Monitor goes into sleep mode after startup

Just after startup my Dell monitor will sometimes give me a 'No input signal' and 'Entering sleep mode' message then go dark. Sometimes continuous tapping to space bar and/or clicking the input button on the monitor will bring it back. Updating the vid card driver made no difference.

Then, just now I decided to start using the screen saver (it was previously set to 'None'). I picked one, set a time of 1 minute to check it, and it worked as expected, but when I tapped to key it came out of it then the starting going in and out of the 'sleep mode/no input signal' every 5 seconds or so. I put it back to 'None' and hit 'Apply' but it kept doing it. I managed to get my antivirus scan running and that kept it busy enough to stop it, but it started again after the scan. I rebooted and it tried a few times to go back into sleep mode, then stayed on.

The 'sleep mode at startup' has been going on for a few months now. I've reinstalled Win 7 about a month ago but it still happens. I had upgraded the motherboard, power supply, monitor, operating system and video card just before last Christmas so it's basically a new computer. The hard drive, keyboard, mouse and computer case are the only parts left over from my old system.

Any ideas? I've even checked the Dell forum about this particular moniter to see if it was the problem and found nothing.

Are you able to test the monitor on another PC to see if the problem still happens, then also test another monitor on this PC? This would quickly rule out some hardware problems.

When you say it happens just after startup, do you mean once Windows has loaded or just after you turn your PC on?

If it's a few seconds after powering on your PC (i.e. still in the POST stage) then a BIOS update or config change may be needed.

It's a Dell!

I've always been able to see the Post stage before it goes blank so it must be happening while Win 7 is still loading.

I'll check for a bios update but I have read on the Asus forums about a lot of people having problems afterwards and having to reinstall their old bios, but that was around last December shortly after I bought the new motherboard.

Except for the screen saver fiasco it hasn't done it in about 2 weeks so I don't know what is going on.

Thanks for responding.

Oh, and just the monitor is a Dell, the motherboard and video card is from Asus.

If you get to see the POST screen then I wouldn't worry about a BIOS update. If it hasn't happened in the last 2 weeks then perhaps it is now working again... fingers crossed!

Just when I thought I was out of the woods......

The 'no signal' blank screen monster reared it's ugly head once again on startup, just as Win 7 was about to begin.

I did the bios update last week and it's a little unnerving when the motherboard company says NOT to update the bios unless you are having problems. But their Updater program did make it quick and painless. You don't even have to use a disk or flash drive. Just download the bios, click the Updater, and it does the rest.

So, if it is the bios, it's not because it's out of date.