Screen On/Off

Question

I'm currently dabbling into digital signage and I'm having troubles with a monitor turning off on me. My question is this : is there a way in C# code that I can tell if a monitor is currently on or off? I'm writing an alert system for me since I cannot correct the monitor's issue at this time.

I've tried looking into system.manager, system.environment, and systeminformation... but was unable to find anything which was able to tell me the monitor's current state.

Specs:
Monitor : Samsung TV
PC: Windows XP PRO 32-bit

Answer 1

I don't think you can tell if a monitor is on or off in Windows.

You can, however, attempt to turn it on.  You can do so with SendMessage, check out the MonitorPower class here: http://systempeppers.codeplex.com

But this will not work if they have the monitor unplugged, or sometimes if they physically push the power button.

I suggest you include a message box saying "Can you see this?" to the user, and after so many seconds, assume their monitor is off.

This is how the XP video settings handle it, check it out.  Change your resolution to 640x480 or something.

Answer 2

See http://www.codeproject.com/KB/system/display_states.aspx

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With best regards, Yasser Zamani

Answer 3

Some good links:

http://fci-h.blogspot.com/2007/03/turn-off-your-monitor-via-code-c.html
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/cs/Monitor_management_guide.aspx

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