HELP! Any techies out there?

[Scott & Lai 12]

My lcd screen suddenly started flashing like a Japanese advertisement... restart and System Restore do nothing. Running a virus scan now, but so far nothing..... can anyone help?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I use two flat screen monitors at work and one of them would 'blink' off sometimes. It turned out it was the graphics card. I don't think it's a software problem that you're having. If you have another computer, you can try connecting your LCD monitor to that computer to see if it's still flashing (problem with the monitor). Also, if you have another monitor, I'd hook it up to your computer to see if that monitor also flashes (most likely hardware - graphics card). Try those things to deduce where the problem exists.

Edited August 6, 2006 by Steven_and_Jinky

[Scott & Lai 12]

Unfortunately, I don't have another monitor or computer available for testing. It doesn't seem to be flashing off, but more like rapid brightness fluctuation.

[Artegal 1]

Is this a laptop or a PC? If its a PC it could be video card, the cable is loose, the cable is bad, the monitor is bad. You could check the cable from the monitor to the PC to make sure its not kinked or loose. You could replace the cable if your monitor has the type that is detachable. You could check the video card to make sure its not loose in the slot. Since you do not have another monitor or system to test with that is all you can really do in your situation.

If this is a laptop it could be the same situation above--except the laptop is intergrated and you could not really be able to isolate the problem. You would have to have the whole system sent in for repair.

[Scott & Lai 12]

It is a PC. I tried unplugging the monitor from the computer, but that did nothing. I've never had problems with the monitor before....it just started suddenly.

[PlatyPius 5]

LCD monitors only have a real-time life of maybe 5 years. How old is yours? It isn't uncommon at all for the backlight to go out in an LCD monitor. However, since yours is "flashing", there may be a loose connection between the backlight and its' power supply. When it "flashes", does it go from normal to very bright, or does it go from normal to dark?

Never mind....just read your follow-up..... rapid brightness fluctuation.... Has anyone spilled anything on the monitor? Does it have a manual slide for the brightness control, or is it part of the OSD (On Screen Display)? It is likely either the rheostat for the brightness control, or the electrical equivalent if there is no external brightness adjustment.

Edited August 6, 2006 by Cian

[Artegal 1]

your monitor might just be going bad--see if its under warranty still--if its a name brand it probably has a pretty good warranty. Send it in with RMA for a repair or replacement--but check on the price first--if its not under warranty it might be cheaper just to buy a new one.

[PlatyPius 5]

http://www.inventgeek.com/Projects/shorts/Page1.aspx

[luvaLimey 0]

try adjusting your screen resolution either up or down and see if that helps.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

You have my sympathies - the lcd on my laptop started to flicker in brightness on Friday - then went blank. I turned it off and rebooted. That brought the screen back, but it was still flickering badly so I turned it off until my husband got home. He tested the system by hooking up a spare monitor to the laptop - which is what I am using now - and determined that it is a hardware problem - and yes, we will need to send in the whole laptop to have it addressed and repaired. We don't know if it is a connection, a failed lcd or what. Ah computers! Good luck in finding a solution to your problem - a new monitor may indeed by cheaper than repairing it.

[Scott & Lai 12]

try adjusting your screen resolution either up or down and see if that helps.

Nope, no luck. And it does it even when there is no input from the PC..... figures this would happen the same day we spent $500 on car repair

[ChasUK 0]

Dunno if this will help but it's something else you could try before paying for repairs.

Follow this path to your 'monitor properties'.

Right click anywhere on your desktop

Select 'properties'

Choose the 'Settings' tab

Click the 'Advanced' button

Choose the 'Monitor' tab

Make sure the 'hide modes this monitor cannot display' is ticked

then try different screen refresh rates from the drop down box. (Click 'apply' each time)

I'm assuming that the monitor drivers are still ok. Before doing anything, you should make sure you have the latest drivers for your monitor, (check the support pages on your monitor manufacturer's web site). Even if you have the latest version, uninstall the drivers and re-install them.

Crossing my fingers for you.

Edited August 7, 2006 by ChasUK

[PlatyPius 5]

There's nothing in the setup that would make a monitor flicker/flare like that. It's a hardware issue. Either the controller/ballast is going out, or the cold cathode itself is dying. Either way, it's gonna be fix the monitor or replace it.

[BrownHorse 2]

Well there are three posibillites in this case

1 LCD Bulb is going Bad on the monitor

2.could be a bad graphics card

To troubleshoot this, you would need to open the cpu case and remove graphics card from AGP(Brown slot) Slot and installed it on one of the PCI SLOTS (usually color coded white and have five of them per case). Plug the monitor and reboot the system. If it works, then it is a bad AGP slot. If still a no go, it very well could be a bad graphics card.

Try another Graphics card if step 2 doesnt resolve the issue. If still a no go, you have a bad LCD BULB. It can be replaceble but you would have to take the entire lcd screen apart. Not sure how comfortable you re about doing this.

Edited August 7, 2006 by BrownHorse

[Scott & Lai 12]

Well, $189 later, I've solved the problem by buying a new monitor. Thanks for all the suggestions