BleepingComputer.com: Monitor problem...pls. help :(

Hi guys, I've been having a problem with my monitor, after about an hour of usage, the icons on the desktop sort of disappears off the edges...I mean, for example My Computer, My Documents, after an hour or so, the MY of the My Documents disappears off the screen and only Computer can be seen. And when I'm on my browser the first menu option (File) would already be off the screen as well, same goes for the menu option on the opposite side, usually the X icon. Usually I just turn the monitor off for 5 minutes and when I turn it back on, everything would be in place, but then would start acting up again after a while, until sometimes the screen sort of...errr... flashes or warps.

My question is, is this a monitor problem? meaning buying a new one would solve it, or could it be a problem with my video card? I don't have any other monitor so I can't really try it and see if it has the same prob

Hope someone can help me. i'm ok with buying a new monitor but I just wanna be certain it's really a monitor problem. Correct me if I'm wrong, but to my knowledge, if it is a vid card problem, then it wouldn't work at all right? Like I wouldn't get any picture input? Or everything would be distorted?

Thank you guys

I would start by reinstalling the video card driver
You could also try another monitor, if possible

What are your resolutions set at? You can find this by right clicking on the desktop and selecting properties and then the settings tab? You could try reducing to a lower resolution. It would seem though that your monitor is dying since turning it off for a short period fixes the problem temporarily. If you mean turning off the computer then it could be a video card problem and it may be overheating.

As already said, if cycling just the monitor alone temporarily cures the problem, then that pretty much confirms the cause is confined to the monitor itself. If it's a CRT (picture tube type) monitor, then it sounds like a fault called "blooming", where the picture size expands due to operating voltages drifting off value. Something in the monitor is on the way out, and a CRT is probably not worth fixing.

If it only drifts that small amount and stops, a work-around might be to reduce the scan width in the monitor's setup menu, if it has that option. But it may just keep getting worse.

This post has been edited by Platypus: 01 April 2009 - 05:10 PM

Sneakycyber, on Apr 2 2009, 05:35 AM, said:

my resolution is already set to the lowest setting. yes i mean i turn off the monitor for about 5-10 minutes and turn it back on and it'd be fine for a while then start acting up again.

would you say that this is a monitor problem? i use those old CRT monitors, not the LCDs.

thank you

garmanma, on Mar 31 2009, 11:08 PM, said:

i can't try another monitor as i don't have one, as for the vid card driver...i'm not even sure if i still have it and even if i did, i wouldn't know what to do with it. sorry, yeah, i'm a moron when it comes to computers.

Platypus, on Apr 2 2009, 06:09 AM, said:

yes i use a CRT type of monitor and this is like 3 years old i think. would you say sir/ma'am that this is really a monitor prob? can't possibly be the vid card?

thank you

I don't think there's any doubt that it's your monitor causing the effect.

A 3yr old monitor should have a menu setting for geometry, and you could reduce the width of the scan so that when it warms up and gets to its full size, everything is still on the screen.

But the screen flash or warp you get would suggest there is actually a fault developing.

This post has been edited by Platypus: 02 April 2009 - 07:14 AM