Is my Computer Monitor Dying??

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Is it worth fixing?

No, it will likely cost you nearly as much or more to repair than a new monitor would cost.

Could be the FPC cable , but sounds more like the display itself
There are cheap 37" LED TVs just right for the occasion . Ones that would make you ask yourself the question , "why havent I switched out before"
Junk it and move on...

I have a similar problem on a big NEC monitor that got gently dropped.
It has a lightly colored band at the top,one side is a little darker than the other on the band.
Other than that, the monitor is clear, not jiggly and works great.
If your video card is damaged it could be the high or low register memory chip(s) that cause the location specific problem - otherwise, like everybody else said, the whole display would go out. See how your old monitor works & good luck.


ganjoa

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

It's not the video card, or the drivers.

If the monitor is faded in certain areas, or you have dead pixel lines, it's the screen hardware, and/ or cable to the monitor itself. However the price for a new cable can be 20% of the new cost of a new screen.

You can try a new cable, but if the monitor is over 6 years old I'd invest in a new one. The question to ask yourself is how much time do you spend on line, and what is your sanity worth looking at a funky screen. lol

Newegg is also a great place to look for a monitor, sometimes they have them at half the price of amazon on sale, or clearance for the same unit.

Goodluck

a reply to: Realtruth

Well color me confused!
Seems OK to me today.
I suppose it could be going out....and if so, a new monitor will happen

Going to buy a backup VGA to VGA....they are cheap.

And, thanks for the Newegg tip...I forgot all about them!

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Without the argument over fixing or not.....smart phones, p.c.'s, laptops, tablets etc...are usually slightly outdated every 3-4 years in keeping up with tech. Arguments pro and con exist both ways.

If the p.c. itself still is fast, not over 1/2 full in storage with adequate RAM left...just grabbing a new big screen monitor is easy...and like my wife? She now has a 3 year old p.c. with a 32' flat screen monitor. Huge! Love it.

Me? My laptop (4 yrs old) needs new internal battery (I never use it not plugged in-have tab, smartphone etc to use)...and that internal batt. is around $75-125....where I can get a whole new laptop/netbook for around $225-300, and it will be technically up to date.

Just get a new monitor, flat, larger and with great color representation. Good luck

Monitor Problems:
Try plugging it into a different source to rule out monitor being the problem.
It could be the monitors back light circuit, could be swollen caps with a bad ESR value.
It might be a bad row of L.E.D's as well.

Card Problems:
It could also be a graphics card problem known as Artefacts likely causes of that are BGA(Ball Grid Array) solder joints being bad or BGA chip being bad.
Reflowing the graphics card might work temporarily but a reball is better and a new chip on card is better.


Worth fixing for yourself? Probably not, but at least give someone a chance to repair it.

Like donate it to someone who likes to tinker with electronics gumtree, craigs list, ebay.

Thanks for all the info and ideas!

The more I think about it, the more I realize this VGA/VGA is much older than the monitor or the tower.
Maybe close to ten years old.

Seems prudent to me to replace it first.

If it turns out to be anything more than the cable or monitor....well, the tower is refurbed as it is...

So far so good today.....

I remember my first computer.....had connection issues...and finally NO internet at all.
Turned out to be a bad cable.....now I have backup cables.....but not a VGA/VGA...although it is on order

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

About two years ago my monitor started to loose it fuctions..the screen had trouble starting up and more problems soon followed. I did a YouTube search in the hope somebody had simular problems and I was Lucky.

The person with the same problem showed me what to do to fix it.. it did cost me 25ct for a new capacitor. The old one was "bleeding" and needed to be replaced. I took it out from the monitor and soldered a new one in. Upto today my monitor is still working..

Maybe you will be Lucky too...

a reply to: zatara

Yea those buggers go out, but unless people are handy with a soldering iron, and the know how it's a tough nut to crack. Most people won't go that extra mile, but I've replaces a few capacitors myself for people and their monitors are still working.

Sometimes if the monitors are near a hot area, or something hot underneath the solder connections on the silica board will actually come out.

Someone chucked a $3000 HD TV out once and the only thing I did was reheat some broken solder joints inside. lol

a reply to: Realtruth

Yeah, solder is not my forte at all.
We have a local place we trust for repairs.....but I imagine that solder of a 25-cent piece would cost me $50.00....might as well get new.

If my hands were steadier, my eyes better and my body younger, I'd try to learn.
LOL
As it is, I am happy we can set up our computer and TV ourselves.
My limit is replacing batteries, RAM and hard drives.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I noticed you had an acer monitor, I shop here a lot because the deals are good. This is a larger screen for slightly over a hundred $

www.tigerdirect.com...

a reply to: Blender5L

Nice to know!
I forget about TigerDirect....
Thanks.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I'm a major geek, glad to help out. I'm looking to upgrade to this next www.tigerdirect.com..., if you need any tips let me know.

a reply to: Blender5L

Thanks!!!!
Much appreciated.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

The top light bulbs are out. If you take it apart, try connecting it to the lower transformer (that's all you can do). Otherwise it would be costly.

This happens if someone dropped the monitor while in use. Actually, the top bulb's transformer reduced its high voltage. To fix it, requires a little wiring and soldering skill.