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FireGryphon · Fri Jul 23, 2004 5:49 pm

I just disassembled my computer from my livingroom, where I had it hooked up to a bigscreen TV via S-Video and an LCD via the regular VGA connector. I moved my computer back into my room, hooked it up, and now my monitor, my precious Sony G420 (19") CRT, is completely blurry.

I didn't move my monitor at all, so I doubt it's damaged. If I turn the monitor off and on again, it'll be very clear, but after a few minutes, it gets blurry again. This happens at my preferred resolution of 1600x1200, and at the lower res of 1024x768. At both settings, refresh rate was 85 Hz. The Sony G420 is hooked up via regular VGA connector. My graphics card is an ATI All In Wonder 7500 PCI card with all the MMC software installed, and the latest ATI drivers.

The blur is so bad I can barely read what I'm writing. Please help... hopefuly I'll be able to read your responses.

IntelMole · Fri Jul 23, 2004 6:32 pm

We got a few monitors that do something similar at uni.

They would be blurry, but extra so until you press the degauss option...

So my guess is a poorly demagnetised screen caused by the freaky screen gnomes that were mentioned in another thread. Honestly, I don't see how you could do this as you haven't moved the monitor and it should happen straight away...

And your post was surprisingly coherent given the circumstances :-D

,
-Mole

tempeteduson · Fri Jul 23, 2004 7:11 pm

Lowering your refresh rate probably will help somewhat but won't alleviate your problem, I guess. Try 70-80Hz.

Contingency · Fri Jul 23, 2004 9:52 pm

Just to adventure a guess, could some of the ATi-specific settings be stuck in place? I'd try uninistalling/reinstalling the drivers, or running a system restore on the day before you hooked up to the TV. If you think it's the monitor, try it on another computer. That's the only way to be really sure.

UberGerbil · Fri Jul 23, 2004 10:18 pm

Check that the cable is firmly seated in the VGA connectors, and try a different VGA cable.

FireGryphon · Fri Jul 23, 2004 10:24 pm

Problem solved. Sorry for not reposting sooner, but I was trying to fix it... degauss, lower refresh rate... didn't help. I was on the verge of reinstalling the drivers, since I had no save point (and no other comp to try the monitor on).

So, what fixed the problem? I have no idea. After nothing worked for hours, I rebooted and the damn thing looks good again. Thanks for the speedy and great suggestions guys, but sometimes, all you need to fix a problem is chance. :-)

IntelMole · Sat Jul 24, 2004 5:10 am

I just thought of something reading your post again.

You're now in a different room... and CRTs are affected by strong magnetic fields...

You got any in your room?
-Mole

Sat Jul 24, 2004 12:41 pm

If you have any unshielded computer speakers, that can cause monitor problems.

FireGryphon · Sat Jul 24, 2004 6:50 pm

Blurriness is still there (on a visible, though much smaller scale than before), so this warrants new attention.

The only EMI I can think of, unless there's a field from an adjoining apartment, are my Klipsch PM speakers. Each is a minimum of about one foot from my monitor, is that too short of a distance?

APWNH · Sat Jul 24, 2004 8:17 pm

FireGryphon wrote:
Blurriness is still there (on a visible, though much smaller scale than before), so this warrants new attention.

The only EMI I can think of, unless there's a field from an adjoining apartment, are my Klipsch PM speakers. Each is a minimum of about one foot from my monitor, is that too short of a distance?

Try turning them off. :wink:

nordo42 · Sat Jul 24, 2004 8:19 pm

it's the magnet in speakers that causes the problem, usually. but in my experience, it's mostly just discoloration. i've also seen instances where having something plugged into the same outlet / power strip as a monitor can cause blurriness issues (i.e. an A/C unit, laser printer, stereo receiver, etc). try switching outlets or unplug something you recently plugged in that could be the cause. i lived in apartment once where my monitor would go blurry everytime the central a/c came on... even with a high quality power strip.

not to state the obvious, but i assume you've also unplugged and replugged your cable to the video card / monitor? and that you've inspected the cable to ensure it's not damaged? here's an example: if you get one of those cheap monitor cable extensions, you will get crazy bluriness in high resolution because of signal degredation.

Sun Jul 25, 2004 3:45 am

Those are good suggestions. You might also have the video cable routed too close to something else. Try re-routing.

For the speakers, try moving them at least one meter (3 feet) away, as is usually recommended in operating manuals for CRTs and TVs. Magnetic fields will usually cause purplish and greenish tints long before any blurriness is noticed.

APWNH · Sun Jul 25, 2004 10:07 am

Well I've got my speakers right next to my monitor. They're ultra-crappy speakers, though. no blurriness or discoloration.

Sun Jul 25, 2004 12:09 pm

They may not have big enough magnets in them to effect your monitor on your setup. Also if you have your monitor cable wrapped around power or other cords, that can cause interference if it is not shielded or damaged.

FireGryphon · Sun Jul 25, 2004 2:14 pm

Great suggestions, guys. Let me address what's been said.

1) I can't realistically move my Klipsch speakers one meter away from my monitor. If I did, they would be rear speakers, not front speakers. I've had monitor problems from speaker interference before, and since there's no discoloration or wavy lines on my monitor, I'm going to guess that's not the problem.

2) I have a limited number of outlets here, and I don't think it's feasible to plug in my monitor to a unique outlet. As a last resort, I'll have to link 2 or 3 power strips to have enough outlets to do that.

3) I'm not using any VGA extension cables.

4) I'll see what I can do about suspending the monitor cable away from the other power cables. Now that I look, the VGA cable hangs right over the subwoofer and many other power cables under my desk.

Do I have to isolate just the VGA cable, or the monitor's power cable as well?

Rakhmaninov3 · Sun Jul 25, 2004 5:55 pm

Try going around your house and activating all the things that really suck power. Washer and dryer if you have them, TVs, sound systems, air conditioning (big one). Better yet, wait until the refrigerator's condenser kicks on and then do it, and observe your monitor to see if the other devices' operation is what affects your monitor so much.

Around here, my monitor is always fuzzy and crappy-looking whenever our washer and/or dryer are running, but it goes back to normal when they turn off.

Good luck!

nordo42 · Sun Jul 25, 2004 7:30 pm

FireGryphon wrote:
1) I can't realistically move my Klipsch speakers one meter away from my monitor. If I did, they would be rear speakers, not front speakers. I've had monitor problems from speaker interference before, and since there's no discoloration or wavy lines on my monitor, I'm going to guess that's not the problem.

2) I have a limited number of outlets here, and I don't think it's feasible to plug in my monitor to a unique outlet. As a last resort, I'll have to link 2 or 3 power strips to have enough outlets to do that.

Do I have to isolate just the VGA cable, or the monitor's power cable as well?

Don't do these things permanently, just temporarily to isolate the problem so you can stop hunting for the issue. Use an extension cord if you have to. Just figure out if either of those are the problem, then you can deal with whether or not you want to make big changes permanently.

Mon Jul 26, 2004 1:07 am

FireGryphon wrote:
Great suggestions, guys. Let me address what's been said.

1) I can't realistically move my Klipsch speakers one meter away from my monitor. If I did, they would be rear speakers, not front speakers. I've had monitor problems from speaker interference before, and since there's no discoloration or wavy lines on my monitor, I'm going to guess that's not the problem.

2) I have a limited number of outlets here, and I don't think it's feasible to plug in my monitor to a unique outlet. As a last resort, I'll have to link 2 or 3 power strips to have enough outlets to do that.

3) I'm not using any VGA extension cables.

4) I'll see what I can do about suspending the monitor cable away from the other power cables. Now that I look, the VGA cable hangs right over the subwoofer and many other power cables under my desk.

Do I have to isolate just the VGA cable, or the monitor's power cable as well?

I would at least move it away from the subwoofer as that has a huge hardcore magnet in it and can screw up your picture quality easily.

FireGryphon · Fri Jul 30, 2004 11:01 pm

I tied the monitor cable away from the sub and other wires. Blurriness only comes back occassionally now, and it's not that much of a problem. I guess I just have too many things to keep the monitor cable away from behind my desk... but now it's good, thanks a bunch fellas.

Sat Jul 31, 2004 12:45 am

Good to hear you got rid of most of the blurriness. The fact that it is gone now shows that it was most likely you sub causing the problem.

FireGryphon · Sun Aug 15, 2004 9:57 pm

the blurriness jsut came back. I'm not sure what to blame it on now.

My monitor wire is suspended as far above my sub as it can feasibly be. Short of there being a source in an adjoining apartment, I dont' know what to say...

Is there some way to shield my monitor from emi sources in other apartments? help, plz....

FireGryphon · Sun Aug 15, 2004 10:14 pm

That oughta teach 'em...

To protect my monitor cable even more from EMI, I just wrapped the wire in aluminum foil.

Now the government won't know what I'm watching...

Mon Aug 16, 2004 12:05 am

Put some on your head, and then they will not know what you are thinking either..... :wink:

Seriously though, I would check into replacing the cable as it may have some cut in the shielding causing problems.

FireGryphon · Mon Aug 16, 2004 12:33 am

The hard part about this is that the blurriness just comes and goes as it pleases. Right now it's away, but my tinfoil trick isn't what made it that way (maybe it's keeping it that way, but we'll have to see).

I noticed that if I turned the monitor off and on again, the bluriness went away for a moment, but then came back. So I turned the monitor off, let it sit for a minute, and when I turned it on again, all was well and it has stayed that way so far.

I need a gauss detector. Anyone know where I can buy one?

UberGerbil · Mon Aug 16, 2004 1:07 am

I wonder if you have an intermittent-bad connector on the monitor itself? This could go good or bad depending on tension in the cable, and thermal stress as the monitor goes on and off. You'd probably have to take it somewhere to have it tested, but you could always try another monitor and see if that fixes the problem.

Otherwise I'd try a heavy-duty cable.

NeXus 6 · Mon Aug 16, 2004 1:47 am

There's a possiblity that the electron gun is going bad, since you say the blurriness comes and goes. If it's losing focus to nearly unreadable text then it could just be that the monitor is on its way out. Hopefully this isn't the case because Sony tech support sucks. They also don't make the G420S anymore.

FireGryphon · Mon Aug 16, 2004 8:26 am

It's not just text, everything gets blurry. I look at the monitor and my eyes start to water...

It would completely suck if the monitor is dying. I paid a lot of money for this thing, and I want it to last me a few more years. I spent so much time researching the best monitor... fleh.

Anyway, thermal stress? Are you implying that if I create more air flow behind the monitor, the problem might go away?

Mon Aug 16, 2004 9:50 pm

Well a monitor fan may help, I do use one on my sony and it does blow a lot of heat out of the case that would otherwise stay inside and only slowly filter out. My sony no longer gets hot to the touch like it did when I first got it.

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