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Post by OziRiS on May 23, 2014 6:59:16 GMT
Hey guys
Hope someone has some experience with this.
My computer screen has suddenly started to intermittently auto adjust by itself. When it does, I can't enter the screen menu and the auto adjust button does nothing. The only button that works is the power button and even turning the screen off for a few minutes and then back on again doesn't neccesarily fix the problem. It'll auto adjust anywhere from 3-20 times over a period of 2-15 minutes and then stop it again as suddenly as it started.
I've unplugged it and gone to work on it with compressed air, in case it was a matter of dust inside the case and did blow a significant amount of crud out, but it didn't fix the problem.
Any thoughts or suggestions, other than replacing the screen?
BTW, it's a 21" Packard Bell Viseo 190 LCD screen that came with my system when I bought it about three years ago.
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Post by kharnynb on May 25, 2014 8:34:46 GMT
First thing would be to connect the monitor to another pc, see if it is the pc or the monitor that causes it.
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Post by silverdragon on May 25, 2014 10:21:35 GMT
The screen has a problem...
Now at a guess, I would immediately start looking at the auto adjust button, and suspect from what you have said, that the auto adjust button has either foreign objects that are intermittently pressing on the contact or the circuitry is on its way out.
You have already done a clean up of the outside, have you been inside?...
What you can do, POWER OFF FIRST....
Undo the casing.
...get a can of compressed air cleaner and have a blow around the button,
Get a hoover with a clean brush attachment on gentle and clean around the button.
get a baby wipe and gently clean the area,
...but this is taking the back off time, you are going to need to want to undo screws
Get back to that hover and gently tease the dust bunnies outa any parts on the circuit boards that need cleaning, then inspect the circuit board for dry joints or broken bits.
You didnt say, is this from cold, or does this happen after its been running a while.
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Post by OziRiS on May 25, 2014 12:17:42 GMT
First thing would be to connect the monitor to another pc, see if it is the pc or the monitor that causes it. Don't have another computer to try it on, so that's not an option. |
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Post by OziRiS on May 25, 2014 12:23:17 GMT
The screen has a problem... Now at a guess, I would immediately start looking at the auto adjust button, and suspect from what you have said, that the auto adjust button has either foreign objects that are intermittently pressing on the contact or the circuitry is on its way out. You have already done a clean up of the outside, have you been inside?... What you can do, POWER OFF FIRST.... Undo the casing. ...get a can of compressed air cleaner and have a blow around the button, Get a hoover with a clean brush attachment on gentle and clean around the button. get a baby wipe and gently clean the area, ...but this is taking the back off time, you are going to need to want to undo screws Get back to that hover and gently tease the dust bunnies outa any parts on the circuit boards that need cleaning, then inspect the circuit board for dry joints or broken bits. You didnt say, is this from cold, or does this happen after its been running a while. I was afraid you'd say I had to take it apart... Problem is there are no visible screws. I think it's all either glued together, held in place by little clip-in plastic things or maybe even both. But you're probably right about foreign object damage. That would explain why it goes off randomly and won't do anything when i press the button. And it's intermittant. It's not only after a cold start or after running for a while. It can be both. |
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Post by GTCGreg on May 25, 2014 13:58:21 GMT
I doubt that the computer is causing the problem. Like SD said, it could be a mechanical problem with the switch but I doubt it. The problem is probably the filter capacitors in the monitor's power supply going bad. This causes electrical noise on the power supply and can cause the monitor to do all sorts of strange things. If you are capable of working on electronics, look for any capacitors with bulging tops. the tops should be flat. If you see any, replace them. That usually fixes these types of problems.
As far as taking it apart, remove any screws you see on the back. The two halves of the case are usually not glued, but snap together. You can often unsnap them using two small screwdrivers and prying the two sections apart working your way around the edges. It takes time, but can usually be done without too much damage to the case. Once inside, you may have to remove any metal covers. These are usually held together by Philips head screws.
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Post by kharnynb on May 25, 2014 15:19:16 GMT
youtube search for the model number and opening up ;D
But i'd try a friend with a laptop or such first, since i've seen many problems caused by either bad graphicscards or bad cables giving a wrong resolution and the monitor trying to auto-correct or turn itself off to prevent damage.
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Post by the light works on May 25, 2014 23:46:52 GMT
youtube search for the model number and opening up ;D But i'd try a friend with a laptop or such first, since i've seen many problems caused by either bad graphicscards or bad cables giving a wrong resolution and the monitor trying to auto-correct or turn itself off to prevent damage. good point - plugging it into a known good computer will determine quickly whether it is a problem with the monitor or not. |
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Post by GTCGreg on May 25, 2014 23:54:10 GMT
youtube search for the model number and opening up ;D But i'd try a friend with a laptop or such first, since i've seen many problems caused by either bad graphicscards or bad cables giving a wrong resolution and the monitor trying to auto-correct or turn itself off to prevent damage. good point - plugging it into a known good computer will determine quickly whether it is a problem with the monitor or not. That would make sense before ripping the sucker apart. Try another cable also, just in case. |
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Post by OziRiS on May 26, 2014 0:49:26 GMT
I'll see if I can find another computer to hook it up to and report back with the result.
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Post by silverdragon on May 26, 2014 7:21:32 GMT
The computer part, There is no known command from windows to screen that will make it auto-adjust.
It may confirm either a cabling problem and resultant short circuit by monitor lead....
From what I know, Micro-switches, this may indicate the type of switch you have is made up of a rubber "Dome" with a bit of metal glued inside the top of that dome.
When pressed, the dome collapses, and the metal shorts out the two sides of the switch, that are printed in a grid formation with a small gap between each side.
Over time, the rubber deteriorates.
As I say, this is guess work, indicated by the sort of problem you have said, and my experience of the crazy ideas used in design of switch gear.
Either that dome has split, the metal contact has become detached, a foreign body has invaded the space, or its become slightly displaced.
The only way to find out is disassembly.
If you cant find screws, check under stickers, if not, presume snap together casing, google disassembly destructions, and gently prise apart....
On a white sheet, face down, to catch anything that falls out.
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Post by OziRiS on May 26, 2014 9:11:32 GMT
The white sheet part is duely noted  |
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Post by kharnynb on May 26, 2014 12:35:24 GMT
Silver, if windows gives a res out of range, or a different size 16:9 to 4:3 for example, most modern monitors will try to auto-adjust.(at the very least, lg, philips and asus monitors do).
So any software trying to run a full-screen app, set in a weird resolution might cause this.
I've seen it happen with a bad install of nvidia update software, that tried to give a full-screen pop-up notification that would crash the software and cause a res-change blink. By the time the screen was back, the software would try again to run the update and so forth...
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Post by OziRiS on May 27, 2014 7:59:34 GMT
Silver, if windows gives a res out of range, or a different size 16:9 to 4:3 for example, most modern monitors will try to auto-adjust.(at the very least, lg, philips and asus monitors do). So any software trying to run a full-screen app, set in a weird resolution might cause this. I've seen it happen with a bad install of nvidia update software, that tried to give a full-screen pop-up notification that would crash the software and cause a res-change blink. By the time the screen was back, the software would try again to run the update and so forth... So, you're saying that this could also be a driver issue? |
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Post by silverdragon on May 27, 2014 8:01:36 GMT
Ahhh... Windows would not try to auto adjust, hardware "accelerated" software may, I discounted that as a reason, because of the random nature of what was described.
If it had been in and out of a graphics rich game, I would be suggesting looking at the video card?...
But Oziris is stating random dings for no good reason.
However.....
Just to be on the safe side, Oziris, "Is it plugged in", Electricians first rule, I presumed you would have already tried this, but have you checked the lead 'twix computer ans screen is firmly seated, or have you tried a replacement lead from another machine yet?...
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Post by OziRiS on May 27, 2014 8:07:30 GMT
Ahhh... Windows would not try to auto adjust, hardware "accelerated" software may, I discounted that as a reason, because of the random nature of what was described. If it had been in and out of a graphics rich game, I would be suggesting looking at the video card?... But Oziris is stating random dings for no good reason. However..... Just to be on the safe side, Oziris, "Is it plugged in", Electricians first rule, I presumed you would have already tried this, but have you checked the lead 'twix computer ans screen is firmly seated, or have you tried a replacement lead from another machine yet?... I've checked all connections, yes. I was a COMMS specialist in the Army, so it's pretty much always the first thing I do when something isn't working properly Haven't had the opportunity to switch out the cable yet, since I'm a little low on funds at the moment and can't find anyone who will lend me theirs. I'll check back after the 1st where I have some money to buy one, if I haven't at that point already taken the thing apart and found the problem with the button you described earlier on. Depending on what the cable costs, I might just invest in a new screen to begin with instead. I could do with a few inches more anyway |
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Post by silverdragon on May 27, 2014 8:14:36 GMT
........[resisting the urge to say "thats what she said....."
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Post by c64 on May 27, 2014 10:24:06 GMT
There are two things you can test:
1) Sometimes the output of the graphic card turns bad. If the graphics card has a second connector, shut you PC down and connect the monitor to the other connector and power up the PC.
2) to pinpoint the problem, you have to test the monitor using a different PC or Laptop and test the PC with a different monitor. To test the PC, connect it to your (HDMI) TV.
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Post by c64 on May 27, 2014 10:30:08 GMT
P.S.:
if you don#t have a Laptop and can't borrow one to test the monitor, you might want to buy a Raspberry. You can get one of those for less than $50. All it needs is a USB cell phone charger as a PSU, an SD card used as the system HDD and a mouse and a keyboard.
After your test, you can use the Raspberry with your TV and make it a Smart-TV using an XBMC image or turn it into a vintage video console using the "Retrostation" image and a Gamepad. The retrostation lets you play old C64, SNES, DOS, Duke3D and more. It even comes with a ScummVM engine so you can play "a ton" of old adventures.
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Post by kharnynb on May 27, 2014 11:40:43 GMT
Sadly Denmark is a bit too far to throw a cable over  I've managed to collect about a dozen of vga cables and about 10 dvi ones.... |
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