Monitor is black!

I have a basic dell comp I got from a friend, he had a large monitor and i am assuming a different driver for that monitor. when we got the tower from him he gave us the original monitor. the icons and displays kept changing...even when we would reset them through the display settings. well...in my mad infant computer skills some how I disabled the video driver now we get a black screen and thats it. even in safe mode or any other mode in the f-8 screen. HELP!

If you have the original OS CD, and you can get it to run when you turn the computer on,
It will load default drivers first, then choose "repair an existing installation"
then run the repair utility. Many times, this will cure a black out. NT

What I was trying to say is that with the monitor blacked out, you can't see the start menu.
Putting the OS disk into the drive (if it starts) will automatically load drivers, without actually installing the operating system. (the existing OS will remain intact)
If there is a missing or corrupted driver, this will get the monitor operational, at least to the point where you can install the correct VGA driver, to carry out further repairs.

When the disk gets to the point where it asks if you want to reformat / install a new operating system, click "repair existing".
This method works for blacked out screens and missing drivers. It can get a system that's dead into working condition.

Now if you don't have an OS disk, borrow one.
Unfortunately, many manufacturers do not ship the OS and drivers on CDs, the OS comes pre installed.
Don't ever buy a pre built computer unless ALL the drivers and the OS are supplied on CDs with the computer. Please don't fall for this trap.