Silly monitor question

[Massagegirl]

I have lost the color red on my monitor, does anyone know if that could be a software problem or do I need to buy a new monitor?

I miss freecell cuz it is hard without seeing the red cards.

 

[hitrack]

just go to the store and buy more red

 

[Massagegirl]

It's only 3 years old, is this common? I had an old one that turned green previously, but it was 6 years old when it happened.

 

[Phyn]

Be sure to check the connections, too. Weird colour behaviour can be caused by a loose monitor cable connection.

 

[magician]

Is your monitor a CRT? If so, my guess is the electron gun inside the monitor is shot. You can play with some of the adjustment knobs like hue or tint to see if they bring the red back. If that doesn't do it, time for a new monitor.

 

[BlueEyesDude]

This problem is sure to come from the connector or electron gun. Of the Red/Green/Blue signals, the Red seems to be dead. I also got the same problem before, and on a 3 year monitor too.

Try to shake the connection/cable a little, to see if there's a difference. But I guess your option is pretty much to buy a new one ... :-(

 

[Verb]

unplug your monitor and see if any pins are crooked or bent out of shape really bad...

it happened to me before too but it was just a pin that was out of whack..

 

[Massagegirl]

Good advice all, will try all that and get back to ya soon!

 

[Massagegirl]

Darn, tried it all and no luck. It seems silly to buy a new monitor just for the red though!

I was just doing some searching and reseating the video card was suggested. That may be the problem since it happened right after I hooked up a new scanner, and deleting the software didn't help. I did pull the modem out a few times, maybe it jostled something loose? I'm thinking about taking the thing apart, but don't know exactly what a videocard looks like

except for this photo I found.

Now my question is... is this an easy (idiotproof) task or am I in over my head?

 

[hitrack]

Now my question is... is this an easy (idiotproof) task or am I in over my head?

Re calibrating the ILS of a Boing 777 is a piece of cake if you know what your doing.

As a matter-0-fact the last one we did me and the other guy smoked this huge phatty just before we started!!

 

[magician]

Ingrid - Get a laptop with good warranty as they are pricey to repair. As to their shelf life, they vary drastically. I have seen a guy using a 9 years old laptop (Apple PowerBook 5300) typing up his paper in the library and still running strong. On the other hand, my 3 years old Toshiba Protege 7200 always freezes whenever the computer gets a little too warm. I have heard cases where the LCD display fails within the first year of use. So it really depends on your luck. Get one from a reputable company and if something bad does go wrong, you have the warranty to back you up. It also depends on how gentle you are with your laptop. For example, if you accidentally drop your laptop or bang it against something, that can't be good to the laptop.

Massagegirl - The video card has a VGA port (the blue interface in the picture) at the back where the monitor cable attaches to it. Of course, your card may have a different colour VGA port. You lift up the end where the VGA port is located first. Once that is loose, lift the other corner and card is out. To put the card back in, insert the opposite end of the video card (not the VGA port side) into the slot first, then push the other end (VGA port side) into the slot. Once the video card is seated properly, it should not wiggle around. This shouldn't be too difficult for you.

I apologize if my instructions are unclear. It is getting late and I am tired. Good night.

 

[Phyn]

A good move would be to see if you can borrow a working monitor. Connect in place of yours and see what reslts you get. If the red comes back...you probably need a new monitor. Otherwise it could be the card...either failed or just loose.