A friend with a Compaq Presario running WIN ME with a Nvidia Vanta LT video adapter is getting horizontal lines on her monitor. They do not show up as pronounced when she just has her desktop up but when she opens Outlook Express, all the lines and boxes show lines that kind of look like shadows. They extend to both sides of the monitor screen. When the connection manager comes up in the center of the screen, there is a shadowy extension of the box to both sides. I have updated the video driver and have changed the various display settings with no luck. Any other suggestions?
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Horizontal lines on monitor
Home » Forums » AskWoody support » PC hardware » Questions: How to troubleshoot hardware problems » Horizontal lines on monitor
- This topic has 24 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 20 years, 10 months ago.
Viewing 6 reply threadsAuthorReplies-
WSLeif
AskWoody Lounger -
WStrebor
AskWoody Lounger -
WSbigaldoc
AskWoody LoungerAugust 1, 2004 at 9:54 am #858273Trebor, you should follow the above suggestions, but I can tell you that I’ve got a 17″ sitting on the floor next to my other computer that had the EXACT symptoms you describe. I too tried all manner of settings adjustments, both in Windows and the monitor, including degaussing. Mine was pretty conclusively the monitor since it was attached to a KVM and looked the same way on both computers. I’d guess swapping in a (temp) monitor will tell the story.
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WSbigaldoc
AskWoody LoungerAugust 1, 2004 at 9:54 am #858274Trebor, you should follow the above suggestions, but I can tell you that I’ve got a 17″ sitting on the floor next to my other computer that had the EXACT symptoms you describe. I too tried all manner of settings adjustments, both in Windows and the monitor, including degaussing. Mine was pretty conclusively the monitor since it was attached to a KVM and looked the same way on both computers. I’d guess swapping in a (temp) monitor will tell the story.
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WSLeif
AskWoody Lounger -
WSLeif
AskWoody Lounger -
WSFish
AskWoody LoungerAugust 2, 2004 at 10:25 am #858600To follow on from Viking’s point, is this an LCD monitor?
LCDs have a native resolution, that is to say an optimal resolution the monitor is designed for. With most, it tends to be either 1280×1024 or 1024×768. Setting the monitor to anything other than its native resolution can produce effects similar to those you describe.
Please, report back if there are any developments.
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WSFish
AskWoody LoungerAugust 2, 2004 at 10:25 am #858601To follow on from Viking’s point, is this an LCD monitor?
LCDs have a native resolution, that is to say an optimal resolution the monitor is designed for. With most, it tends to be either 1280×1024 or 1024×768. Setting the monitor to anything other than its native resolution can produce effects similar to those you describe.
Please, report back if there are any developments.
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WStrebor
AskWoody Lounger
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WSLeif
AskWoody Lounger -
WSviking33
AskWoody LoungerJuly 31, 2004 at 11:04 pm #858215I assume this is a CRT type monitor, not an LCD?
Some monitor tubes develop residual magnetism and will distort the display in varying degrees.
Is there a DeGaussing key or setting on the monitor or with the software? If so, try to degauss the tube.
Lacking a setting being way out of line for that particular monitor, as Leif said, I think the best way would be substituting the video card and or monitor if at all possible. -
Jonesy47
AskWoody PlusAugust 3, 2004 at 10:21 am #859103I ran across a 17″ CRT at work last week that is showing something similar. At the top of the screen there are about a dozen thin white lines, approximately 1/8″ apart. The top one goes completely across the screen, and as you go down the display, each line gets a little bit shorter at each end. Degaussing with the monitor’s “built-in” controls didn’t help. Does this sound like something that a tech could adjust away, or degauss some better way, or is the monitor likely to be dying?
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joep517
AskWoody MVP -
Jonesy47
AskWoody PlusAugust 3, 2004 at 2:05 pm #859233Oh, I swapped in a different monitor the day I saw the problem. No lines on the replacement. Problem monitor is a Compaq, just 2 or 3 years old. The service company we use charges $125 a visit, so I don’t want to even call them if the likelihood is that the monitor needs parts, or isn’t repairable at all. One of my parts vendors has “gently used” Sony Trinitron CRT’s for $60 each.
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joep517
AskWoody MVP -
WSviking33
AskWoody LoungerAugust 3, 2004 at 3:38 pm #859299John,
By your description, your monitor is loosing vertical sweep. ( the ability of the sweep circuits to completely fill the screen top to bottom. ) Horizontal sweep would be left to right screen fill.
Sometimes, repeat sometimes, this can be adjusted out but can result in distortion in the view of the display. The display would be oval shaped instead of linear.
Since substitution of the monitor proved it to be indeed a monitor problem, I would look around for a replacement. That person offering “gently used” tubes, ( whatever THAT means ) might be worth a look but only if you consider him to be reliable and offer some sort of guarantee if the tube was used more than gently!!
The price of new 17″ tubes have come down in price quite a bit, and so have 19″ CRT types. At least you would have a better chance of dealing with a manufacturer than with the gently used salesman. Shop around. -
WSviking33
AskWoody LoungerAugust 3, 2004 at 3:38 pm #859300John,
By your description, your monitor is loosing vertical sweep. ( the ability of the sweep circuits to completely fill the screen top to bottom. ) Horizontal sweep would be left to right screen fill.
Sometimes, repeat sometimes, this can be adjusted out but can result in distortion in the view of the display. The display would be oval shaped instead of linear.
Since substitution of the monitor proved it to be indeed a monitor problem, I would look around for a replacement. That person offering “gently used” tubes, ( whatever THAT means ) might be worth a look but only if you consider him to be reliable and offer some sort of guarantee if the tube was used more than gently!!
The price of new 17″ tubes have come down in price quite a bit, and so have 19″ CRT types. At least you would have a better chance of dealing with a manufacturer than with the gently used salesman. Shop around.
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Jonesy47
AskWoody PlusAugust 3, 2004 at 10:21 am #859104I ran across a 17″ CRT at work last week that is showing something similar. At the top of the screen there are about a dozen thin white lines, approximately 1/8″ apart. The top one goes completely across the screen, and as you go down the display, each line gets a little bit shorter at each end. Degaussing with the monitor’s “built-in” controls didn’t help. Does this sound like something that a tech could adjust away, or degauss some better way, or is the monitor likely to be dying?
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WSviking33
AskWoody LoungerJuly 31, 2004 at 11:04 pm #858216I assume this is a CRT type monitor, not an LCD?
Some monitor tubes develop residual magnetism and will distort the display in varying degrees.
Is there a DeGaussing key or setting on the monitor or with the software? If so, try to degauss the tube.
Lacking a setting being way out of line for that particular monitor, as Leif said, I think the best way would be substituting the video card and or monitor if at all possible. -
WSJohnGray
AskWoody Lounger -
WSJohnGray
AskWoody Lounger -
WStrebor
AskWoody Lounger
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