why does my monitor go blank when my windows 2000 is booting up and
how does one get it to stay on?

It sounds like your monitor is turning off because of power management
features in Windows. To turn this off, right-click on the desktop,
then go to Properties, then go to "Screen Saver", then go to "Power"
and disable the monitor power off feature.

More information: http://windows.about.com/library/tips/bltip113.htm

Search strategy: "monitor turn off windows 2000" search on Google.

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Request for Answer Clarification by prowalt-ga on 27 Sep 2003 10:49 PDT

Since the monitor does not go on, there is no way for me to enter
Windows and do what you suggested.
The only screen I can get into is the BIOS screen after pressing
"Delete" at startup.

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Clarification of Answer by samrolken-ga on 29 Sep 2003 15:41 PDT

In this case, it sounds like your video card or your monitor may be
bad. Does the first Windows 2000 boot screen appear? Have you
attempted to boot using Safe Mode?

Since the monitor does not go on, there is no way for me to enter
Windows and do what you suggested.
The only screen I can get into is the BIOS screen after pressing
"Delete" at startup.

I'd say it is more likely to do with the configuration of your video
system in Windows. Try this:

When Windows 2000 starts to build, press F3 when prompted for VGA
mode.
If your monitor now stays on when Windows boots up, the problem is due
the refresh rate of your video card - this is the number of times a
second that the video output draws your screen. If it is set to a
higher setting that your monitor can handle, your montitor may blank
the screen to protect itself.

Log into Windows and to video properties from control panel. 

Click on "advanced", then click on "list all modes" button.

Select the existing screen resolution (e.g. 1024 x768), but with
refresh rate of 60hz.

click on Ok, close video properties, then shut down and restart your
computer normally.

If windows now boots ok, try a slightly higher refresh rate in the
video options (say, 75hz), as this will give you a less flickery
screen and make viewing your monitor less prone to eye strain.

The optimal refresh rate is the highest one in which you see a clear,
sharp screen, and in which your monitor doesn't blank the screen.

(note: if you select a setting that is too high and your screen blanks
when you click on ok, don't do anything. Wait 15 seconds and Windows
will automatically restore your previous settings)

Monitor would not stay on when I did what you suggested.
Since nothing worked, I changed monitors and now it works fine.  
Surprisingly, problematic monitor works on my other computer with Windows XP.
Thanks