Jimellow

A few months ago I noticed horizontal vertical bars/lines starting to move vertically across my screen. It is almost as if I am seeing horizontal bars of energy moving vertically back and forth across my screen. At the time, my monitor was also extremely bright and the text nearly unreadable.

The solution, I had hoped, would be buying a new monitor. I did this today, a Sony 19 inch flat screen (SDMHS95B), and while the monitor is sharp and looks beautiful, the moving lines/bars/currents still remain.

I am on a Dell Dimension (866 MHz), with a nVidia GeForce2 Ultra 64 MB. At this point, I am almost 100% certain it isn't the monitor, and am wondering what else it could be. I am running Windows ME, and have been since the computer was purchased. There have been no major hardware changes throughout the PC's life, and the only additions have been external (router, modem, etc.).

I have a logical hunch that I am reluctant to embrace; that this has to do with my video card, and not necessarily the monitor. It is odd however that my previous monitor was to the point of being un-readable, and after replacing it, the issue still exists. Perhaps two pieces of hardware went on the fritz at once, or one's malfunction led to another.

When I minimize to an all black desktop, it is almost as if there are burn in marks of icons that have motion trails. Furthermore, when I move the mouse, the moving cursor "contrasts" with the wavy bars, causing a discrepency. Also, occasionally when I have windows/dialogue boxes open, there will be a brightness difference from the foreground to the background.

The brightness issue also existed on my previous monitor, which led to me replacing it, but it is also the case here.

The current monitor that I just hooked up is wonderful. Text is sharp, everything is very readable, and I am certain that my previous monitor was on the fritz. However, the issue of waves/bar of energy still remains, and I now am curious as to what the next issue I should investigate is to resolve this.

I took out the video card and it was quite dusty. I removed the dust, re-inserted the card, and booted up the machine, only to notice no improvement whatsoever.

If we rule out the monitor (which I am prepared to do, given that the monitor looks sharp and "perfect" when the PC is off and the "Monitor Safe Mode" message is on the screen), then what are other issues that could cause this issue?

I reverted my GeForce device drivers back to the version that shipped with my PC, but there was no difference there. I have a feeling this is more of a hardware issue that is causing the transmission of data from the PC to the monitor to be skewed, but I don't know enough about computers and the way they work to isolate the problem. I was hoping to find help here in that regard.

I was hoping a new monitor would be all I needed, and while my other monitor was on its last legs, it's a little discouraging to spend $500 on a monitor, only to find the problem still partially exists after everything is hooked up and running.

This PC is older (as I said, 866 MHz, 256 MB RAM), I ordered it in 2001 I believe, but I only use it for non-gaming activities and it does well, aside from this monitor/display issue. I have not tweaked the display settings, but after briefly tooling around in the display tab, I noticed my "refresh rate" is set to optimal. Hardware acceleration is set to "full" and I have not tweaked with any advanced settings or overclocking.

Any help, suggestions, advice, or feedback of any kind would be greatly appreciated. I have an extended warranty on the monitor, but again, I highly doubt the monitor is the cause of the problem here, as the exact same issue I experienced (but worse) on my previous monitor also exists to a lesser extent here.

__________________
Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

Rawb

I am guessing that your video card's D/A converter has probably started to die.

Does your video card have a DVI output? If so, can you try using that to connect to your new flat panel?

Another option or two is that either the power is _really_ dirty coming in to your system making the D/A converter behave weirdly (or making the display drive itself strangely). A altogether different option is that there is some massive amount of interference around your video cable that is degrading the signal. So another thing to try is moving your computer to a different place in the house and only plugging in the bare essentials.

cyrnel

Do the symptoms ever change? Lessen/worsen? (turning off the computer doesn't count)

Any refrigerators, blowers, or large powered devices near the system? (Rawb's interference item above.) Have you tried the system in another location? Even just a few feet away, maybe rotated 90 degrees?

It's possible for a video card's color curve to be screwy. Sometimes this can happen when updating drivers, if the old and new ramps aren't compatible. When you were changing drivers, did you remember to completely remove the old and reboot before installing the new? Look for color and gamma tabs in your video properties. Usually buried in "advanced." Reset to "defaults" and then try flattening or exaggerating the ramp to see its effect on the problem.

__________________
There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195

Jimellow

Thanks for the replies.

The computer has been in the same location for years, basically since I've gotten it.

On websites with white backgrounds, color bars of gray extend past images, all the way across the screen. IE, Yahoo's banner takes up 1/3 of the screen and is centered.. Gray bars extend horizontally both directions to the screen's edge.

I am pretty willing to accept the fact that my video card is on the fritz. I've played with Color controls with my previous monitor, and almost managed to get the text to be readable, but on this one, text readability isn't a concern. I just see lots of "stacked" tiny vertical bars that move up and down slowly, as if I am witnesses electric current. Text is also hard to read, and is blurry in numerous occasions. Again, I know it isn't the monitor because there are "spots" where the text is clear as hell, and beautiful. This is also the case when the PC is turned off and the monitor is in "Power Save Mode" (w/ message).

Insetad of trying to resolve this, I think I am going to buy a new PC. That might sound dramatic, but this PC is old, and I am not going to spend any money upgrading or repairing it, when I can put that money towards an entirely new system.

That being said, I have a question concerning my new monitor that I bought today. Will my video card's "screwy" performance potentially negatively affect my monitor?

By that I mean, if I were to use my current PC in its current state for three weeks, moving bars, icon burn in/motion blur (where there never were icons), and blury text included, will my monitor suffer long term damage as a result?

I like this monitor a lot, and even though it is under warranty, I would prefer to not risk damaging it as a result of my video card being screwy. As long as there is no risk of long term/extended damage, I will continue to use it until my new PC is ordered and arrives.

Again, thank for the replies. This is a really intriguing and mildly frustrating situation for me, but I think I am due for a new PC anyway, so I guess everything will work out in the long run (hopefully).

__________________
Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

cyrnel

Jimellow, did you understand the suggestions?

I would still need to know if results varied by location, if you've looked around for sources of interference, or if the driver or color settings on the _computer_ affected the situation. Messing with the monitor settings is just compensating.

Yes, it's possible for a bad signal to damage some CRTs, but generally not an LCD. LCDs will go blank or flop to a "invalid signal" screen if the input goes out of bounds. CRT's can suicide by trying to overscan wildly or match goofy timings.

All that aside, if you want a new computer I'd just make sure location isn't the issue. It'd be annoying to find a new system had similar problems from interference.

__________________
There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195

Jimellow

Well, the computer is in the corner, near a dresser. There is a TV on the other side of the room, with a stereo. Moving the PC around has no effect.

I also notice that when I view a very bright website, with a primarily white background, and then minimize to my desktop (which is all black), the icons and text is very dark in nature. When I watch movies with colored text on a white background, the gray bars extend both ways, as described above.

In general, there doesn't seem to be much potential for intereference in my room. The PC is in the opposite corner, and on the floor, away from wires and other electronic devices. When I put in up on my desk or in another portion of the room, there is no change.

As for changing the color settings through the device driver, I am not sure how to do that. I'm only familiar with editing gamma, etc. via the Display options in Control Panel.

There are so many things going wrong here it's a little discouraging. I have horizontal bar action going on, as well as varying brightness depending on previous screen viewing, blocks of gray text that are extending from images both ways, and a general hit or miss ability to see clearly what in on screen. One thing that does consistently look superb are images and pictures, but other than that it is hard to get a grasp on a single problem/issue.

My initial thought was that it was a monitor issue, and since my previous monitor was on the fritz/decline anyway, buying a new monitor is an acceptable expense for me. That being said, I am not going to invest more into the PC itself, because it is dated and showing its age. I assume it's the video card, primarily because I am not sure what else it can be, aside from intereference, which doesn't seem to be the case from my experiments.

Thanks again for the reply and suggestions. I am not sure what it is, but it's a little frustrating to have this problem linger. Like you said, it would suck pretty hard to get a new PC and still have the issue remain, but I honestly think it is more of a current PC issue than I do an intereference issue, but again, I am not totally sure either way. Hell, maybe I got two monitors with identical problems, despite them being different formats (box vs flat), manufactured by different companies, and constructed over three years apart. I honestly have no idea at this point.. I do appreciate the responses and suggestions though.

__________________
Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

Jimellow

Here is an update:

I took out my nVidia GeForce2 Ultra (64 MB) and put in the Trident 9440 PCI card from my computer I had through the 90's.

The result: No lines, no wavyness, and no gray bars.

Basically, my GeForce2 Ultra is the issue, and I now have a cool looking PCI card with a small fan and nifty nVidia logo paperweight.

I am not sure if I should attempt to repair the nVidia card or just keep it in my PC idle and unused.. I don't know anything about video card repairs, and I don't really want to spend a lot of money repairing a video card I don't even use anymore.

That being said, I will need a better card that supports higher resolutions, so that I can use 1280 x 1024 in 32 bit, and not the 256 colors supported now.

I'm relieved to find the cause of this, because it was starting to piss me off. I also think it's pretty comical that I am getting better results with a video card that sucked almost 10 years ago, than one that cost over $300 a few years ago. But in the end, everything worked out as well as expected.

__________________
Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

Jimellow

I just re-read this thread now that I know that the video card is at fault..

Regarding the D/A converter dying.. Is that fixable by me, by a professional, or not at all?

Also, regarding cyrnel's post regarding the "curve" of the card being wrong.. Could you elaborate a little more on how to access the color settings of the card directly, and not through Control Panel's display function?

If I can fix this video card here myself, I will certainly try. The card is out of warranty by now, and I figure I might as well mess around with it before turning it into a paperweight.

Also, it seems that my Trident card from 10 years ago causes my PC to freeze up and not boot at all, so it seems I am back to dealing with the bars, distorted colors, and general trippyness until I purchase a cheaper, replacement card.

__________________
Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

flat5

I would get a card (maybe used) that meets my minimum requirments until I'm ready to buy a new computer.

Alternately, you might buy a good video card now and upgrade the rest piece-meal.