Monitor trouble

[MigLancer]

My 17" CTX monitor (Sony Trinitron tube) has aquired this blue tint on the lower left corner - do you have any ideas what's going on?... :eek: :confused:
I tried wiping the dust off, but it seems that is more serious than that... :)

[Cricket]

Hi MigLancer,

Your screen may need degaussing, or the electron gun in the monitor could be going bad. Also, the coating on the inside of the monitor tube does break down over time.

How old is that monitor? If it's past the warranty period, you may want to just buy a new one rather than have the old one repaired. The repairs could cost more than the price of a new monitor.

:) Cricket

[MigLancer]

The thing is - the monitor is just over 2 years old... I hoped it would last more than this... The warranty was only 12 mths, unfortunately.
Actually, the blue patch today is slightly worse than yesterday, but not bigger... I tried degaussing - no joy...

[MigLancer]

I forgot to mentioned that I have a 14" TV - a Sony trinitron - it has the same problem, in the same lower left corner, but the patch is red-ish... I know a TV is different in some way, but I wonder if this is a Sony Trinitron problem...

[Cricket]

Hi MigLancer,

If the problem occurs on another monitor, the problem may lie with the video card or the monitor cable. Are you able to try different ones?

Also, are you using the latest drivers available for the video card? What video card are you using anyway? Also, what operating system are you using?

Here's another thing you can try: restart your PC and when you see "Verifying DMI pool..." start clicking on the F8 key or hold the Ctrl key to get to the Boot Menu. Choose Safe Mode and let the PC boot up. Once in Safe Mode, go to Start> Settings> Control Panel> System> click on the Device Manager tab. Once in Device Manager, click on the "+" sign next to the monitor icon and see if you have multiple monitor entries. If you do have multiples, delete the extra entries (or delete them all...Windows will re-detect the devices) and then reboot the PC. I don't know if this will help with your problem, but it's good housekeeping to keep your system "clean".

:) Cricket

[MigLancer]

I did have multiple monitor entries indeed. I got rid of both and rebooted and it selected itself... there's only one now. However that didn't fix the problem.

My videocard is a Voodoo5 5500 AGP, but I have the feeling this is a monitor problem.

The patch seem to get better or worse, but is still there. it doesn't stop me from seeing what's on the screen, but spending nearly £300 on it I expected it to last a bit (read that "a lot") more than two years... :(

Cricket, you were saying this could be a cable problem... Please explain... at least I'll have an explanation if nothing else - the cable is built-in so it cannot be changed... :mad:

Thanks Cricket for your answers - I am still open to suggestions.

Cheers

[mikeL]

migLancer when you try the 14" monitor is it in the same area as the 17"? maybe you have something magnetic near the corner of the monitor, unshielded speakers will do this.

[MigLancer]

mikeL,

The 14" -er is a TV - I referred to it because it has a similar problem and it uses a Trinitron tube, just like my monitor... I wondered if this could be a Trinitron feature...

I have speakers next to the monitor - about 10" away from it, but they are shielded - or so are advertised... on second thoughts they were rather cheap, but the sound is good. anyway I removed them - back to headphones :eek:

If this was caused by the speakers, will the monitor get back to normal?

Cheers

[mikeL]

MigLancer If your speakers are 10 inches away then that probably is'nt the problem the magnets usually are not that strong, maybe move them away from the monitor and see if it gets better. It may take a few days.

[Cricket]

Hi MigLancer,

Cable built into your monitor, huh? So is mine. Some monitors have a separate cable that connects to a port on the video card and one on the monitor.

Here's a long shot, do you have a fluorescent lamp near the monitor? If the base has a transformer in it and it's near your monitor, it could be affecting the on-screen image.

Just a thought.

:) Cricket

[MigLancer]

Nope - there's nothing else close to the monitor - maybe except the cable modem, about 10" away from it - but I figure this shouldn't harm anything.

I know - fixed cable is not a good idea, but the monitor was cheaper than other's manufacturers...

I sent an email to CTX UK support - I hope they'll answer. Also, I checked the paperwork and it seems that I have three year manufacturer's warranty :)
They will repair/replace it if it was a manufacturing fault. The problem is how we establish that. :confused:

Cheers

[RE2]

Positor in degauss circuit is defective or loose solder joints.
Most monitors come with a 3 year or 5 year warranty.

Do you have kids or kids visiting? Most of these problems are from them funking around the screen with magnets. :rolleyes:

If so then there is a possibilty the wire aperature grid (in your case) or the shadow mask is warped/magnetized.

Sometimes a proffesional degaus coil can fix things up. If not then your hooped.:eek:

[Roadfish]

Sounds like your monitor went south. If degaussing didn't help then a new monitor is in order. Judging by your symptoms it isn't a fault of your video card. A "blotchy" part of your display usually indicates a bad monitor.

I know that a monitor should last a few years but sometimes they don't. "Early Life Failure" sometimes rears it's ugly head.

In the service business there are two "rules of thumb"....
There are two types of hard drives...one's that have died and one's that soon will.

It's not unusual..."new" monitors flake out and need replaced. Poo Poo occurs.

[MigLancer]

Thank you all for your replies.

I was very p***** off with CTX for this, but as it was still in warranty, I contact them and they offered to replace it. Today an email announced that they'll pick it up tomorrow and:
Quote:
"The unit that we will leave you with is yours to keep so you have no need to
worry about anything once the exchange has taken place."

I'll keep you informed about what happens tomorrow. If everything goes OK, I'll say "Well done CTX!"...

Cheers

:)

[glc]

Yep - you really can't complain about a manufacturer if they have decent warranty and customer service. ANY piece of electronic or mechanical equipment CAN fail at any time no matter how well it's constructed.

[MigLancer]

Thanks again for your help!

The new monitor was delivered - it's actually a newer version than mine, with a 100% flat tube.

I guess the guys at CTX deserve a pat on their back.

:cool: