LCD monitor issues

RichM · 01-25-2006, 03:46 AM

Okay, since I've actually had CS courses, my parents think I'm a genius when it comes to PCs, no matter what I tell them. Of course, they call AFTER somethings gone FUBAR on their PC, not before they start installing/reconfiguring/etc., but hey, they're my parents - what am I gonna do?

Anyway, here's the issue. My old man's Trinitron CRT monitor was on its last legs; kept shutting off every time he accessed the web, accessed e-mail, colors were horribly washed out...the whole "dying monitor" thing. So, he buys a 19" LCD monitor, plugs it in, and....BSOD, reboot, only starts in safe mode. Can't load new monitor drivers, can't do shit, so he calls me.

I try the same thing, get the same result. Hooked up the old monitor, dl'ed the latest Nvidia drivers, checked windows update, installed the new monitor drivers; unplugged the old monitor, powered down, reconnected the new LCD, and...BSOD, reboot, only starts in safe mode...see above.

I shut the PC down completely, restarted and got into the advanced boot menu, and started up windows in VGA mode - PC starts normally, but very, veeeerrrry slowly, screen resolution is 640x480. Right-click on the desktop to change display settings, and....BSOD, reboot, yadda yadda yadda. Tried using the "Add Hardware" wizard; the display isn't detected.

So I emailed the mfr of the monitor, told them my problems, and this is the response I got:

Your system has problems accepting a new hardware. Only thing happens that's related to windows XP is reading the EDID file inside rom chips of the monitor. Which has absolutely no effect on XP what so ever. You might want to consider installing a new copy of XP.

The old man's PC specs:
P3 1.0GhZ w/256MB pc133 ram
WinXP Home SP2
GeForce2 MX w/32mb ram
The new monitor is a Sceptre X9G Komodo V; connects via a 15-pin dsub - no DVI, no USB

WTF? I know he's installed other peripherals with no problems...could it be his gfx card is too antiquated to handle the monitor? Any other suggestions I might pass on to him?

TIA

Mephisto · 01-25-2006, 03:50 AM

Since when do monitors need installing? Maby try it on a differnt computer to weed out problems with the monitor, maby the VC dosnt compat with it :/

Caslon · 01-25-2006, 04:46 AM

Agreed. I think it's an issue with the Gforce2 MX.

It might also be with the motherboard. You might try recording all bios settings and reset the CMOS jumpers on the motherboard, start from default bios settings.

Also, Screensaver does wierd things sometimes. Disable it completely.

RichM · 01-25-2006, 05:24 PM

Meph - I don't know if "installing" is the right word; however, it's been my experience that when you attach a new hardware peripheral to WinXP, the OS usually "recognizes" it, and asks if there are any drivers associated with it. This didn't happen, even though there IS a monitor driver that Sceptre supplies.

As for the gfx card, I've been wondering that myself; however, I checked the Nvidia site, and found this:

• TwinView Architecture
° Two RGB Monitors (With Second
RAMDAC)
° Two Analog Flat Panels
° Digital flat panel + analog flat panel
° Digital flat panel + RGB monitor
° Digital flat panel + TV
° RGB monitor + TV
° RGB monitor + analog flat panel (with
second RAMDAC)
° Analog flat panel + TV

Isn't an LCD monitor considered a digital flat-panel, or are they two separate things?

Caslon - yeah, the BIOS settings were something I wondered about as well...but after 4 hours of frustrtation, Dad and I called it quits. I'm going to go back over and check out the BIOS later today, and if that doesn't work, I think I'll bring it back here and see if I can hook it up to my PC, which has a Radeon 9600 card in it.

Oh yeah - and it's a Dell PC - they thoughtfully DON'T include information about the motherboard/BIOS/CMOS settings in their documentation...bastards.

Didn't know about the screensaver, though - that's interesting!

Thanks, guys - I'll let you know how this turns out.

RichM · 01-27-2006, 10:32 PM

Welll - when in doubt, revert to the simplest procedure.

I brought Dad's monitor over here, and hooked it up - and I'm fucking jealous; it's beautiful, and the game I played looked more realistic than THIS POS monitor.

Took it back over to his house, and...BSOD, blah blah blah.

We were about to go get a new gfx card, and I thought "Wait! Let's try uninstalling the gfx drivers completely, then reinstalling them!" And - voila! Beautiful picture, hooked up to a 32mb gfx card.

Now I must start saving my money.

TEXAS NIGHTMARE · 01-28-2006, 10:10 PM

Yeah LCD's are the way to go. I will never use a CRT again. I replaced all my monitors with LCD's. Jesus I just counted and I have 7 LCD's in my house.

01-25-2006, 03:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
RichM Forum Moderator Brigadier General Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: West Richland, Washington Posts: 2,893	LCD monitor issues Okay, since I've actually had CS courses, my parents think I'm a genius when it comes to PCs, no matter what I tell them. Of course, they call AFTER somethings gone FUBAR on their PC, not before they start installing/reconfiguring/etc., but hey, they're my parents - what am I gonna do? Anyway, here's the issue. My old man's Trinitron CRT monitor was on its last legs; kept shutting off every time he accessed the web, accessed e-mail, colors were horribly washed out...the whole "dying monitor" thing. So, he buys a 19" LCD monitor, plugs it in, and....BSOD, reboot, only starts in safe mode. Can't load new monitor drivers, can't do shit, so he calls me. I try the same thing, get the same result. Hooked up the old monitor, dl'ed the latest Nvidia drivers, checked windows update, installed the new monitor drivers; unplugged the old monitor, powered down, reconnected the new LCD, and...BSOD, reboot, only starts in safe mode...see above. I shut the PC down completely, restarted and got into the advanced boot menu, and started up windows in VGA mode - PC starts normally, but very, veeeerrrry slowly, screen resolution is 640x480. Right-click on the desktop to change display settings, and....BSOD, reboot, yadda yadda yadda. Tried using the "Add Hardware" wizard; the display isn't detected. So I emailed the mfr of the monitor, told them my problems, and this is the response I got: Your system has problems accepting a new hardware. Only thing happens that's related to windows XP is reading the EDID file inside rom chips of the monitor. Which has absolutely no effect on XP what so ever. You might want to consider installing a new copy of XP. The old man's PC specs: P3 1.0GhZ w/256MB pc133 ram WinXP Home SP2 GeForce2 MX w/32mb ram The new monitor is a Sceptre X9G Komodo V; connects via a 15-pin dsub - no DVI, no USB WTF? I know he's installed other peripherals with no problems...could it be his gfx card is too antiquated to handle the monitor? Any other suggestions I might pass on to him? TIA __________________ "The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the Democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any controlling private power." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

01-25-2006, 03:50 AM	#2 (permalink)
Mephisto Captain Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Toronto Posts: 2,670	Since when do monitors need installing? Maby try it on a differnt computer to weed out problems with the monitor, maby the VC dosnt compat with it :/ __________________ Mephisto is among the most powerful of the universe's known demonic forces - www.googlism.com

01-25-2006, 05:24 PM	#4 (permalink)
RichM Forum Moderator Brigadier General Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: West Richland, Washington Posts: 2,893	Meph - I don't know if "installing" is the right word; however, it's been my experience that when you attach a new hardware peripheral to WinXP, the OS usually "recognizes" it, and asks if there are any drivers associated with it. This didn't happen, even though there IS a monitor driver that Sceptre supplies. As for the gfx card, I've been wondering that myself; however, I checked the Nvidia site, and found this: • TwinView Architecture ° Two RGB Monitors (With Second RAMDAC) ° Two Analog Flat Panels ° Digital flat panel + analog flat panel ° Digital flat panel + RGB monitor ° Digital flat panel + TV ° RGB monitor + TV ° RGB monitor + analog flat panel (with second RAMDAC) ° Analog flat panel + TV Isn't an LCD monitor considered a digital flat-panel, or are they two separate things? Caslon - yeah, the BIOS settings were something I wondered about as well...but after 4 hours of frustrtation, Dad and I called it quits. I'm going to go back over and check out the BIOS later today, and if that doesn't work, I think I'll bring it back here and see if I can hook it up to my PC, which has a Radeon 9600 card in it. Oh yeah - and it's a Dell PC - they thoughtfully DON'T include information about the motherboard/BIOS/CMOS settings in their documentation...bastards. Didn't know about the screensaver, though - that's interesting! Thanks, guys - I'll let you know how this turns out. __________________ "The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the Democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any controlling private power." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

01-27-2006, 10:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
RichM Forum Moderator Brigadier General Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: West Richland, Washington Posts: 2,893	Welll - when in doubt, revert to the simplest procedure. I brought Dad's monitor over here, and hooked it up - and I'm fucking jealous; it's beautiful, and the game I played looked more realistic than THIS POS monitor. Took it back over to his house, and...BSOD, blah blah blah. We were about to go get a new gfx card, and I thought "Wait! Let's try uninstalling the gfx drivers completely, then reinstalling them!" And - voila! Beautiful picture, hooked up to a 32mb gfx card. Now I must start saving my money. __________________ "The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the Democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any controlling private power." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

01-28-2006, 10:10 PM	#6 (permalink)
TEXAS NIGHTMARE First Lieutenant Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Antonio, Tx Posts: 1,572	Yeah LCD's are the way to go. I will never use a CRT again. I replaced all my monitors with LCD's. Jesus I just counted and I have 7 LCD's in my house. __________________

01-25-2006, 04:46 AM	#3 (permalink)
Caslon Lieutenant Colonel Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Deep inside the Earth. Posts: 4,803	Agreed. I think it's an issue with the Gforce2 MX. It might also be with the motherboard. You might try recording all bios settings and reset the CMOS jumpers on the motherboard, start from default bios settings. Also, Screensaver does wierd things sometimes. Disable it completely.