You won't believe this monitor problem !

[Broomstick]

My monitor suddenly displayed a faint outline of a shadow (nothing to do
with windows' display feature). It is most obvious near characters /fonts.
Very disturbing as it made my eyes tire very quickly, in addition to giving
me the cross-eye "feature". The most obvious suspect in this case is the
monitor and the VGA card. In order to prove that the VGA card (or the
monitor) is indeed defective, I went through the elimination routine. First
I removed the NIC card first and immediately hit jackpot. The shadowing
problem is GONE ! My CRT monitor is now as sharp and clear as before. If I
had just go and buy a new VGA card, I would've ended with double the trouble
and wasted money too !

Have a happy & safe day folks !

Regards,
Hardi

 

[Stephan]

did you try inserting the NIC into a slot further away from the video
card???

My monitor suddenly displayed a faint outline of a shadow (nothing to do
with windows' display feature). It is most obvious near characters /fonts.
Very disturbing as it made my eyes tire very quickly, in addition to giving
me the cross-eye "feature". The most obvious suspect in this case is the
monitor and the VGA card. In order to prove that the VGA card (or the
monitor) is indeed defective, I went through the elimination routine. First
I removed the NIC card first and immediately hit jackpot. The shadowing
problem is GONE ! My CRT monitor is now as sharp and clear as before. If I
had just go and buy a new VGA card, I would've ended with double the trouble
and wasted money too !

Have a happy & safe day folks !

Regards,
Hardi

 

[CWatters]

Perhaps it was just a bad connection in the monitor cable somewhere and just
got fixed when the case was moved to remove the NIC?

 

[Broomstick]

You guys may be right. Cause the problem resurfaced a few hours later.
So I removed another piece of hardware, this time it's the sound card. And
guess what? The problem is gone AGAIN !
This time, though, I shall refrain from congratulating myself until a few
days have passed. If that doesn't boggle my mind, nothing will.

Cheers!

 

[Bill Drake]

Ghosting in this fashion is commonly caused by a loose VGA connector.

When you disturbed the machine by changing the card, you may have
jostled the cable enough to make the problem go away.

Things to check:

1. Ensure that the screws that hold the cable to the video card are
securely tightened. Leaving the screws loose for convenience
sake is a common cause of the "ghosting" problem.

2. If the connector is secured properly, wiggle the cable near the
video connector, and again near the entrance to the monitor.
These two points are where the wires inside the cable tend
to degrade and/or break and/or short together -- causing the
problem you mention.

3. Try a different monitor. If the problem follows the monitor, then
the monitor needs repair. If the problem stays with the machine,
then you've got a problem with the machine (most likely the video
card).

4. Cheap monitor extension cables are a known source of ghosting.
A good monitor extension cable will be at least as thick as the
monitor cable coming out of your monitor. Cheap monitor cables
are *not* rated for high-resolution (1024x768 or better) resolution.

5. If the ghosting appears only after the machine has been on for a
while, you may have a problem with cooling on the video card.
Check the video card to see if it has a cooling fan. If so, confirm
the fan is working properly and the heatsink is not choked with
dust. Clean the dust and replace the fan if necessary.



Best I can do for now. <tm>


Bill

 

[Broomstick]

Truly good info, Bill. Thanks.
The ghost hasn't come back. I hope it stays away.

Best I can do for now. <tm>


Bill

<snip>

 

[Broomstick]

I think you're right. Come to think of it, I did wiggle the data cable on
the monitor's end after removing the soundcard.
The ghost is still enjoying its vacation right now. But tell me one thing,
Bill, is it difficult to replace the monitor data cable?
Does one need special equipment? If the problem returns, I intend to do my
own repair & maintenance.

Many thanks for your help. Have a happy day !

Ghosting in this fashion is commonly caused by a loose VGA connector.

When you disturbed the machine by changing the card, you may have
jostled the cable enough to make the problem go away.

<snip>

 

[cquirke (MVP Win9x)]

Ghosting in this fashion is commonly caused by a loose VGA connector.

Can also happen if contrast is too high; sometimes that ghosts too,
and sometimes it's a duff SVGA card or monitor :-(

1. Ensure that the screws that hold the cable to the video card are
securely tightened. Leaving the screws loose for convenience
sake is a common cause of the "ghosting" problem.

Actually, tightening those screws used to be an Extremely Bad Idea...
- screw goes into another screw, which has a nut inside the case
- when looseing a tightened screw, the card's screw comes out
- when pushing that back, it pushes out the nut inside the case
- that then drops onto the circuit boards a la "russian roulette"

These days, more cards have captive nuts or threads cut into the
bracketry, so there's less risk of loose metal objects flying around
inside the case. Even so, I prefer not to tighten them screws.

A dog/child/drunk pulls on a computer cable. Would you rather:
- the cable fell out of the back of the PC?
- the cable pulled the PC off the table?

2. If the connector is secured properly, wiggle the cable near the
video connector, and again near the entrance to the monitor.
These two points are where the wires inside the cable tend
to degrade and/or break and/or short together -- causing the
problem you mention.

No doubt we'll eventually see the problem mentioned, at the bottom...

3. Try a different monitor. If the problem follows the monitor, then
the monitor needs repair. If the problem stays with the machine,
then you've got a problem with the machine (likely video card).

If "in the PC" and not video card, it would be interferrence from
something either in the case, or near the monitor. Power supplies for
printers and built intio powered speakers are common hassles there.

4. Cheap monitor extension cables are a known source of ghosting.
A good monitor extension cable will be at least as thick as the
monitor cable coming out of your monitor. Cheap monitor cables
are *not* rated for high-resolution (1024x768 or better) resolution.

Also happens with various pass-thru hardware such as video grabbers,
sends to TV etc. Mostly olde kit not likely around today.

Oh, I see. What you see on the monitor comes from the RAMDAC on the
SVGA card (today, usually built into "the big chip" on the card).

Anything from that point on is relevant, i.e. the card, the card's
plug, the monitor's cable, the monitor itself, and any radiation
effects on these from surrounding kit.

Anything *before* that point, i.e. how the card sits in the
motherboard slot etc. is NOT relevant.

------------ ----- --- -- - - - -

Drugs are usually safe. Inject? (Y/n)

 

[Guest]

pressing the degauss button does it for me. but then again, there's a lot of EMI around me.

 

[Broomstick]

The ghosting appears to have gone for good. As you, and others have said,
it probably is the monitor's cable or connectors.
I hope I never have to change THAT cable or connectors. They look awfully
intimidating !

To the other poster ("blank"), I did try degaussing with no effect.

Oh, I see. What you see on the monitor comes from the RAMDAC on the
SVGA card (today, usually built into "the big chip" on the card).

Anything from that point on is relevant, i.e. the card, the card's
plug, the monitor's cable, the monitor itself, and any radiation
effects on these from surrounding kit.

Anything *before* that point, i.e. how the card sits in the
motherboard slot etc. is NOT relevant.

Drugs are usually safe. Inject? (Y/n)

Yes, yes, yes ! There's only one way to find out !

 

[cquirke (MVP Win9x)]

The ghosting appears to have gone for good. As you, and others have said,
it probably is the monitor's cable or connectors.
Good!

I hope I never have to change THAT cable or connectors. They look awfully
intimidating !

IKWYM, having soldered up a few SVGAs in my time, sometimes with
"melting moments" grey ribbon cable. The scars are healing in therapy

-------------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -

Running Windows-based av to kill active malware is like striking
a match to see if what you are standing in is water or petrol.