Acer AL1916W 19" problem

Hello mat78, Unfortunatelly the problem is hardware based. You will need to have the monitor repaired in a service center. Here's why: LCD/TFT monitors don't produce light themselves. They are composed by a matrix of transistors (TFT - thin film transistor) that have the property to reflect or allow some light (certain wavelenghts)to pass through them. They don't produce light by themselves. Instead there is a fluorescent tube (neon like) light inside the monitor and that's the light source used in order for you to see what's on the screen. A flourescent light is suposed to last pretty much, i don't think yours has a problem, you say it works for some seconds or so. Instead your problem is most probable with the inverter circuitry that powers on that light. It's a common problem among these types of monitors but in your situation i don't think it will be an expensive repair. In the case that the screen is dark (in a dark place you can't read or view anything on it) but if you apply light to it ( a flashlight or something) and you see something, then the problem is most likely to have occured with the invertor. Try to ask at a local service center for a repair, this shouldn't be an expensive procedure. Hope this helps.

Try missing around with brightness and other monitor options from the on-device button controls .. Hope this may solve your problem