Computer monitor turning off from 11:00 PM to 8:00 AM

January 23, 2008 6:01 AM

Why does my computer monitor "go dark" between 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. each day? During that time, I've tried unplugging both the monitor and the computer and turning them back on. I've also tried moving the mouse, hitting keys on my keyboard, and pushing every button on the monitor. Restarting the computer (by unplugging it and plugging it back in) causes the computer to make noises like it's rebooting. But the monitor still stays black, as if it were in power save mode or something. Pushing the monitor's power button doesn't do anything except change the light on the monitor from yellow to green. It'll automatically turn itself back on around 8:00 the next morning. Frankly, I'm out of ideas here. Help?

In case it helps, the monitor was made by Sampo. Thanks in advance for your help.

posted by gd779 to computers & internet (12 comments total)

Do you have access to the BIOS? I'd start by poking around in there.

If it automatically comes back on at 8:00 AM the next morning, it definitely sounds like something has been scheduled.

I don't suppose you live with some other people who have taken it upon themselves to decide for you that 11 PM - 8 AM is an inappropriate time to be on the computer?
posted by bryanjbusch at 6:08 AM on January 23

Sounds like some power-saving thing enabled in the monitor itself or the video card. I know most computers can have scheduled power-on and power-off times set, but am not sure I've ever heard of a monitor that does this.

Can you plug it in to a different computer and see if it works when it would normally be off? If so, it's the computer and not the monitor. Hopefully will at least help you narrow it down.
posted by caution live frogs at 6:11 AM on January 23

Does your monitor want to know what time it is? I'd guess not.

Can you tell a difference between the unplugged state and the "night" state? If so, unplug your monitor from the computer during the expected transition. See if it still changes while the computer isn't talking to it.
posted by cmiller at 6:19 AM on January 23

Change the time on your computer-- if the monitor adjusts it's off period to match that time, you know you've got a software problem.
posted by Static Vagabond at 6:40 AM on January 23

Try changing the time on your computer to see if you can trigger the problem.
posted by malevolent at 6:41 AM on January 23

Google for 'Sampo "Automatic Power Saving"' gives us "Automatic Power Saving Mode, Minimizing Power Consumption. During Night Time With Lights Dimmed, Monitor Will Automatically Shut Off, Thereby Extending Product Lifespan"

Sounds like you need to track down a PDF of the manual for your model.
posted by Leon at 6:42 AM on January 23 [1 favorite]

My LCD monitor at work has a "sleep timer" option in the OSD under management.

I have tried setting it to turn off about 30 minutes after I normally leave the office, and turn it back on about 30 minutes before I arrive. (the problem is that the built in clock in the monitor is pretty inaccurate and it likes to turn off before I'm ready to leave for the day.)

It sounds like something similar is setup on your monitor. Poke around in the OSD settings.
posted by jrishel at 6:43 AM on January 23

Follow-up: Manuals
posted by Leon at 6:43 AM on January 23

Look, you don't say what kind of computer you have (that would be helpful) but if you've got a Windows machine that's pre-Vista (I don't know Vista at all) you can try Control Panel -> Power Options. If there's some wonky power-saver option at work within Windows itself-- if your computer is inexplicably set to "laptop power saver" or set to start and stop on a timer to save you some energy-- then it should show up there.
posted by koeselitz at 7:15 AM on January 23

Also, as cmiller points out above, it's highly unlikely that your monitor even knows what time it is. I'd look to the computer itself for this problem; and, since it's so regular, I'd look to the software. It sounds like something intentional, some option that's set that you don't want. That's why I recommend the 'power options' thing.
posted by koeselitz at 7:17 AM on January 23

Oops. Should have previewed better. Leon has it.

Google is your friend.
posted by koeselitz at 7:19 AM on January 23

Thanks for all your help. The monitor manual doesn't seem to shed any light on the subject, and the power settings in XP don't seem to be set to automatically put the computer into standby. I'm trying some of the other troubleshooting steps suggested now (this is complicated by the fact that it's actually not my computer but my grandmother's, so I don't have direct physical access to the machine). I'll keep working on it and I'll flag a best answer once I see what turns out to help. In the meantime, I'll keep checking this thread in case anyone has further suggestions. Thanks!
posted by gd779 at 7:07 AM on January 24