Monitor issue on a new computer

Hi. I recently got a new Dell computer (Intel Core i5-750 processor, Windows 7, ATI Radeon HD5450 video card). My issue is that my Acer monitor (Model AL 2216W) occasionally will turn off and then turn back on. It seems to only be the monitor (the computer keeps running and I don't notice anything peculiar about it) - it's almost like the monitor goes into power saving mode and then comes back out of it after a couple of seconds.

It happens whenever I install any software and the User Account Control dialog box comes up saying "Do you want to allow the following program to make changes to this computer?" - the monitor will turn off like this each time right before the dialog box comes up. However, this issue occurs at other times as well, like when I'm simply surfing the net or using another program, and I can't see a pattern for these occurrences.

The monitor is 3 years old, and it worked fine on my previous Windows XP system. I checked my monitor driver on my new computer and the computer says it is up-to-date. I looked at Acer's website and the drivers are said to support Windows XP and Vista, so I thought perhaps it is a Windows 7 compatibility problem. I called Acer and they said it is an issue with the computer, not the monitor driver. They said the monitor is plug and play and should be Win7 compatible. The agent said that I should update my video driver and maybe this would help.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Does this sound like a video card driver problem? If so, how do I update that? I'm a bit of a computer novice. I'd really appreciate help. I'd definitely prefer not to buy a new monitor, especially if the same thing happens. Thanks a lot - I've really appreciated this forum.

It could easily be a video driver problem. Check out the following site : –
download from Guru3D.com

I would suggest that you download the following drivers: –
AMD Catalyst 10.11 Win 7 | Vista (64-bit)
They are not the latest but should work well with your card.

Follow the simple procedure shown at this site: –
GPU-33: Graphics Driver Installation Instructions for Microsoft Windows 7

Best of luck.

The Real question is does it do it while your watching videos or playing Video Games? and how is the monitor connected? DVI?

I've experienced the same behavior ever since Vista, and carried over to Seven. Happens on different hardware. In my case it's utterly random. Might not happen for 2 weeks. Then it might happen twice in a single day. Saw lot of posts about it all over the internet, but no definitive answer.

Hi. I appreciate the responses. Thanks especially Snakeyeskm - I checked the second link you suggested (install instructions) and I input my driver info (not sure of my graphics card interface, but PCIe seemed to be the only option for a HD 4000 series card?) to find the correct driver - it suggested a newer version = AMD Catalyst 10.12 Win 7 | Vista (64-bit); you had suggested 10.11. Perhaps I should install 10.12? Here's the link I checked:


ATI Radeon

I'll respond to some of the other responses: Carl, interesting to hear that you're experiencing the same, but to me, it definitely is far from my normal experience with past systems. The monitor shouldn't just flick out for a couple of seconds. It does seem to be random, and in my case, it happens sporadically, but it occurs at least once every time I'm on the computer. If I had to guess, I'd guess that it does it when some process happens in the background.

TonyTiger, my monitor is connected via DVI. As far as occurrence when watching videos, it does happen, but it seems to occur at about the same frequency as with other uses. I can't speak to game use b/c I don't play games on my computer.


Thanks again for the responses. Snakeyeskm, please let me know what you think regarding the different driver version I found.



Peace, Christopher

Opps - sorry, I meant the only option for a 5000 series card. As I said, I have the ATI Radeon HD5450 video.

10:12 is the latest and supposedly very good for the 6000 series.10:11 were fairly stable for the 5000 series. Pick your poison and best of luck.

TonyTiger2004 may have hit the nail on the head. Since there doesn't seem to be a 64-bit driver for your monitor, it might be worthwhile tracking down the Vista driver for the AL2216WD monitor and trying that. Best of luck.