monitor problem

Help please! All of a sudden my monitor has gray horizontal lines running through it. Some of the colors are very bright. The background is dark. It is very difficult to read any of the text. I thought it was my monitor, so I bought a new monitor and it does the same thing. Could it be my video card? And, if so, how do I fix it? Thanks in advance.

 

Hello Julie, welcome to Major Geeks.

There are a number of possible causes so work through them one at a time. We also really need some more info on your system, including the monitor.
What sort is it? particularly describe the connection between pc and monitor.
PC type (make/model?), age? operating system?
monitor type LCD or ?

Try this test

Restart in safe mode, by tapping F8 as the computer boots, before windows start to load.

You will see a list of boot options
select safe mode

Does the problem still occur?

 

As mentioned before this could be down to a few things. If you get the same result in safe mode, it is more than likely your graphics card. If the problem does not show in safe mode it is most probably your graphics card drivers.
Have you used the same cable to connect your new monitor to the PC, if so change it for a new one.
Are you using on-board graphics or do you have an actual graphics card?

 

Thank you for your quick responses!

It did the same thing in safe mode. I have an old (2001) Compaq Presario, AMD Athlon processor. I think the graphics card is NVIDIA GeForce2 MX? As you can tell I am not hardware savvy (not sure about the on-board graphics or graphic card, I am guessing the latter).

The new monitor is a Samsung SyncMaster LCD with all new cords and connections. I am pretty sure it is not the monitor now, because it is doing the same thing as the old monitor. I was really hoping that was the problem.

Julie

 

OK so the safe mode tests eliminates the drivers.

Do you know if the graphics is on board or a separate card?

Can you post a photo/sketch of the back of the pc or the details off the model plate/label?

Do you feel confident enough to carry out a physical internal clean of your pc?
The card may have burnt out due to overheating from dust accumulation or may just be loose.

Final question

What happens when you enter the BIOS (setup)?
Do this by watching the pc at power on and tapping a key, perhaps del or F2.

How is the display when using the BIOS?

I understand you have tested the monitor by substitution. Sometimes these effects can occur because of a bent or broken pin in the lead connectors or sockets, or a bad joint at the pc board. Or of couse a damaged lead. (cord if American)

 

If you're not sure if you have onboard graphics or a separate cord, look where the monitor cable plugs into your tower. Is the port near the keyboard, mouse, usb ports? or is it further down on one of the metal slots?

 

It is further down on one of the metal slots.