Second monitor is black

[mstruhs]

I run two monitors and have for some time. My second screen is now black. the power light is green. The monitor works--but not when I run two monitors.
I have a nividia GEforce gt220 video card. Both monitors plug into this card. the card also has a HDMI port. I have a hdmi cable running to my TV. (not plugged in all the time. I beleive the card only supports two monitors at a time--not three)
I unplugged the hdmi cable and re-plugged the monitor back in and the monitor is black.
I updated drivers--did a recovery for a previuos date, of course rebooted the computer--and it is still black. From the control panel it says it is working.
Any ideas?

[mstruhs]

The screen is fried I guess. Today it did not show brief glimpses of functioning so i tested in on another computer and it did not work. i guess it was just working part time yesterday--and when I tested it solo it worked. I needed a new monitor anyway

[evasive]

Make, model, how old is it?

[Karlsweldt]

All video monitors today have a minimal input signal level.. and if below that, will go into an energy saving mode (yellow LED indicator). Many video cards do loose signal strength over time.. due to aging capacitors or low voltage. Testing the monitor by itself on several sources should reveal its usefulness. But flat-screen monitors have a shortfall.. the backlight system. Tiny fluorescent tubes in the bezel provide the illumination. They have a similar life span as common lighting fluorescents. If no image yet a green "active" LED indication, try shining a bright light at the monitor face, while a motion image is displayed. If you note faint images or movement, then the backlight system has failed. Could be either the age of the tubes, or the inverter has failed. Either way, very intense labor to repair.