BleepingComputer.com: Video card issues

My graphics card seems to be having issues.
For the last 6 months or more, when I boot or restart my PC, my monitor almost always won't turn on. The orange light is on (meaning standby, same as when the PC is off), but not the blue. I am forced to restart it multiple times.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but if I whack the side of the case before turning it on, it almost always comes on when I restart. If I don't, then I am forced to restart up to 20 times to gt the monitor to come on.
This makes me think there is a connection issue with the video card. However, I have removed it from the PCI-e and made sure it is securely in to no avail.

Perhaps related, the last few weeks my computer has started to freeze. It occurs often while playing different PC games and watching movies, and occasionally while surfing or word processing. The fact that it happens more often while playing games makes me think it may be related to the video card.

How should I proceed with this?
Thanks in advance.

My specs (from speccy):

Operating System
MS Windows XP Professional 32-bit SP3
CPU
AMD Phenom X4 9650 34 °C
Agena 65nm Technology
RAM
2.0GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 401MHz (5-5-5-18)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK Computer INC. M4A78 PRO (AM2)
Graphics
L1960TR @ 1280x1024
L1960TR @ 1280x1024
128MB GeForce 7100 GS (Gigabyte) 70 °C
ForceWare version 260.99
Hard Drives
977GB Western Digital WDC WD10EACS-00D6B0 (IDE) 49 °C
Optical Drives
HP DVD Writer 1035r
MHK QN45A7WT SCSI CdRom Device
Audio
Logitech Mic (QuickCam E3500)

It could be your video card failing, or something else, like power supply.

Let's try to sort it out.
Remove you video card completely and switch to on-board video.
See, how it goes.