Monitor issues ........ I think.

Hey all,
About 3 weeks ago I started having intermittent issues with my display.
It's a Samsung 2033SWPLUS and about 2 1/2 years old.

First, the screen resolution would suddenly change and I'd have to go into to control panel to change it back. That lasted for a couple of weeks.

Now, for the last week the screen keeps flickering to black.
It only lasts 1 or 2 seconds and when it comes back the windows are no longer full screen.
If I happen to be watching a video when it flickers, it freezes and comes back with a 2 inch black stripe up the left hand side.

I've tried a few thing to try and figure out what was causing it but haven't had any luck pinning it down.
1. System Restore
2. Trend Titanium, SAS and MBAM
3. Hard Drive Diagnostics
4. Memtest86+

As yet I haven't been able to find diagnostic tools for the PSU, Graphics Card (Gainward GTS250 1G) or the Motherboard ( Gigabyte P55-USB3 ).

I finally tried switching monitors with a different PC and while a different monitor worked fine on this PC, my monitor kept flickering to black every couple of seconds and the screen resolution went crazy on the other PC.

Now I'm stumped.
Does anyone know if this is something I can fix or am I going to be up for a new monitor ?

Thanks.

 

my money would have been on GPU but as our monitor is doing that on another PC its a safe bet its that. Might be worth trying a different cable but it sounds like monitor prob to me. sorry

 

I hadn't thought of trying a different cable, I'll give it a whirl this afternoon.
Thanks for the suggestion.

 

The fact it does this on the 2nd computer confirms the problem is with the monitor. I doubt it is the cable. Cables don't just go bad, unless abused and physically damaged. It certainly would not hurt to try another cable but don't get your hopes up with that. If it is a cable problem, it is more likely due to a loose cable - so make sure both ends are securely fastened.

Going to black is a classic symptom of inverter and/or CCFL (the flourescent tube light) backlight failure. To confirm, shine a flashlight into the black area and look real close. If you can see objects and windows on your Windows Desktop, that's an inverter/CCFL problem.

Most inverter/CCFL replacement parts cost around $100 to $150, plus 1 - 2 hours labor - so a new monitor might be more cost effective. That said, Samsungs are noted for reliability so this is a bit odd. While I realize until Man can create perfection 100% of the time, there will be premature failures. Still, with this being less than 3 years old, I would check your warranty information.

However, the inverter/CCFL does not explain resolutions changing. Resolutions are established via handshaking (communication) between Windows and your graphics solution (card or integrated), then, in turn, between the graphics solution and the monitor. With it working fine with another monitor, it again points to your monitor.

 

Thanks for the help guys.

Sorry I didn't get back to this thread sooner, I've spent the last week dealing with some other glitches in the system.

I tried the thing with the torch but the flickering was too fast to get a good look at what was going on.

I did however get my hands on a new cable and so far it's been 24 hours with no problems. :dancer

Keep your fingers crossed for me that that's all it was.

Thanks again.

 

That's interesting. Cables don't normally go bad, unless abused and physically damaged in some way. A cheap cable, if causing problems, typically causes the problems from day one.

I would be tempted to try the old cable again - ensuring it was securely fastened.

 

Im suprised too. It was really a punt that it is cheaper to replace the cable as a first check than the whole monitor.