In reply to mypyrex:
> The fact that there was no display when I connected the monitor to the laptop surely suggests a problem in the monitor rather than the pc
Not necessarily. Some laptops have a setting in the BIOS that tells them whether to use the local TFT, or external VGA, or autodetect - 3 settings.
As someone else has said there is usually a toggle button on the laptop keyboard that cycles between those settings. You need to give each one 3 or so seconds before deciding it doesn't work. The external VGA Only) will be the one that switched your laptop screen off.
I guess you've checked the cable connection at the monitor end to see if it's just loose by a fraction? Easy to overlook the basics when you think something is wrong...
||-)