computer goes black

[bill ramsey]

while in paltalk which is a chat room, at times while talking or playing music, i get machine gun sounds. then screen goes black and it says hit any key to return to normal, but doesent do it when i hit key. sometimes the sound is just a grrrrrrrr sound. shut puter all the way off and then everything is ok again. for a while. twice today so far. sometimes it goes for several days without going black. any help???ty bill

[Everett Cox]

Bill-- Maybe the computer is going into one of the power-saving modes. Many systems have problems coming back up so I turn that feature off. Go into ControlPanel/Power and DON'T let Windows 'manage' power. If that's not the answer, ask again - there are other reasons and solutions. --Everett

[Michael Garnett]

If it's just while you're talking over the internet or playing audio, I'd guess it has something to do with your sound card. I'm not well versed in those, but when they've broken before, I go out to the local computer store and get another for 60 bucks. It'll install easy enough after consulting with your local computer geek, and your problems might well be over.

About the screen going blank, if it's just in that particular chat room, I'd suggest not using that chat room, if at all possible. If it's happening elsewhere, there's some other reason for it doing that.

Garnett

[Earnest Bovine]

Once your computer goes black, it never goes back.