Yikes - a problem with your power supply, or the monitor's connection to power ... Does your computer make any noise like it is powering up or down, or is it only the monitor that is effected?

No noise, no indication that anything is wrong. Just suddenly the monitor goes black for a second, then back to normal. It's been happening only for the last couple of days. I swear, this computer has been the worst purchase I've ever made. I've had nothing but problems w/it from the get-go.

[Karen]

If it is under warranty, I'd demand a new power supply - it could be either defective, or overheating so it cuts out. It's not going to get better, and could damage your computer if that is what it is.

You have kitties, not rabbits, but I would still check the cable that runs between the computer and the monitor for teeth mark - a new cord is cheaper and easier to replace that a power supply.

[Medusa]

Great, just what I need. Dell has been awful w/customer service. I once was on the phone w/a tech person for 4 1/2 hrs. I had the entire computer taken apart, scattered all over the floor and I ended up having to put it back together myself because he said he didn't know how to fix it. He kept saying "Try this" and I finally said "I have to go to work. I need to hang up" but he kept on talking and I had to hang up on him. Anyhow, thanx for the info, Karen. I'm going to call my pc repair guy. He's gonna love me. :rolleyes: He was here twice in one week during the holidays.

[Sirrahsim]

Do you have Vista? It has a lot of known issues with video cards. My husband's computer does this from time to time but it usually gives him a "your video card stopped working but we fixed it" message.