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OT...PC monitor is dark


epricedright

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My desktop pc monitor is now dark. The colors look neon, and the screen is very dark w/ lines through it. I swapped out monitors with a known good monitor, and same thing...dark. Both monitors look fine on the other pc. So could it be my video card or ???

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Check your settings to make sure that you are using the correct drivers and that you are using 32 bit color and not 16 colors.

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Another common fix for "monitor" problems, is to carefully remove and reset the video card.

1. Turn off power, unplugging unit is safest.

2. Remove computer access cover

3. Before touching anything else, touch the metal chassis. This will remove any static charge that you may have.

4. Remove the video card, handle carefully.

5. Wipe off the contacts with a clean lint-less cloth that has a small amount of alcohol on it.

6. Replace video card. Be sure it is fully set.

7. Power up and hope for the best.

-George

Drive'em like you own 'em. - ....................04 DTS............................

DTS_Signature.jpg

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Check your settings to make sure that you are using the correct drivers and that you are using 32 bit color and not 16 colors.

I went to the Device Manager and the settings appear correct; the correct driver, says it's working correctly, and the driver is up to date. I am using 32 bit color as well. I will try what George said to do tomorrow and keep my fingers crossed. Thanks Mike & George.

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Another common fix for "monitor" problems, is to carefully remove and reset the video card.

1. Turn off power, unplugging unit is safest.

2. Remove computer access cover

3. Before touching anything else, touch the metal chassis. This will remove any static charge that you may have.

4. Remove the video card, handle carefully.

5. Wipe off the contacts with a clean lint-less cloth that has a small amount of alcohol on it.

6. Replace video card. Be sure it is fully set.

7. Power up and hope for the best.

-George

So if that doesn't work, am I gonna need a new video card? What's a good card nowadays and who has the best prices. I'd like to avoid eBay for these types of items. I've heard there are many sellers there that sell opened or refurbished PC merchandise as new.

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What kind of computer do you have? Some have built in video on the mother board. If that is the case you will have to disable it in the bios before you put in a new video card. You will also have to find out if you have an AGP slot or only PCI slots. You should also remove the old video drivers before you remove the old card and install the new one. Are you a gamer or do you only use your computer for computer stuff?

ATI and Nvida processor cards are both good and come in a wide range of RAM sizes. If your not a gamer you can get 64MEG card for pretty cheap. Check out CompUsa or Frys or even Circuit city. If your a gamer you should get at least a 256 MEG card.

Jeff

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Does the monitor make a high pitch sound or is it getting hotter than usual? Just trying to give tips to make sure it's not your monitor.

No noise and not hot. I have 2 monitors that look bad with this pc and look fine on the other pc. So it has to be the pc.

What kind of computer do you have? Some have built in video on the mother board. If that is the case you will have to disable it in the bios before you put in a new video card. You will also have to find out if you have an AGP slot or only PCI slots. You should also remove the old video drivers before you remove the old card and install the new one. Are you a gamer or do you only use your computer for computer stuff?

ATI and Nvida processor cards are both good and come in a wide range of RAM sizes. If your not a gamer you can get 64MEG card for pretty cheap. Check out CompUsa or Frys or even Circuit city. If your a gamer you should get at least a 256 MEG card.

Jeff

It's a Compaq Presario 7110US 7000 series, 1.3 Ghz AMD Athlon, 640MB RAM, Has a 64MB Nvidia GeForceZ MX Graphics card w/ tv out, PCI Bus 1. Not sure if I have AGP slots.

My kids game and I do on occasion, so a better card would be nice.

I would disable the current driver and install an updated one from techsupport website of your manufacturer (say Toshiba).

Dumb question: If I disable the driver, will I be able to see my monitor when doing the update?

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What Operating System are you using? Do you know how to prepare your PC for a new video card? How to boot in "Safe" or "VGA" mode?

Not trying to talk down to you, just want to make sure you're fully prepared for the job at hand. ;)

Regards,

Warren

EDIT: Oops, you typed faster than I did.

Posted Image

There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises

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What Operating System are you using? Do you know how to prepare your PC for a new video card? How to boot in "Safe" or "VGA" mode?

Not trying to talk down to you, just want to make sure you're fully prepared for the job at hand. ;)

Regards,

Warren

EDIT: Oops, you typed faster than I did.

Windows XP. No, I'm not sure how to prepare for this, never have done it. I'm no techie, but know just a little. I've taken sound cards and RAM in and out, not video cards. I've done boots in safe mode w/ phone tech support only. Not sure if I remember how to do that...hit F8 repeatedly after restarting maybe? So what are the steps involved exactly? Thanks for the help everybody!

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There is no question your video card, or board set has passed on. Had the same thing happen many times in my youth while overclocking video cards. Had the heat sink actually melt off a Gforce 2 when I was younger. It was spectacular. A replacememt card should be reasonably priced and unless you play alot of brand new games or do video editing you wouldn't benefit from an expensive card. A PC is only so fast and you'll waste the potential of a high end card. You need to identify the type of interface (AGP, PCI, ect.) and find an appropriate card. Odds are good you have an AGP interface. With PCI express comming down the pipe there are lots of great AGP cards going for cheap right now. Just be advised that the brand of the card matters as much as the chip it runs of of. An Nvidia powered ASUS card would be a much better investment than lets say an MSI card with comprable features. This seems to be a more common problem as I've replaced the AGP cards in almost all of the crappy Sony PCs at work for similar symptoms.

Best of luck,

--Ben

P.S. Tiger Direct is a great place to find a decent card cheap

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There is no question your video card, or board set has passed on. Had the same thing happen many times in my youth while overclocking video cards. Had the heat sink actually melt off a Gforce 2 when I was younger. It was spectacular. A replacememt card should be reasonably priced and unless you play alot of brand new games or do video editing you wouldn't benefit from an expensive card. A PC is only so fast and you'll waste the potential of a high end card. You need to identify the type of interface (AGP, PCI, ect.) and find an appropriate card. Odds are good you have an AGP interface. With PCI express comming down the pipe there are lots of great AGP cards going for cheap right now. Just be advised that the brand of the card matters as much as the chip it runs of of. An Nvidia powered ASUS card would be a much better investment than lets say an MSI card with comprable features. This seems to be a more common problem as I've replaced the AGP cards in almost all of the crappy Sony PCs at work for similar symptoms.

Best of luck,

--Ben

P.S. Tiger Direct is a great place to find a decent card cheap

How do I determine if I have an AGP interface...please keep in mind, I don't even know what AGP is? In the Device Manager, it mentioned PCI Bus 1 when I was looking at the video card. I do some novice video editing...when I have time. :)

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How do I determine if I have an AGP interface...please keep in mind, I don't even know what AGP is? In the Device Manager, it mentioned PCI Bus 1 when I was looking at the video card. I do some novice video editing...when I have time. :)

If Device Manager says PCI, I'd go with that. However, AGP has been popular for several years now. How old is your PC? Did you check its specs at Compaq's website?

Open your PC. If your video card is in a slot that is the same size as the adjacent PCI slots then your card is PCI. If the video card slot is smaller than than the adjacent PCI slots, then it's AGP (certainly it's NOT PCI). Then there's the question: is it AGP, AGPx2, AGPx4 etc. I'd have a looksee at the Compaq or GeForce sites to find out.

In answer to your previous question, yes, hit F8 to enter "Safe Mode" when booting Windows.

Safe Mode (your friend) loads only that software and those drivers *absolutely necessary* for a minimally functional PC. This allows you to individually add back in programs and drivers to determine which is causing any current problems. In your case it will use a low resolution "generic" video card driver which in turn will allow you to load the correct driver for your new video card.

Regards,

Warren :D

Posted Image

There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises

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How do I determine if I have an AGP interface...please keep in mind, I don't even know what AGP is? In the Device Manager, it mentioned PCI Bus 1 when I was looking at the video card. I do some novice video editing...when I have time. :)

If Device Manager says PCI, I'd go with that. However, AGP has been popular for several years now. How old is your PC? Did you check its specs at Compaq's website?

Open your PC. If your video card is in a slot that is the same size as the adjacent PCI slots then your card is PCI. If the video card slot is smaller than than the adjacent PCI slots, then it's AGP (certainly it's NOT PCI). Then there's the question: is it AGP, AGPx2, AGPx4 etc. I'd have a looksee at the Compaq or GeForce sites to find out.

In answer to your previous question, yes, hit F8 to enter "Safe Mode" when booting Windows.

Safe Mode (your friend) loads only that software and those drivers *absolutely necessary* for a minimally functional PC. This allows you to individually add back in programs and drivers to determine which is causing any current problems. In your case it will use a low resolution "generic" video card driver which in turn will allow you to load the correct driver for your new video card.

Regards,

Warren :D

I looked at the compaq website...no info on whether I have AGP or PCI. The PC is 4.5 yrs old. I just noticed a sticker on the side of the case that says: 5PCI Expansion slots, 1-4X AGP Expansion Slot and 7 Drive Bays. I guess that means I have an AGP slot, but doesn't tell me if my video card is in a AGP slot.

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I looked at the compaq website...no info on whether I have AGP or PCI. The PC is 4.5 yrs old. I just noticed a sticker on the side of the case that says: 5PCI Expansion slots, 1-4X AGP Expansion Slot and 7 Drive Bays. I guess that means I have an AGP slot, but doesn't tell me if my video card is in a AGP slot.

Done. The Eagle has landed!

Buy an AGPx4 speed card (the max for your system *and* inexpensive). Just put it in the AGP slot. If you find a good price on a faster speed card, by all means buy it if you're a gamer or editor and plan to upgrade your current box with a faster AGP motherboard real soon. First, however, make certain it (the card) is backswards compatible with slower AGP consoles. Almost certainly it WILL be.

If you don't plan an upgrade shortly, save your money. Technology will quickly pass you by and your next PC will probably do time-travel and a few other things we haven't yet heard of. :D

It sux being the last one in your neighborhood with a video card that won't do time-portals. :angry:

Regards,

Warren

Posted Image

There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises

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Actually, before you run out and buy a new card, try swapping the video SIGNAL cable with another one. I skimmed through the posts on this thread, and didn't see that you checked that route.

What leads me to believe that it MAY be the cable is the fact that both monitors worked OK on other computers. This eliminates the monitor as the trouble spot.

Leaving the CARD, and/or the CABLE.

Most people would be suprised at how often cables are the cause of sudden H/W problems.

It's a cheap fix if it is, and a lot less troublesome than swapping out cards, reloading drivers, etc. esp. if you are somewhat new at the game.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard P. Feynman

user posted image

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turn off your pc and carefully remove your video card. On one side you should see a large metal box-shaped piece, this is a heatsink, turn over the card and look directly on the opposite of the board under the location of where the heatsink is - if it looks discolored, or a different, usually darker color then the rest of the board, you have a bad video card.

See it all the time in my shop.

-dave B)

Crystal Red Tintcoat Exterior | Shale/Brownstone Interior | 32k

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Try setting the monitor refresh rate to the lowest value, say 60hz for example. The current refresh rate for the monitor may be out of range for the video card to render. I use a 3 monitor setup (3 seperate vid cards) and my 2 side monitor vid cards aren't as good as the center one. I can easily duplicate your symptoms if I set the refresh rate too high. Good luck.

"Burns" rubber

" I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. "

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Most of the video drivers that come with HP Pavilions are made by nVidia. nVidia's site offers a driver solution that is easily upgradeable across most or all of the nVidia video technologies. Some of the video technologies that HP uses are: Vanta, TNT, TNT2, TNT2 Pro 16 and 32, GeForce, and GeForce 2.

For AnandTech November 2005 price guide and reccomendations go here

http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2606&p=4

Has anything "changed" in your computer room since the monitor started acting bad? Magnetic forces will play havoc, or a fan for instance. Have you tried "re-seating the card in its slot? Is the cable tight?

I saw in your previous post that you have an AGP 4x video slot.

This is what is reccommended for a "midrange" video card. YUou could get buy on a lesser but this would go a long way.

Looking at the 6600 GT front, we have the XFX GeForce 6600GT (AGP) 128MB [RTPE: PV-T43A-ND]

http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=1297

leading the pack, going for an even $130 after a $20 MIR. This is about as much as we would recommend spending on AGP card, given that few if any motherboards will support it in the future.

Here is a cheaper solution

eVGA GeForce 6200 256MB

Manufacturer: eVGA, Category: AGP NVIDIA Video > GeForce 6200

OEM SKU: 256-A8-N341

http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=4158

(Found 10 links)

$74.00 at NewEgg

$64.00 After Rebate

Week Change +$7.90

Price History

Other Vendors

Specifications

Click an image or graph for larger view

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Actually, before you run out and buy a new card, try swapping the video SIGNAL cable with another one. I skimmed through the posts on this thread, and didn't see that you checked that route.

What leads me to believe that it MAY be the cable is the fact that both monitors worked OK on other computers. This eliminates the monitor as the trouble spot.

Leaving the CARD, and/or the CABLE.

Most people would be suprised at how often cables are the cause of sudden H/W problems.

It's a cheap fix if it is, and a lot less troublesome than swapping out cards, reloading drivers, etc. esp. if you are somewhat new at the game.

When I swapped out monitors, I swapped the cables as well, so it's not the cable.

Try setting the monitor refresh rate to the lowest value, say 60hz for example. The current refresh rate for the monitor may be out of range for the video card to render. I use a 3 monitor setup (3 seperate vid cards) and my 2 side monitor vid cards aren't as good as the center one. I can easily duplicate your symptoms if I set the refresh rate too high. Good luck.

The other monitor is set to 60hz

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Has anything "changed" in your computer room since the monitor started acting bad? Magnetic forces will play havoc, or a fan for instance. Have you tried "re-seating the card in its slot? Is the cable tight?

No, nothing had changed when it went bad. The weird thing is, when it went south, was the morning of the hack here at this site. Isn't that ironic? At first I thought he had screwed with my computer somehow. :blink:

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I'm gonna try reseating the card before I purchase another card. I currently have a CRT monitor. To upgrade to a flat panel monitor, do I need a video card with a DVI output?

And, when choosing a card, if the card says AGP 8X and the specs don't indicate 4X, then should I presume it's not backwards compatible with my 4X interface? I noticed some AGP 8X cards will have 4X listed in the specs, while most 8X don't have 4X listed.

And when I disable the video driver, will I be able to see my monitor without going into safe mode? Should I download the new drivers for the new card to my desktop to have them ready to install before the R&R?

Here is a cheaper solution

eVGA GeForce 6200 256MB

Manufacturer: eVGA, Category: AGP NVIDIA Video > GeForce 6200

OEM SKU: 256-A8-N341

http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=4158

(Found 10 links)

$74.00 at NewEgg

$64.00 After Rebate

Week Change +$7.90

Price History

Other Vendors

Specifications

Click an image or graph for larger view

With 256 MB, this one looks decent for the price. Is eVGA a decent brand?

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I'm gonna try reseating the card before I purchase another card. I currently have a CRT monitor. To upgrade to a flat panel monitor, do I need a video card with a DVI output?

And, when choosing a card, if the card says AGP 8X and the specs don't indicate 4X, then should I presume it's not backwards compatible with my 4X interface? I noticed some AGP 8X cards will have 4X listed in the specs, while most 8X don't have 4X listed.

And when I disable the video driver, will I be able to see my monitor without going into safe mode? Should I download the new drivers for the new card to my desktop to have them ready to install before the R&R?

Here is a cheaper solution

eVGA GeForce 6200 256MB

Manufacturer: eVGA, Category: AGP NVIDIA Video > GeForce 6200

OEM SKU: 256-A8-N341

http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=4158

(Found 10 links)

$74.00 at NewEgg

$64.00 After Rebate

Week Change +$7.90

Price History

Other Vendors

Specifications

Click an image or graph for larger view

With 256 MB, this one looks decent for the price. Is eVGA a decent brand?

Here at tigerdirect, it doesn't say it's for 4X - has listed 8X, while at anandTech it says 4X/8X...confusing. :blink:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Se...&Tab=2&NoMapp=0

http://labs.anandtech.com/alllinks.php?pfilter=4158

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