I keep getting a black screen when i try to take a picture

The shutter is jammed shut, lens unit needs to be serviced.

why i turn on my camera it says on the screen front display is currently in demonstration mode.

to exit: shutter button
and when i try to upload the pictures to my computer my computer doesn't read my camera.

its actually probably the display. there is 3 different displays. 1. shows picture with icons 2. shows just the picture and 3. is a solid black screen. just hit the display button to cycle through until your desired display is present

Simply right click on the track itself and select send to/DVD-RW or CR-RW depending on the type Compact disc drive you have. Then you will see a notification, "you files to be written to CD." Simply click on it or go to your Compact disc drive on My Computer and click “write these files to CD.” Then follow the screen instructions. IT is that simple. All you need to do is press and release the display button until the screen displays. Usually Canon Powershot cameras have 3 display modes:- colour, black & white, blank. Your camera is set to blank that is why you cannot see any image/screen displays no image. Just press and release the display button until the screen displays. That should do it.

Try cycling through the Display button until you're able to view photo to be taken.

Eagle 23: Press the "Disp" button and your LCD screen will turn on right away.

nazmil_mj: Can you take pictures or are they totally black as well? If you can only take black pictures then your LCD screen is fine and your CCD is bad or your aperture is stuck. Either of these means you need your lens replaced.

Don't bother asking a store for help (though you can if you like) they will tell you it's not fixable or will just send it to Canon and charge you $175 for the repair.

We are an affordable digital camera repair business, we can replace your lens for about $75!

Thomas
Owner- Darntoothysam com

You need to go into the menu function to turn the screen on (this feature saves the batterys)

When in review mode if you press the INFO button it changes the information that is displayed on the screen of each image. You can keep pressing the INFO button and it will toggle through all of the various display information available.

Sounds like a defective CCD imager. You may be in luck. Canon should fix this for you for free, including free shipping both ways. Please check the following two links for more info:
http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/canon-digital-cameras-showing-black.html
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=PgComSmModDisplayAct&fcategoryid=225&modelid=13390&keycode=2112&id=29819
Applicable cameras include:
A40, A60, A70, A75, A80, A85, A95, A300, A310, S1 IS, S60, S200, S230, S330, S400, S410, S500, SD100, SD110

Have you checked the display mode you're in? If you have the display set to off (to save power) and also the picture review time set to off, then you'll just see a black screen. Try pressing the 'Disp.' button below the screen when the camera is on - it should cycle through different settings with each press: Off, On, On with picture info. Similarly, in the playback mode this will show you more or less info about the picture you are viewing.

Even if the display is switched off, if you have your 'review' option in the menu set to anything other than Off (i.e. 2 seconds), then you should see the picture you've taken appear on the screen straight after taking it.

If it's not that, then I don't know the answer....