Monitor help

[superluser]

It's been a while since I've seen a troubleshooting thread here, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

Recently, my LCD monitor has occasionally not turned on.  I'll press the power button and the power light comes on, but the screen remains blank, then flashes whatever's on the screen and goes blank again (it should say ACER, then turn black, and then show the screen).  If I leave it alone for an extended period of time (10 minutes or so), it turns on fine (sometimes omitting the ACER logo) and then works perfectly for several more hours.

I've tried reseating the VGA cable on both ends a new power cord, but only time seems to save it.

Any ideas?  Should I try buying a new VGA cable?  Is it possible that this is my video card and not my monitor?  Or do I need to start looking for a monitor?

If it is as I suspect, does anyone have suggestions for a good, cheap monitor?  Preferably, something in the 1080p or 1920x1200 resolutions?

[Dekari]

I first have to ask the question.....Why are you using a VGA cable with an LCD monitor?

[Tapewolf]

I first have to ask the question.....Why are you using a VGA cable with an LCD monitor?

Many LCD monitors and many motherboards/video cards only support VGA.

[superluser]

I first have to ask the question.....Why are you using a VGA cable with an LCD monitor?

While my video card supports DVI, my monitor does not.  Hey, it was the cheapest monitor at CompUSA that supported 1024x1280 (and I didn't want to go to 1024x768).  What makes DVI better than VGA, anyway? (I'm sure that there is a difference, but I've never actually heard it)

[Tapewolf]

What makes DVI better than VGA, anyway? (I'm sure that there is a difference, but I've never actually heard it)

If both ends support the digital signal path, you'll get a significantly sharper and more solid picture.  If one end doesn't, and it defaults to using the analog signal path, it won't make much difference at all.

[Vidar]

If it is as I suspect, does anyone have suggestions for a good, cheap monitor?  Preferably, something in the 1080p or 1920x1200 resolutions?

In computer terms, what's cheap usually isn't any good, and what's good isn't cheap. You might get lucky on a rare occasion, but don't count on it.

A monitor isn't something you want to skimp on. A good, stable image will make working on your pc for extended periods a lot easier on your eyes.
How mych money do you have to spend on a monitor?

[superluser]

In computer terms, what's cheap usually isn't any good, and what's good isn't cheap. You might get lucky on a rare occasion, but don't count on it.

I thought I could have those two if I didn't want fast. 

Seriously, I've found that ``good, cheap'' tends to get people thinking about good things and cheap things, while simultaneously ruling out extremely cheap things (I bet you could get this screen for peanuts) and extremely good things (I hear this is pretty good).  My main goal is to figure out which places sell monitors without enormous markup, since the last time I bought a monitor, CompUSA and Circuit City were both still in business.

How mych money do you have to spend on a monitor?

Frankly, none.  I had zero dollars budgeted for this, and I think the most I can afford would be $100-200.  I see that Best Buy has 1080 monitors in that range.  If I don't have to get a new monitor in the immediate future, I'll try to wait for the dust to settle over the LCD price fixing stuff.  But if I do have to get one, will I need to buy one in meatspace or would it make sense to order it, given how much it weighs?

[Dekari]

IMHO, looking for a LCD monitor that can do 1080p without having a video card that has a HDMI output is wasting money...all be it that money can range from $50 to $100 or more...actually after looking, some are even the same price as their non-HD counterparts.

Depending on your experience with the Acer brand, there's a good 21.5" widescreen for $160 among others on newegg.

[superluser]

IMHO, looking for a LCD monitor that can do 1080p without having a video card that has a HDMI output is wasting money

Working monitor is #1.  If I have to buy a better video card and a monitor at the same time, the quality of the monitor will have to go down, as I have finite resources.

I'll probably have to upgrade to a better video card pretty soon, anyway, and my tax refund should cover it.

[RobbieThe1st]

Heres a question for you: When its in the "on" position but there is nnothing on screen, shine a flashlight(or other concentrated source of light) really close to the screen. See if you can see any detail(i.e. its displaying fine, but no backlight).
If that is the problem, it can be fixed one of three ways:
One, open it up and look for bulged(i.e. bad) capacitors, replacing when needed
Two, replace the power-board(it will be the board that the blue/white/pink wires(4-8) are plugged into(these wires are unique - they feel rubbery and go into the top(and or bottom) of the screen itself - they go to the backlight tubes). This may be expensive.
Three, the most hackish(but also easy and cheap) - Get a couple of these: http://www.xoxide.com/dual-white-cold-cathode-kit.html
Take the blue inverter that comes with each and plug that into the backlight-wires from the LCD. You may have to do some connector-messing to get them to plug in, but polarity isn't a big deal - the wires have AC on them(600V though, so be careful). The inverters plug into 12V DC, so just run a line up from your PC power supply(or other ~12V dc supply).
This is quite the hackish solution, but it does work(and is cheap) - I have a 17" LCD I did this to, and its run fine for over a good two years of -solid- use. I even ran the inverters off 13.8V DC to get a bit more light output. It still works, but I have a larger LCD as my primary screen now.

[Teroniss]

Here's a more important question. How long ago did you buy the monitor? LCD monitors, especially older models, have a tendency to burn out after a while. The one I'm using atm I've had for 6 years and its about to burn out on me. (Flickers alot when I turn it on)

[Tapewolf]

Here's a more important question. How long ago did you buy the monitor? LCD monitors, especially older models, have a tendency to burn out after a while. The one I'm using atm I've had for 6 years and its about to burn out on me. (Flickers alot when I turn it on)

Again, it's usually the backlight that burns out and this should happen a lot less with LED backlit displays.

[superluser]

Heres a question for you: When its in the "on" position but there is nnothing on screen, shine a flashlight(or other concentrated source of light) really close to the screen. See if you can see any detail(i.e. its displaying fine, but no backlight).

It wasn't a backlight issue, I'm pretty sure, because I think I know what that looks like.  A while back, I upgraded the kernel but forgot to reinstall the video card driver, and when I rebooted, I was greeted with black-on-black text.  The difference between the two colors was small, but I could make out that the issue seemed to be the backlight.  This wasn't like that.

Here's a more important question. How long ago did you buy the monitor? LCD monitors, especially older models, have a tendency to burn out after a while. The one I'm using atm I've had for 6 years and its about to burn out on me. (Flickers alot when I turn it on)

This was three years old.  It shouldn't have given out this quickly, but it wasn't a very high quality monitor to begin with.

I ordered the new monitor (in fact, the one Dekari suggested) on Friday, the old monitor died on Sunday, and the new one came today.  I thought I could keep the old one going by never turning it off, but it eventually figured out a way to die, anyway.  Works fine so far.

A final question: The manual says to turn the monitor on before the computer, and it says that this sequence is very important.  I usually think this is crap, but I had been turning my monitor off whenever I left the computer for extended periods of time.  Is there anything to this, or is the manual simply full of crap as usual?

Edit: Nevermind.  /usr/bin/xset dpms force off works like a dream.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

A final question: The manual says to turn the monitor on before the computer, and it says that this sequence is very important.  I usually think this is crap, but I had been turning my monitor off whenever I left the computer for extended periods of time.  Is there anything to this, or is the manual simply full of crap as usual?

It says "turn it on first"; it doesn't say "keep it on".

It's a matter of, when you turn the machine on, and windows boots, it pokes the various devices and expects them to respond if they're present. In the case of monitors, it then asks the monitor "so, what can do you?" and gets a response.

If you plug the monitor in afterwards, you'll get a less optimum display output.

It's that simple.


Oh, also it means they don't get people who failed to plug the dang thing in calling. Or, at least, less of them...

[LionHeart]

I usually leave my monitor on all the time (it switches to standby when I turn the computer off, or if I leave the computer running unattended for some time).

I've had the monitor for some years now (longer than I've had my current computer), and I haven't had a problem with it.