Monitor going dark

[digger242j]

I'm typing this from my wife's laptop, because about 15 minutes ago, my desktop started acting up.

The monitor went dark. If you turn the monitor itself off, and back on, it displays for about a second, and then goes dark again. If you restart the computer altogether, it seems to start normally, but soon does the same thing again.

I'm thinking this must be a hardware problem with the video output of the computer itself, rather than any sort of software issue. Just before it goes, you can see it dim slightly a time or two.

Anybody got any smart ideas? :confused:

(Besides :bash:bash:bash that is...)

[Wolfcsm]

I'm typing this from my wife's laptop, because about 15 minutes ago, my desktop started acting up.

The monitor went dark. If you turn the monitor itself off, and back on, it displays for about a second, and then goes dark again. If you restart the computer altogether, it seems to start normally, but soon does the same thing again.

I'm thinking this must be a hardware problem with the video output of the computer itself, rather than any sort of software issue. Just before it goes, you can see it dim slightly a time or two.

Anybody got any smart ideas? :confused:

(Besides :bash:bash:bash that is...)

I would try hooking the monitor to your laptop and seeing if it will display properly. If it does, you can figure it is the video card on the other system. If it does not, it is the monitor.

Hal

[bill onthehill]

Try out the monitor like suggested on another computer. I had a similar issue and it was the video card. Cheap fix from tiger direct. Depending on how old your pc is you may want to upgrade your card. They cram a lot into the new ones for low bucks.

[RonG]

It is funny nobody asked what type of monitor it was.The CRT monitors would have different ailments than the LCD monitors that would cause them to act as yours is.
It is more likely the monitor at fault than the computer but hooking the laptop to it as suggested would identify the source.Ron G

[Squizzy246B]

Digger, wake up...the darkness is caused by your eyes closing

[digger242j]

No, that's a different problem. It usually only happens at work...

The problem here is with the monitor. I dug the old desktop out of mothballs and swapped monitors between the two, and the problem follows the monitor.

I had a similar issue and it was the video card. Cheap fix from tiger direct.

That was mainly the answer I was looking for. If it had been the computer itself, I wanted to mentally prepare myself for the magnitude of the expense.

Thanks, guys. :drinkup

[bill onthehill]

"I wanted to mentally prepare myself for the magnitude of the expense."
How do you do that? Do you close your eyes and dream of $100.00 bills or what. Seriously, you can get some good deals on flat screen monitors these days. Check out tiger or newegg. I have had good luck with both of them and prices are reasonable. Just don't let the wife help you decide or you will really need to prepare your wallet!

[digger242j]

Just don't let the wife help you decide or you will really need to prepare your wallet!

She's the one that bought, and paid for, this one, and the one before that. I can't complain about her that way.

The bad monitor is a 19" flat LCD. This one is about a 15" CRT. I feel like my head has been put in a vise and squished. :thumbdown

[RonG]

AHHHH,there ya go.An LCD monitor.90% chance it is a failing inverter,symptoms are the same and it is a common fail item on them.The most common actually.It generates the high voltage to drive the backlight flourescent tubes.Easy fix IF you can get the parts.Ron G

[Wolfcsm]

A 19 inch LCD is cheep right now. WalMart or any of the big office places has them at good prices.

Hal

[digger242j]

Well, as it turns out, wife bought the extended warranty on the CPU, so it'll be covered for about two more years.

The monitor--as fate would have it, came with a one year warranty from Hewlett Packard. Yesterday, the day it failed, was one year, to the day, from when it was purchased.

The trouble is, HP begins that one year from the date that Best Buy bought the piece from them, so actually the monitor was only under warranty until sometime in March. Ain't that a crock? Something to be aware of should you be shopping for a computer. :mad:

(We talked about fighting it, but technically, they could come back and say it was a year and four hours from when we accepted delivery, since she picked it up in the morning, and she didn't call until the evening... :rolleyes:)

RonG, I found the part in about 5 minutes of googling. For $75. That's more than half the price of a better whole new monitor. Hal is right, there are some really good deals out there...

[RonG]

You can get a generic one for under 30 bucks but need to do some creative wiring to make it work.I just fixed an HP but it had bad capacitors which surprised me but the symptoms with it was no start at all.It is usually the inverter.I agree on the new one with a good price.Ron G