After a bit when not in use my monitor goes to sleep but it won't wake up - I just have a black screen and my computer won't do anything. I have to shut it down at the electric strip. Any suggestions?

There are usually settings that you can make to stop the monitor from going to sleep at all, but the instructions for doing so are OS dependent. It's usually a set the time kind of thing 30min 1 hour or 2 or never kind of thing. There is also a hibernation setting that could be your issue. Often hibernation issues can be fixed with an update from the manufacturer if there was a specific problem with that build. Try looking in the Control Panel for Power settings.

You don't say what Windows version you are running, XP, Windows 7, etc. I have seen this problem with Windows XP. You should make sure you run the latest updates for the version of Windows you are on. If it is an older version of Windows, it is a problem that Microsoft may have already fixed in Windows.