What do I do to make LCD monitor work

I purchased a new LCD monitor and went through the steps of changing the refresh and the resolution from my old monitor. Now the screen on the new LCD monitor comes on for just a few seconds. Do I need a new video card or what can I do? My computer is older and has been pieced together by a friend so I don't know what it has other then windows xp. Help me please. If i need a new card which one should I get?

 

Did your monitor come with a disk?

 

no it did not come with a disc

 

what?

 

I am assuming you are using Windows XP. When you say, "just comes on for a couple of seconds", are you meaning before or after Windows boots up?

If you are able to boot into your operating system, check in device manager and see what driver your monitor is using.

You can open Device Manager by double-clicking on the System icon in Control Panel, choosing the Hardware tab, and clicking Device Manager.