Haystack, you probably mean Motherboard Monitor. Yes, I do have that. Temperature is not an issue as the machine is running fairly cool. All fans are working too. I'm going to try re-seating the RAM sticks and the graphics card and see if that helps.

Even the data cabling to the hard disk may be loose. My kids PC kept losing a secondary disk because the data cable had loosened. The SATA type cables are often pretty loose at the motherboard end. It could also be a power cable problem, so it might be a good idea to make sure that all cables are properly seated.

Thanks Haystack. Will check everything that can go loose. Fingers crossed! Forced to go back to my son's laptop....and the looks I've got!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8388253.stm

Microsoft investigates Windows 7 'screen of death'

Microsoft has confirmed that it is investigating a problem described as the "black screen of death", which affects its latest operating system.

The error means that users of Windows 7 see a totally black screen after logging on to the system.

The firm said it was looking into reports that suggest its latest security update was the cause the problem.

Reports suggest the flaw also affects Vista, XP and other systems.

Software firm Prevx, which has issued a fix for the problem, says "millions" of people may be affected.

"Users have resorted to reloading Windows as a last ditch effort to fix the problem," the firm's David Kennerley wrote in a blog post.

"We hope we can help a good many of you avoid the need to reload."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8388253.stm

Malware has been blamed for a problem with the Windows 7 operating system, dubbed the 'Black Screen of Death'.

Some Windows users are confronted by a totally black screen after they log on to their system.

Malware suspected of 'Black Screen' issue

Initially it was thought that Microsoft's own security update could have caused the problem but that has now been ruled out.

The software firm that suggested the security update was the problem has apologised for its claims.

Reports suggest the problem also affects Windows Vista and XP.

I'm running Win 7 on four machines and have not had this problem.

I'm using Windows XP, screensaver has stopped working on two separate computers, anybody else had this?

OK, seems to have righted itself.

Opti

Other than say, a pill of some sort, what protection do you use?

And you too, Plateman?

Let's compare.

Exec, my problem was not related to the black screen issue but for the record I use AVG9, I hope that this is what you meant, the "pill" bit puzzled me.

Doc

I use Windows Defender + Microsoft Securuty Essentials on what are my less critical computers and Windows Defender + Panda AV on the others. The latter costs a few s a year for a three user licence and seems to work very well.

It's only problem is that it is resource hungry during the daily update.

What are the values (if any) of using Spybot and SpywareBlaster or are they a waste of time and space?

Are you a "Casanova's Rubber Sock" man then Doc?

What do you do with it, Hil, slip it over the mouse?

No Hils.

Have you ever tried a Velcro Fastener?

:-)

I'm thinking of updating my current 2 screen setup. Does anyone have any experience of these?

What exactly are you asking about, skinners? The monitors, the stands or the PCs and/or graphics cards?

You could always make your own like this guy:

hilary - the lot really. My current machine is 7 years old and is begining to creak. So I'll probably update it all !

In terms of stands, skinny, these people seem far cheaper than any other manufacturer (eg Ergotron) that I've come across. Once you've worked out which model you would like, just key the model number into Google for the cheapest supplier.

In terms of the machine itself, we discussed the HP ProLiant server (around 200 from Dabs) on this thread some time back. Its only drawback is that it doesn't come with a sound card, but I think that's a good thing. Although a little dated now, I still use the old Matrox Quad cards (MMS200 or something like that) that have been around for ages. You should be able to get them used off eBay, and I keep a couple of spares laying around in case one goes. They're a bit slower than the modern cards, but are fine for trading imo).

As for the monitors, they're ten a penny nowadays and you can take your pick.