Thanks Lisa - yes we tried a different monitor - it did the same - just put itself on standby after a minute or so - so frustrating! If we could just see the icons, I could probably fix it. Computer shops can charge a fortune for a tiny programming/start up error!
It *might* be a bad video card - hard to diagnose over the Internet - but if you tried a different monitor and still have problems that would be my next step for testing.
If it is the OS placing the monitor into standby then there are ways around that - let me know and I can help.
P.S. - Sorry for not responding earlier - my system crashed again and is making my life/work VERY difficult.