Member Avatar for Sam The Butcher

Recently I did a clean install of windows, after the installation i noticed my display is all blurry. I have a Radeon 9700Pro and have loaded the latest drives, but still a blurry screen. Keep in mind the monitor worked fine before the clean install. Is it possible for it to cr@p out just like that. Its a Daewoo and its only about 4yrs old. Thnx in advance

  • 3 Contributors
  • 3 Replies
  • 303 Views
  • 2 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Rueful Rogue

Dani AI

Generated

Short add-on focused on isolating whether this is a software/timing problem or real hardware failure (and safe next steps). already noted the blur appeared right after a clean Windows install; pointed out LCD auto-adjust stuff (not relevant for a CRT), and correctly warned that CRTs can fail and that internal adjustments are high-voltage work. Start with the cheap, safe checks below to narrow it down.

  1. Quick isolation: reboot and look at the BIOS/POST screen or the Windows boot logo. If those look sharp but the desktop is fuzzy, the problem is almost certainly driver/timing (refresh or driver settings). If the blur is present from power-on/POST, it is most likely the monitor hardware or the analog video path.
  2. Swap the cable and the PC: try a different VGA cable and plug the monitor into another computer (or try a known-good monitor on the Radeon). This quickly tells you whether the monitor itself is at fault. Tighten the connector screws and inspect for bent pins.
  3. Refresh and driver check: use the GPU control panel to set a refresh rate supported by the CRT (avoid very low rates), and do a clean driver reinstall for the Radeon if the desktop remains fuzzy.
  4. Text-only blur: if only fonts are soft, enable/adjust font smoothing/ClearType and check application-specific rendering before blaming hardware.
  5. Magnetic/degauss interference: move speakers or magnets away and power-cycle to let any built-in degauss run.
  6. If hardware: visible double images, color misalignment, or a uniformly soft focus after the above steps means a service job or replacement. Do not open the CRT yourself—high voltage is dangerous.

Work top-to-bottom: isolation (other PC/cable), driver/refresh, then hardware checks. If the monitor fails the swap test, consult a repair shop or consider replacement; if it only blurred after the reinstall and the monitor is clean on the other PC, focus on driver and refresh settings.

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for J_Search

Sam The Butcher,

LCD or CRT? Some LCD screens, if not all, have an auto adjust feature for such problems. It would be accessable through the menu button on the monitor itself. I would ensure the adjustments to the hardware were right before you attempt adjusting the software or video adapter.

J_

Member Avatar for Sam The Butcher

Its a CRT screen

Member Avatar for Rueful Rogue

To answer the last question first,

Is it possible for it to cr@p out just like that.

YES! CRT monitors are just like light bulbs (as are most electronic devices) and just because they were working when you turned them off, does not guarantee that they will still work when turned back on. Before making any adjustments on the CRT monitor, I would check the display settings in the control panel. They may have defaulted to the wrong settings for your monitor when you re-installed Windows. Go to the control panel, select DISPLAY, and then SETTINGS. Take a look at both the COLOR, and SCREEN AREA settings. Color most probably should be set to 32-bit and the screen area is the resolution and should be set to the NATIVE RESOLUTION of your monitor (i.e., 1280 x 1024, 1024 x 768, etc.) Check your monitor's user manual "specifications" to find the NATIVE RESOLUTION. (You can try different settings to see if it helps, if you don't know the native resolution)

If all of this is correct, before you suspect a component failure, try adjusting the FOCUS CONTROL. In some cases this is available through a front panel control or an on-screen display menu. However, in most cases it will be located inside the monitor's case. It will be located inside adjuacent to the flyback transformer. (The flyback is easily located by visually - DON'T TOUCH - SHOCK HAZARD - by tracing the wire hooked to the back of the CRT's glass via a suction cup looking connector. That wire goes directly to the flyback. The FOCUS CONTROL should be located adjacent to the flyback on the circuit board. It should be adjusted with your contrast and brightness set to optimum image and looking at the display. (You may have to use a mirror to see the screen while making the adjustment from the rear of the monitor.)

If none of these work (and you have the correct drivers), then it is highly probable that the flyback transformer may be on it's way out. At this point, I would not attempt further repairs on the monitor unless you are electronics savvy. Do you notice any shrinkage in the picture size or bowing on the vertical edges? These can indicate High Voltage problems which comes from the flyback.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.