Question : Problem: Why does my monitor display turn off after a second or two?

While the monitor is on, if I plug it into the computer, the display comes on for a second or two then the monitor turns black and goes into power saving mode. The same thing happens if it was already plugged in but turned off - i.e. I turn the monitor on, the display shows and then goes off again quickly.

It is a Hyundai L70N 17" LCD monitor running at 1024x768. The monitor worked fine in its current setup for about 3 years, nothing special happened as far as I know at the time the issue arised. Can't think of any other details to provide but I'd be happy to provide them if you need anything more specific.

Answer : Problem: Why does my monitor display turn off after a second or two?

You have confirmed that the problem lies with your monitor and not your pc, yes I agree you could try to have your monitor repaired. But as you pointed out it could be more costly than buying a new one.

I repair pc's and to be honest if I have a customer with a faulty monitor, unless it is just a cable or fuse fault (from the symptoms you have described i beleive that the fault in your monitor is more complicated than that) I recomend that they replace rather than repair. The reason is  that  you can pick up a new 17"one for around £100  from Novatech on line, which makes a repair cost of say 2/3 hours costing £60 to £90 unreasonable.

You could try googling for specialist monitor repair firms - though I do not know what they charge.