Is it an lcd monitor??
I have an lcd monitor which has blacked out!! The image is still there but there is no light so you have to be really close to it or shine a torch at it!! Typically lcd monitors have CCFL's (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps) which have a life span of about 10,000 to 20,000 hours. They will dim out over time and then stop working all together. If your monitor is fairly new (under 1 year old) it will be covered on the warranty, even if you have an extended warranty it may still cover the Light Bulbs. You can change them yourself and it's fairly cheap
if you can get the replacement bulbs, but there's obvious dangers to opening up a monitor, i.e. u could electrocute yourself and the CCFL's contain Mercury which has been linked to Cancer and Brain Damage so breaking one of those isn't a good idea!! I'm gonna have a go at changing mine when I get the parts!! Anyway i've been looking about at how to do it, check this out:
http://www.inventgeek.com/projects/shorts/page1.aspx
There's also an inverter in there which changes the voltage from DC to AC for the bulbs. This could also be the problem if you had a black screen like mine, but because yours is slowly dimming it sounds like the bulbs.
Good Luck!
Glen, December 2005
