Flakey LCD Monitor (Sony SDM-HS73)

[Grinder]

I'm getting some odd behavior from a 17" LCD monitor from Sony, an
SDM-HS73.

Most of the time, the monitor works as expected. Occassionally on PC
startup/restart the output will be very dim, or poorly centered, or
black. In such a state the OSD buttons are usually unresponsive as
well. Restarting does not fix the problem, but removing the power cord
for a few seconds usually does.

The (VGA to VGA) monitor cable has been replaced, and the same behavior
is still seen. A third cable has been used with identical results. The
monitor, per manufacturer's recommendation, is plugged directly into a
wall socket. The electrical supply is from modern construction that has
not presented any indications of instability.

Any ideas?

 

[taragem]

I'm getting some odd behavior from a 17" LCD monitor from Sony, an
SDM-HS73.

Most of the time, the monitor works as expected. Occassionally on PC
startup/restart the output will be very dim, or poorly centered, or
black. In such a state the OSD buttons are usually unresponsive as
well. Restarting does not fix the problem, but removing the power cord
for a few seconds usually does.

The (VGA to VGA) monitor cable has been replaced, and the same behavior
is still seen. A third cable has been used with identical results. The
monitor, per manufacturer's recommendation, is plugged directly into a
wall socket. The electrical supply is from modern construction that has
not presented any indications of instability.

Any ideas?

The monitor is 4 years old - it could be suffering from old age.

 

[Paul]

I'm getting some odd behavior from a 17" LCD monitor from Sony, an
SDM-HS73.

Most of the time, the monitor works as expected. Occassionally on PC
startup/restart the output will be very dim, or poorly centered, or
black. In such a state the OSD buttons are usually unresponsive as
well. Restarting does not fix the problem, but removing the power cord
for a few seconds usually does.

The (VGA to VGA) monitor cable has been replaced, and the same behavior
is still seen. A third cable has been used with identical results. The
monitor, per manufacturer's recommendation, is plugged directly into a
wall socket. The electrical supply is from modern construction that has
not presented any indications of instability.

Any ideas?

It could be a problem with the internal power supply. It sounds like the
rail voltages are lower than normal. If it was just the brightness of the
screen that was affected, you could blame the inverter or the backlight
or the wiring that joins them. The fact that the display is not
centered, and the OSD is not working, tells you the voltage that
feeds the logic must be out of spec too. So I'd suspect the internal
power supply, as a starting point. If the logic itself were to fail, you'd
think the screen would stay at full brilliance, and display whatever garbage
the logic threw up.

Paul