Which is failing, the video card or the mottior?

[mm]

Which is failing, the video card or the monitor?

I have a Dell CRT monitor, 17", that I got for free but which has
worked fine for a couple years.

I also have an ATI video card, bought used on ebay about 9 months ago,
and I can give you details about that if necessary, which has worked
fine since installation.

But one is not always working fine now.

The question is, is it likely that the card or that the monitor is
responsible for the problem I have**.

In the last 2 months, 4 times there has been a strange image on the
monitor. On average it's ligher in color, but the white is not quite
as bright, less contrast, iirc has many little grey or black specks
spread rather evenly across the screen, and most clearly noticeable is
the change in the text, which is blurry and has a iirc pink ghost just
to the right of each letter. The ghost is a fine line version of the
letter, would be easy to read if the blurry full line-width letter
weren't brighter and just to the left of it.

So do you think it is the monitor or the video card that is failing?



**Why does this matter now? Since this problem is only the slightest
annoyance, I would wait to see which part gets worse first, but
according to the good advice I got here (Thanks again***), the ATI
card I bought has dual output, for the monitor and for my tv's via my
DVDR. A friend is giving me his old Dell Dimension 4600 desktop
computer, and I presume it doesn't have a dual output video card, so I
would just put my ATI card in it, but I don't want to do all that if
the card is failing.

***I haven't done it much yet, but I'm able to watch video from the
computer on any tv connected to the DVDR. I can proabably record the
show for later watching on the DVDR's hard drive. In the electronics
repair newsgroup they explained what sort of "modems" or whatever they
are called that I could use so that all I need is CAT-5 or Cat-6 to
run 100 feet or more from the computer to the DVDR.

 

[mm]

My guess the monitor, easily confirmed by trying another one which is
the best thing to do rather than guessing.

Thanks. It happens so rarely that wouldn't work as well as if it were
bad much of the time.

What you mentioned could well be a degaussing problem... or you got
something magnetic near the screen, could also be other faults as
well.... speakers perhaps?

No. It just happens for no apparent reason. I have to turn the
computer off for a while to make it go away. Hmmm. I guess I could
turn off the monitor and leave the rest of the computer on. I should
have thought of that but was mostly worriedit was the video card.

davy

I have a 19 ot 21 inch monitor that is so heavy and bulky, I will
barely be ablt to get it up the stairs, and because I want to set it
on the switch box that the monitor sits on, that will be difficult
too. I sort of wish the monitor *would* break, so I would have to
put in the bigger one.

Thanks again.

 

[mm]

My guess the monitor, easily confirmed by trying another one which is
the best thing to do rather than guessing.

What you mentioned could well be a degaussing problem... or you got
something magnetic near the screen, could also be other faults as
well.... speakers perhaps?

davy

Actually, unadulterated thanks. You solved my problem.