Member Avatar for Langy

Ok - I bought a Dell 17" tft off Ebay recently , used it for a day all seemed fine. The next day I had blue screen of death , the cmos battery had gone , changing the boot up , so I replaced that and comp booted up no probs BUT now the monitor would flick on for a second then go black , windows was fine in the background..

If I held the moni on/off button sometimes the pic would come back and even maybe stay for an hour.

I tried the moni on the upstairs computer - same thing , so I grabbed the old school monitor from upstairs with an hard wired vga cable in its back and this works fine.

I assume the moni is then broke and get refund.

Now I buy another (samsung) from Ebay , plug it in my comp ... same thing.
Take it upstairs no go either , bring the old moni back down .. works fine.

In the mean time I had tried next doors widescreen 15" and that worked fine but I didnt like the screen size..

So have I been unlucky and bought 2 duffers or is it possible my computer as done it - blown 2 monitors??? Im tearing my hair out!!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by jimb0s

Dani AI

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Brief diagnostic plan and safe checks to add to the troubleshooting already started by and .

Isolate variables one at a time: confirm the monitor has a steady power LED and that its on‑screen menu is visible when power is applied. If the OSD appears but the desktop does not, the problem is more likely the video signal/driver/handshake; if the OSD does not appear at all, the fault is usually inside the monitor (power board, backlight/inverter). Swap the video cable and power lead with a known good set, try a different output on the PC, and boot to the firmware/BIOS or a live USB image to see whether the problem is present before the operating system loads.

Common hardware failures and how to spot them: a very faint image visible only with a bright torch indicates backlight or inverter failure; repeated flicker or failure after a short run can point to bad capacitors on the monitor power board. Do not open a monitor unless experienced — internal capacitors can hold lethal charge even when unplugged. See the general notes on monitor hardware and capacitor failures for background: Computer monitor and Capacitor plague.

Software/handshake items to try: update or roll back the graphics driver, test with safe mode or another OS, and try a known‑good cable and connector type (avoid cheap passive adapters). If the monitor shows its own menu reliably, that strongly reduces the chance of internal hardware failure and shifts focus to signal, cable, or driver.

When buying used gear, document failures (photos/video) and contact the seller or manufacturer support; if repair is chosen, get a written estimate first. For manufacturer troubleshooting or service options, consult the vendor support pages such as Dell Support.

Member Avatar for jimb0s

use the LCD screen and set the resolution to 800x600 with refresh of 60. then try the old monitors. if that does not do it make sure you have it set for single gpu / output.

Member Avatar for Langy

how do I check single gpu output? you mean set res on old big monitor then plug in tfts?

Member Avatar for jimb0s

Forget the bit about dual/single gpu if the monitor from next door works. Plug in the TFT and set resolution to lowest it will accept. Now try the old monitor(s).

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