Macbook pro won't start up when it's connected toThunderbolt monitor. I purchased them together almost 2 years ago and they have always worked perfectly together until today. Anyone know why?

I've used my macbook pro and thunderbold monitor together since purchasing them almost 2 years ago. Today, my laptop will not start up when connected to teh display. It will start up if I disconnect, but will then freeze if I plug the display in. Any ideas why? I'm running OSX 10.7.5

The support article linked below is somewhat outdated. Where it refers to starting up from an installation disc, you should instead start up in Recovery by holding down the key combination command-R at the chime. Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial.
If you don't have a current backup of all the data on the startup volume, and you want to preserve that data, then you must try to back up before you do anything else. Ask for instructions if you need them.
Note: You need an always-on Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection to the Internet to reinstall OS X from Recovery, if necessary. It won’t work with USB or PPPoE modems, or with proxy servers, or with networks that require a certificate for authentication.
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac

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