Hi all,
I have a 21" Dell Ul;trascan monitor which recently leaving 'shadows' or 'stains' on screen. I called our IT guys to check it out and they pronounced it past it's sell by date.
Any ideas what could be wrong? Could it be the PC causing the problem?
If it's not the monitor (per your second post), it could be either thecable (did it change with the new monitor?) or the video card itself.
What you are describing is (I think) what a tech would call ringing, a series (often multiple) of fringes or lines to one side of sharp features on the screen such as the vertical edges of text letters or windows. This usually indicates one or more bad ground contacts (cable shield ground or video signal returns), hence the question about the cable. If the connector on the back of the video card has been stressed or was poorly soldered, one or more of the ground contacts may have pulled loose from the video-card printed circuit board (PCB), causing similar symptoms.
Also possible, though less likely, is a bad electrolytic capacitor on the vid-card or motherboard. These act as power filters -- when they go bad, you would see smearing or ringing in the video -- and are susceptible to drying out due to heat.
TallCool1
Practically a Posting Shark
865 posts since May 2003
Reputation Points: 149
Solved Threads: 45
Try degausing the monitor, if a magnetic field or any kind of magnet was next to the monitor is can cause distortions on the screen and degausing it will fix the problem. Use the menu on the monitor itself and you should see either "Degaus" listed or a symbol that looks like a horseshoe magnet you should select that and the screen will shake a second or two then probably be back to normal. If that fixes it then something magnetic cause the problem, some name badges use magnets to hold them on and if you have one then leaned over the monitor in any way it may be the cause of the distortion- I've seen that before.
borumas
Junior Poster in Training
56 posts since Dec 2003
Reputation Points: 11
Solved Threads: 1
Try degaussing the monitor, if a magnetic field or any kind of magnet was next to the monitor is can cause distortions on the screen and degaussing it will fix the problem.
Not if the distorting field is still present, likely if the problem affects two monitors in the same location. Shadows and off-color areas are usually caused byoutside magnetic fields (especially if flickering or varying distortion is involved), often AC transformers. Typical sources include the ballast in a flourescent desk lamp, "wall wart" power cubes in a nearby power strip, small fans, and AC-operated desk clocks or radios. Many of these devices produce magnetic fields even when turned off; large-screen monitors are more susceptible to this.
TallCool1
Practically a Posting Shark
865 posts since May 2003
Reputation Points: 149
Solved Threads: 45
Not if the distorting field is still present, likely if the problem affects two monitors in the same location. Shadows and off-color areas are usually caused by outside magnetic fields (especially if flickering or varying distortion is involved), often AC transformers. Typical sources include the ballast in a flourescent desk lamp, "wall wart" power cubes in a nearby power strip, small fans, and AC-operated desk clocks or radios. Many of these devices produce magnetic fields even when turned off; large-screen monitors are more susceptible to this.
Then the solution to their problem may be to make sure no electronic devices are near the monitor other than the pc and degaus it, either way if a magnetic field caused the problem if she degaused it it should at least change the appearance of the distortion- it may still be on the screen but it may have moved from the original location and showing that a magnetic field is still present by the monitor.
If the IT guys are handy and your pc is identical to others in your area have them swap your video card and see if that is the problem.
borumas
Junior Poster in Training
56 posts since Dec 2003
Reputation Points: 11
Solved Threads: 1
