Pc blowing my monitors?

guzzbuzz

Hi im having some monitor problems and i hope someobody can offer advice because its driving me mad.

I have two pc's that run side by side, using their own monitors, keyboards etc etc

One is a very old machine (about 10 years +) the other is only 2 years old.

The monitor on the newer machine stopped working last week, it just went black. it was a refurbed dell monitor that i picked up cheap, which worked for 2+ years. i tried it on my older pc......same problem, not working.

The thing is, the monitor comes on, during boot up, but then it goes off. If i power the monitor off and then back on.......it will display windows for 2 secs, then go blank again.

Because i bought it cheap and 2nd hand i thought its just broke and i need a new one. So i called a mate who has a pc business and he said he would give me a monitor for free......a 21 inch flat screen (again refurbed/ 2nd hand) but he checked it before he sent it.

I plugged it in, it worked for a few mins, then the same problem? it just went off. exact same issue as the other. I can power it off (from the monitor) and then back on......it will show windows for 2 secs then goes black again?!

I have since tried it on my laptop and a freinds pc.....same problem.

I have now connected my newer pc to my old tft monitor and its been working fine for 5 days now....

So im not sure what the problem is? Did i just get two dud screens? Or is my pc causing the monitors to blow or reset the settings somehow?!

I have tried different vga cables the i know work, and the monitor still wont work properly. So i dont think its a cable issue. I thought it might be the new pc's vga connector blowing out the screens but then why does the old tft monitor work fine on that newer pc?

The only other thing i can think of the amount of electrical euipiment i have running. i have 3 extension leads (all surge protected ones) that connect about 15 different plugs from various electrical items in the room......could that be causing the screens to blow?

Any advice would be welcome as this is driving me mad. I have tried to get to the root of the problem, but i just cant work out what might be causing them to blow or stop working?!

Thanks

bob_a_builder

The one that are not working are CRT ?
could be the PC resolution is set to high ?
connect the working tft - set the PCs screen resolution to a nice small number - say 800 x 600 , then reconnect the CRT monitors
see what happens

closed

check lead is secure, and try safe mode

Ratboy

Go into safe mode, and use lower screen resolution. reboot, done.

forgotmyname

As above the screen resolution has been changed to something the monitor cannot handle.

I used to get get when setting up peoples computers here, I had a 19" monitor which was a lot of money and cost a fortune when most people thought a 17" was a luxury.

When they plugged the computer into their smaller screens the text would be so small it couldnt be read or just wouldnt display anything.

guzzbuzz

bob_a_builder wrote: »

The one that are not working are CRT ?
could be the PC resolution is set to high ?
connect the working tft - set the PCs screen resolution to a nice small number - say 800 x 600 , then reconnect the CRT monitors
see what happens

thanks

the 2 screens that are broken are tft (flat screens)

i tried to change the settings to what you said, it didnt work. both monitors just come on for a sec then go blank, if i turn them on and off the same thing happens (there is no flickering)

guzzbuzz

closed wrote: »

check lead is secure, and try safe mode

I checked the leads and tried different vga cables. still no joy.

I cant get into safe mode on the broken monitors as they just go blank a little while after it starts booting

guzzbuzz

Ratboy wrote: »

Go into safe mode, and use lower screen resolution. reboot, done.

i cant do that, they just go blank a few secs after start up

closed

can you go into and stay in the bios screen

has the machine got more than one video card output.

Are you pressing F8 in time

which operating system

which graphics card

guzzbuzz

forgotmyname wrote: »

As above the screen resolution has been changed to something the monitor cannot handle.

I used to get get when setting up peoples computers here, I had a 19" monitor which was a lot of money and cost a fortune when most people thought a 17" was a luxury.

When they plugged the computer into their smaller screens the text would be so small it couldnt be read or just wouldnt display anything.

Thats what i thought at first, but i changed it on the screen im using now to 800 x 600, then connected the other monitors and the same thing keeps happening?

Do you think it could be a power surge?

Or even a dodgy vga connector on the pc? but then i dont get why it still works on this pc....

What about a virus, could that be changing the screen res somehow?

thanks for all the help to everyone...

guzzbuzz

closed wrote: »

can you go into an stay in the bios screen

no, it will let me press f4 or whatever but it just goes off....

I know its in the bios screen or loaded into windows because i had a vga switch box connected to my tv, and when i switched to there its displaying

i thought the vga switch box might have caused the problem but i have fully disconnected it and i still get the issue