The backlight in your monitor is very slow to come on, and without the light you can't see (or only very dimly see) the display. The usual cause for this is failure of electrolytic capacitors in the inverter circuit that provides the lamp with power. The good news is that this is actually a fairly easy repair and many people do it themselves.
This video shows how to open a ViewSonic monitor similar to yours, and gives a good example of what bad capacitors look like. It also shows the soldering process if that's new to you.
According to one forum, these are the capacitors that need to be replaced in this model: C825 (1000uF, 10V), C903 and C910 (470uF, 16V), C824 and C828 (1500uF, 10V). The C numbers identify the part location printed on the board. The numbers in parentheses are the part's value. Capacitors are rated in microfarads (abbreviated as uF or MF on the part) and also have a voltage rating (the V number). New parts should have the same uF value, but get a higher voltage rating. They will not be stressed as much as the original parts, which is one of main reasons they went bad. 35-volt rated parts are not physically much larger. Do not use a lower voltage! Also, and this is important, these parts have polarity markings; you must be sure to get the plus and minus leads into the right holes when replacing the bad parts. You might be able to find the capacitors at Radio Shack (I don't know what they stock today) or at a local electronic repair shop. Online shopping is always an option.
Good luck with the repair, and thanks for using Fixya! If this has been helpful, please take a moment to rate it accordingly.
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