Need advice on CRT problem

coleslaw · 06-22-2003, 09:05 PM

I'm at my parents' house right now. I used their PC one night before bed, turned the monitor off and then fell asleep. In the morning, I turned the monitor on and noticed something strange.

There is streaking or ghosting going on with this monitor now. It is most evident when there are dark objects on a light (white) background, such as icons on a light wallpaper or the top bar of various windows. The streaking is only in the horizontal direction and extends across the entire screen. It is VERY annoying and I have tried numerous things to troubleshoot this problem. I have:

1) performed a De-Guass
2) moved speakers away from the monitor
3) checked all cables
4) bypassed the monitor cable from the DVD decoder card
5) adjusted the resolution and refresh rate to all available settings
6) installed new video drivers

When the new drivers did nothing, I went into the BIOS and noticed this same effect there as well. It is the most bizarre thing and I am banging my head against the wall trying to figure this out.

I hope that the monitor isn't faulty; it's a KDS Avitron AV-7TF. I do not have a second PC or laptop here to test, so I can't pinpoint if it is a monitor or a PC issue.

Any thoughts?

coleslaw · 06-22-2003, 09:29 PM

I found an old monitor in the attic here and was able to verify that it is NOT a monitor issue.

So this leaves the PC; mainly the video card - a POS NVIDIA Vanta card in a Mircon PC.

I'll reseat it and report back later.

If you have any other thoughts, I'd be glad to hear!

seqiro · 06-22-2003, 09:45 PM

I'd check the video card out for signs of overheating. I'm guessing that it will probably end up needing to be replaced.

coleslaw · 06-24-2003, 01:35 AM

It's not the same ghosting effect that occurs on LCD monitors. This is more of static problem (as opposed to the LCD ghosting effect, which happens when objects move on the screen).

The best way to describe this problem is to compare it to a slight "motion blur" filter in both directions on the horizontal axis.

On a light desktop wallpaper image, the desktop icons appear normally, but there is a faint "motion trail" to the left and right of them.

Anyway, I removed and inspected the video card. It's a low-end AGP card, so it has passive cooling (no fan on the heatsink). On the underside of the card, there is a long white sticker that passes under the processor. It appears to be a slightly brownish color under the chip, but I don't see any other signs of noticable overheating. I don't know why the card would overheat anyway, as no one really plays games on this system; my sister uses some graphics programs, but other than that, it's mainly an email/web-browsing machine.

06-22-2003, 09:05 PM	#1
coleslaw Arrrhh! Join Date: May 2000 Location: LI NY Posts: 6,807	Need advice on CRT problem I'm at my parents' house right now. I used their PC one night before bed, turned the monitor off and then fell asleep. In the morning, I turned the monitor on and noticed something strange. There is streaking or ghosting going on with this monitor now. It is most evident when there are dark objects on a light (white) background, such as icons on a light wallpaper or the top bar of various windows. The streaking is only in the horizontal direction and extends across the entire screen. It is VERY annoying and I have tried numerous things to troubleshoot this problem. I have: 1) performed a De-Guass 2) moved speakers away from the monitor 3) checked all cables 4) bypassed the monitor cable from the DVD decoder card 5) adjusted the resolution and refresh rate to all available settings 6) installed new video drivers When the new drivers did nothing, I went into the BIOS and noticed this same effect there as well. It is the most bizarre thing and I am banging my head against the wall trying to figure this out. I hope that the monitor isn't faulty; it's a KDS Avitron AV-7TF. I do not have a second PC or laptop here to test, so I can't pinpoint if it is a monitor or a PC issue. Any thoughts? __________________ A priest, a paladin and Varimathras walk into a bar... Last edited by coleslaw : 06-22-2003 at 09:33 PM.

06-22-2003, 09:45 PM	#3
seqiro Commander Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Western MA Posts: 1,183	I'd check the video card out for signs of overheating. I'm guessing that it will probably end up needing to be replaced. __________________ Paul Beasi

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06-22-2003, 09:29 PM	#2
coleslaw Arrrhh! Join Date: May 2000 Location: LI NY Posts: 6,807	I found an old monitor in the attic here and was able to verify that it is NOT a monitor issue. So this leaves the PC; mainly the video card - a POS NVIDIA Vanta card in a Mircon PC. I'll reseat it and report back later. If you have any other thoughts, I'd be glad to hear!

06-24-2003, 01:35 AM	#4
coleslaw Arrrhh! Join Date: May 2000 Location: LI NY Posts: 6,807	It's not the same ghosting effect that occurs on LCD monitors. This is more of static problem (as opposed to the LCD ghosting effect, which happens when objects move on the screen). The best way to describe this problem is to compare it to a slight "motion blur" filter in both directions on the horizontal axis. On a light desktop wallpaper image, the desktop icons appear normally, but there is a faint "motion trail" to the left and right of them. Anyway, I removed and inspected the video card. It's a low-end AGP card, so it has passive cooling (no fan on the heatsink). On the underside of the card, there is a long white sticker that passes under the processor. It appears to be a slightly brownish color under the chip, but I don't see any other signs of noticable overheating. I don't know why the card would overheat anyway, as no one really plays games on this system; my sister uses some graphics programs, but other than that, it's mainly an email/web-browsing machine.

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