Inspiron 8100 display 1

[RonDawn]

I use the pc for about 45 min and if I reboot or turn off and boot again, I lose the screen. I have to wait about 20 min then boot and the screen is there. The cooling fans work and the power settings have been looked at. I can leave the pc on forever and never lose the screen. When I reboot, the screen is there up until the desktop opens. I can just barely see a little background then nothing. Video card? Anyone have a simular problem? Thanks Ron
Dell 8100; xp; 512 ram; Been reformated twice; 15 gig free space

 

[aquias]

It almost sounds as if this may be a bios/cmos problem. After a reboot have you tried to hit the function/F5 (perhaps function/F8) to move from an external monitor to your laptop display?

The behavior you're describing I've only seen if the system was trying to change over to a new monitor.