Strange problem with only 1 monitor - wtf? - Hardware & Software

Hello, I'm having a weird problem with my monitor, if I turn it off and return to it a while later (overnight, going out etc) when I turn it on it will kind of flash the image for 0.5 second and then go back to being off for 2 seconds, flash, go off etc and eventually after a minute or so it stays on properly. Only my main monitor is doing this, my second one is fine. I have turned off all hard drive sleep, monitor sleep and PC sleep options so my PC is always running. Also, if I turn off my monitor and turn it on again straight away it is fine. I am on the Windows 7 RTM with updated Nvidia drivers, this problem was not present on Windows 7 7100 or Windows XP. What on earth is wrong? Thanks

Are they both the same monitor, and if not, maybe it's just the way that particular monitor does things.

It's your monitor most likely dieing. It's having a hard time loading up the light (or bulb, whatever).

No they are different monitors, and I doubt its dieing I've had it less than a year and it is a good quality screen

Okay, the problem seems to be worsening. Now it doesn't seem to fix itself for a much longer time. Also the problem is still happening if I turned the whole PC off overnight. I am really worried about this, there must be a solution! Also, what may be interesting is that when I see the monitor flash on for the small amount of time, in the top left I can see the monitor showing ANALOG. Maybe it is having difficulty switching to either Analog or Digital?

Sounds like a croak of death to me. Especially if it is growing worse.

Yeah, your monitor is dying. What brand and model is it? If you're any good with soldering you might be able to crack it open and fix it (I'm trying to do that now to my monitor).

It's a Samsung SyncMaster 206BW. I'm going to phone Samsung customer support tomorrow and try and get a new one on warranty. Really sucks cus it's a damn nice screen.

Okay, my PC is royally fucked. I was playing GTA and the screen started showing these strange purple pixels jumping all over the screen. I thought this was something that has been called "dancing pixels", I knew about these as some people had talked about them on forums whilst I was looking for information related to my current problem. But this stopped and something even worse started going on.. on both monitors... So I think I now have a problem with my graphics card aswell, or maybe the graphics card is the source of the first problem too? It is an Nvidia 8600 and the PC is less than 2 years old. Here is a video (only 1mb) [url]http://www.mediafire.com/?zimcnyudxgu[/url] Please. I need some help!

I'd say it's your graphics card, 8600's aren't particularly strong cards and I wouldn't like to power two monitors with one of them for any reasonable amount of time. Perhaps look for a new card? You should be able to get something better quite easily as there are many bargains to be had.

Would anyone else agree with Adrego?

I have no reason in doubt to believe the 8600 is dying, but however I am in question of your graphics drivers, Post your driver version please.

Nvidia 8 series drivers version 8.15.11.9038 Kiwi did you watch the video I posted? I think because now I had a problem with both monitors something is wrong with my video card? I dont know.. this just fucking sucks

try switching monitors, and see if the other one does the same thing, if it does then it's your GPU acting up, if it doesn't then it's the other monitor.

[QUOTE=dcss;16882915]Nvidia 8 series drivers version 8.15.11.9038 Kiwi did you watch the video I posted? I think because now I had a problem with both monitors something is wrong with my video card? I dont know.. this just fucking sucks[/QUOTE] I can't watch the .mp4 because my Phone nor my .mp4 player wants to fucking play the bastard :/

[QUOTE=dcss;16879711]Okay, my PC is royally fucked. I was playing GTA and the screen started showing these strange purple pixels jumping all over the screen. I thought this was something that has been called "dancing pixels", I knew about these as some people had talked about them on forums whilst I was looking for information related to my current problem. But this stopped and something even worse started going on.. on both monitors... So I think I now have a problem with my graphics card aswell, or maybe the graphics card is the source of the first problem too? It is an Nvidia 8600 and the PC is less than 2 years old. Here is a video (only 1mb) [url]http://www.mediafire.com/?zimcnyudxgu[/url] Please. I need some help![/QUOTE] Definitely something wrong with the card, what are your temps like?

[QUOTE=~Kiwi~;16893395]I can't watch the .mp4 because my Phone nor my .mp4 player wants to fucking play the bastard :/[/QUOTE] I have uploaded the video to youtube, but it hasnt been processed just yet [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbIt9w81ur0[/url] [editline]11:23AM[/editline] [QUOTE=Roast Beast;16894025]Definitely something wrong with the card, what are your temps like?[/QUOTE] At the moment I'm just simply on the internet and it's sitting at about 70C. I assume this is quite bad lol.

[QUOTE=dcss;16897084]I have uploaded the video to youtube, but it hasnt been processed just yet [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbIt9w81ur0[/url] [editline]11:23AM[/editline] At the moment I'm just simply on the internet and it's sitting at about 70C. I assume this is quite bad lol.[/QUOTE] Yeah 70C idle is too hot. Pull it out of the computer and give it a good cleaning, then see what the new temps are like.

[QUOTE=dcss;16897084]I have uploaded the video to youtube, but it hasnt been processed just yet [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbIt9w81ur0[/url] [editline]11:23AM[/editline] At the moment I'm just simply on the internet and it's sitting at about 70C. I assume this is quite bad lol.[/QUOTE] Holy shit, that is 1 fucked up Graphics card, I am now clueless on this one, Either get a new Graphics card, OR Get a new graphics card, :/

Monitor's capacitor is fucked. Get it serviced. Only 2 or so parts have to be replaced so it won't be expensive.

[QUOTE=Roast Beast;16899980]Yeah 70C idle is too hot. Pull it out of the computer and give it a good cleaning, then see what the new temps are like.[/QUOTE] Those temps ARE after a good cleaning! I took out all the dust, spent like an hour doing it and I also replaced my 300w PSU with a 500W one.

[QUOTE=dcss;16908790]Those temps ARE after a good cleaning! I took out all the dust, spent like an hour doing it and I also replaced my 300w PSU with a 500W one.[/QUOTE] Wow, that's not good. What's your case like? Maybe it's not getting enough airflow.

[QUOTE=Roast Beast;16908870]Wow, that's not good. What's your case like? Maybe it's not getting enough airflow.[/QUOTE] It's just a dell case, I'm using a Dell Inspiron 530. The case is quite small and only has one fan :/

[QUOTE=dcss;16919508]It's just a dell case, I'm using a Dell Inspiron 530. The case is quite small and only has one fan :/[/QUOTE] Stop having a shitty case.

[QUOTE=jmazouri;16919832]Stop having a shitty case.[/QUOTE] Stop trolling.

Thing is, I'm not even sure if I can use another case because it's a dell system so they might have made the motherboard unremoveable. They did that in my last dell system :/ I can't check at the moment though because I am at my cousins house for a few days. I think what I might do is find a program that can control my GPU's fan and just have to have it at 100% all the time to get acceptable temps.

Sounds like your monitor is starting to die on you. LCD's always do that after along time of use.

[QUOTE=computerwizard;16954973]Sounds like your monitor is starting to die on you. LCD's always do that after along time of use.[/QUOTE] But it's not even that old! I bought it on the 1st October 2007, less than 2 years ago. I have a crappy dell LCD that I'm using at the same time that is about 7 years old which is doing just fine. [editline]08:26PM[/editline] Okay, so I tried using just 1 monitor and it is not flickering on and off, where as the Samsung still does this even though it's not connected to my PC. Seems like it was a monitor issue so I will contact Samsung and try to get a new one on warranty.

[QUOTE=jmazouri;16919832]Stop having a shitty case.[/QUOTE] STOP HAVING A SHITTY CASE, STOP HAVING A SHITTY LIFE. Now back on track, it seems as though the issue is your graphics card, as I don't think what I saw in your video could be caused by a faulty monitor. 70c as an idle temp is not good, my old ones would hit 65c under heavy load and the most (and that was when they usually bluescreen'd with nvlddmkm.sys) Personally, I would suggest you try the following things in this order: 1) try a different monitor -1.1) if it works fine on the new monitor, call your monitor's tech support and ask for a replacement monitor -1.2) if the new monitor also is faulty, continue to step 2 2) try a different device on the monitor (game console or another computer) -2.1) if the monitors still fault on the new device, call your monitor's tech support and ask for a replacement monitor -2.2) if the monitor's work fine, continue to step 3 3) your graphics card is the cause of the issue, try these steps to see if they help you at all (you may skip ones that you have already completed) -3.1) give the card a nice cleaning, a little dust can heat your graphics card up quite a bit -3.2) turn your computer on, make sure that the fan on your graphics card is spinning --3.2.1) if it isn't, your fan's busted and that is causing excessive heat to the card, try getting a replacement fan --3.2.2) if the fan is slow, try using a program like speedfan to increase fan speeds and see if that lowers your temps --3.2.3) if the fan is slow and speedfan can't make your fans spin faster, try grabbing a PCI slot fan and insert it under your graphics card to cool it off even more, I recommend [url=http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0241091]this one,[/url] because it's the one I am currently using in my computer, you can get a smaller one though -3.3) if all else fails, and your warranty is up, you can get a relatively cheap new graphics card that will work much better, [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150424]this one[/url] is $70 and will run much better. I think there are some 4670's on newegg as well. I'll let you decide if you like ATI or NVidia better, they are both good in my opinon, I just choose NVidia because the hammer text glitch is annoying, even with the fix it gets annoying to turn the setting on and off everytime I want to use Hammer

[QUOTE=robmaister12;16969484]STOP HAVING A SHITTY CASE, STOP HAVING A SHITTY LIFE. Now back on track, it seems as though the issue is your graphics card, as I don't think what I saw in your video could be caused by a faulty monitor. 70c as an idle temp is not good, my old ones would hit 65c under heavy load and the most (and that was when they usually bluescreen'd with nvlddmkm.sys) Personally, I would suggest you try the following things in this order: 1) try a different monitor -1.1) if it works fine on the new monitor, call your monitor's tech support and ask for a replacement monitor -1.2) if the new monitor also is faulty, continue to step 2 2) try a different device on the monitor (game console or another computer) -2.1) if the monitors still fault on the new device, call your monitor's tech support and ask for a replacement monitor -2.2) if the monitor's work fine, continue to step 3 3) your graphics card is the cause of the issue, try these steps to see if they help you at all (you may skip ones that you have already completed) -3.1) give the card a nice cleaning, a little dust can heat your graphics card up quite a bit -3.2) turn your computer on, make sure that the fan on your graphics card is spinning --3.2.1) if it isn't, your fan's busted and that is causing excessive heat to the card, try getting a replacement fan --3.2.2) if the fan is slow, try using a program like speedfan to increase fan speeds and see if that lowers your temps --3.2.3) if the fan is slow and speedfan can't make your fans spin faster, try grabbing a PCI slot fan and insert it under your graphics card to cool it off even more, I recommend [url=http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0241091]this one,[/url] because it's the one I am currently using in my computer, you can get a smaller one though -3.3) if all else fails, and your warranty is up, you can get a relatively cheap new graphics card that will work much better, [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150424]this one[/url] is $70 and will run much better. I think there are some 4670's on newegg as well. I'll let you decide if you like ATI or NVidia better, they are both good in my opinon, I just choose NVidia because the hammer text glitch is annoying, even with the fix it gets annoying to turn the setting on and off everytime I want to use Hammer[/QUOTE] Thanks for the reply, I have just got off the phone with Samsung and they are sending me a replacement screen shortly. I have deduced it wasn't my graphics card as I am using a different screen on the PC and it's working fine, and the problem still happens on the other screen even though it isn't plugged into my GFX card! Although, I think I might as well upgrade my graphics card anyway, 8600 are quite outdated. Oh and, does anyone know of any UK sites similar to newegg? The 9800 on newegg is fucking LOADS cheaper than most of the sites i've looked at over here.