Monitor Issues HELP

Alright heres my problem. My samsung LCD monitor has had some problems. About a year ago, it appeared to be dead. So I put it aside hoping that it would magically fix itself...well it magically did. Bout a week ago I dug it out, and it worked! Well then today the power went out for a second (i live in FL lightining does it all the time). The monitor is on a surge protector so it didn't fry the monitor. When I went to restart my machine, my computer started blinking on and off. It shows whats on the screen for a second, then goes black. The light on the power button is blinking on and off, kinda looks like it's in sleep mode, but the screen goes on and off. I'm not 100% sure if this is the same problem I was having before, butttttt im pretty sure it is.

Sooooo what could I do? I'm leaving in unpluged for the night to see if that helps, but I doubt it will. Anyone have any clue what this is? Secondly where is a good place to buy a cheap LCD monitor? I have a back up, but dear god is it old. It's an old CRT, and is only like 17 inches....I can't go back to that again. I'm about to check craigs list, but was hoping there was a fix for my monitor...

thanks for any response.

If your LCD is dead or dying, you should be able to test that without your computer to make sure it is indeed the LCD and not something else. Unplug the LCD from the computer. You should get a message on the screen that says "check signal cable" or maybe you will have a box that moves around the screen. If your LCD has the same problem with the video going in and out while it is displaying the "check signal cable" or whatever message, then you will have to replace the LCD. If it can display that message correctly while the video cable is unplugged then the problem is not typically the LCD. Additionally, if the power LED on the LCD is amber, then your machine is not outputting video. If it is green, then there is a problem with the video signal. If it is blinking green, the problem is likely a LCD malfunction.