I think my monitor is dying :(

[The Texan]

hi i was wondering if you could tell me if my monitor is dying. At random times it changes colors not really bad but its a little annoying... it doesnt happen all the time but sometimes the colors will get brighter or darker for about 2 seconds then go back to normal, whats the deal? thanx bye.

[phishphreek]

It could be. How old is it? Do you have anything around it that is highly magnetic?

Did you try to default your monitor or "degauss" it?
In your monitor settings try the "degauss" setting.
It should look like a horseshoe or upside down U with a \ through it.

Older monitors can have brightness and color problems. We throw them away at work.. but I grab them out of the trash and adjust the "hidden settings" on the back that give a couple years more use. No use in wasting a 19inch monitor that can replace that POS 15 inch I've got on a spare box.

Hidden under the case there are a couple of "pots" you can adjust to tweak the brightness. Though... don't do it if you are unfamiliar with TVs and Monitors. You could be in for one hell of a shock.

http://www.tweakhardware.com/guide/tweakmonitor/

[|3lack|ce]

Phish is right on degaussing if your monitor offers the option. If it doesn't, here's a quick and dirty trick that works nicely if done properly (Thank the motor rewind shop for teaching me this on a teevee way back when):

Caution: Make sure the monitor is turned OFF when you do this!

Get some wire - speaker wire will do nicely. Wrap your monitor with the wire for about 30 turns. Make sure none of the turns overlap each other and make sure the coil is one continuous piece of wire. Hook the ends of the wire to a 9 volt battery - one of the big square ones you use in camping lanterns. Let it cook for about 30 seconds. If this degaussing doesn't fix the problem, try switching polarity with the battery (swap ends on the battery terminals).

Luck to ya Tex.

[phishphreek]

|3lack|ce: Does it matter which way you wrap the wire? Should you wrap it horizontally around the monitor or vertically? Across the screen or on the side? Interesting way to do it... I'll have to remember that.

Oh.. any way you can reverse the color that got screwed up by a really big magnet and a 10 year old boy waving it all over in front of the tv "watching the rainbow"?

[Und3ertak3r]

Is the plug loose into the Vid Card?
Could it be the Vidcard..Try the monitor on a known good system..

the colors will get brighter or darker f

which colours exactly or is the whole image changing in brightness?

if above checks still point to the monitor as the prob.. then there are several possabilities..
Faulty solder connection on the CRT Card (specificly from the Data cable..as most pc's the vid cable goes directly to the CRT board..)
If your problem was a general brightness variation.. I would also check the Main PCB specificly the EHT and PSU..
Stuffed..? definatly not econimical if a LOPTX fault.. or depending on who your paying if it is a resolder problem,,

What happens if you whack the side of the monitor? clears for a while


ciao

[phishphreek]

Is the plug loose into the Vid Card?
Could it be the Vidcard..Try the monitor on a known good system..

I guess those should be checked first.. lol
Sometimes I just automatically think that those simple things have already been checked...

Faulty solder connection on the CRT Card (specificly from the Data cable..as most pc's the vid cable goes directly to the CRT board..)

Does that mean that monitors should not be carried by those cords? LoL
I saw a guy moving some office equipment the other day who came walking out the door with two monitors. He was holding them each by the cords...

[The Texan]

I have a dell E771a on Nvidia GEforce2 MX graphics card. ( its CRT) im not quite sure of the size but its not super big... just a stock monitor. its about 4 years old. nothing magnetic around it that i know of. I will try the deguassing thing soon i think. thanx for the help... i will post again with my results and feel free to post again with any other ideas

[Striek]

I've had this happen on a monitor before. It was because the position of my case caused the cable to be bent too sharply and eventually it damaged the wires. It could just be the wire between the monitor and the video card. In my case, hitting the monitor made it work properly again, since that jiggled the wire a bit.

If the cord isn't replaceable, have it professionally serviced (assuming that is the problem). Don't play with monitor components, because the capacitors in them can hold enough of a charge to kill you, decades after the monitor has ever been used.

[The Texan]

ok the degaussing seemed to work and i also repositioned the monitor cable ( it may have been streched at an akward angle) but i have one more question: what is the difference between setting your monitor settings at 85 hertz as opposed to 60? thanx again bye.

[Und3ertak3r]

Pity Tex is not in OZ... I will gladly take the crt and "recycle" it for him...

because the capacitors in them can hold enough of a charge to kill you, decades after the monitor has ever been used.

there are 2 of these suckers to watch.. one is the mains Rectifier filter, the other is the CRT tube itself.. one if charged and not allowed to discharge normaly will hold 200-400V and deliver at whatever current it pleases.. the other will store a charge upt to several 1000 volts also capavle of delivering at a reasonable current.. guess which of the 2 is lethal?
BTW: the deadliest houshold appliance I have encountered is the Microwave oven..

But I digress..