Weird, I never heard of this before. How far does it go in the boot process? Does it show ANYTHING on the screen? Does it start to boot into Windows and then shut off? etc ...

The first boot process can be only seconds (incomplete) and during this time (from a second or two to a full boot) there is nothing on the monitor. Then the computer is turned off, back on and a normal startup takes place with the usual screen activity. Of course, this is more of a puzzle than anything because the computer is in use every day, all day with no other problems. My thought is something in the early bios but this was never a problem with the 14 inch monitor.

You're sure it wasn't a special offer, free pair of boots with every monitor?

[groan, sorry!]

lol!

Does the computer beep when it starts up and the monitor has no picture?

Go into the BIOS. Turn OFF everything related to ACPI or APM. It's a good start.

Another thing to try: set the resolution to 640x480@60 Hz and see if that helps. It's possible that the monitor is seeing an out-of-range signal on the first boot. If that works, set the rez back as you see fit once it's working.

I have a similar problem. Don't know the answer. I tried swapping-in different monitors, cables, video cards. I have not tried anything with the bios. Nothing seems to help except that a PCI video card, instead of the AGP, will sometimes turn-on the monitor without having to boot twice. Sometimes I will get the video warning beeps particular to this FIC systemboard. This is what I am going to try next, if I ever get the time! I am going to swap-in a new systemboard button battery. I am going to jiggle the connections in the wiring manifold, the one that the power button, HD LED, etc., plug into. I am going to clean/roughen the contacts in the power button itself. At this point I am thinking that it is just a systemboard gone bad. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that if the computer is all warmed-up, it the monitor will fire-up if I do a restart, but if I leave the computer off for 10 minutes or so the monitor will not start without rebooting twice (hmmm...bad trace?).