My Return . . . Interrupted

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 9:46 am

Frug, Jess,

I am still wishing to be here and as I said attempted to get my home PC back on the net - Which I did

, but, then, everything went Kablooey

- My Samsung Syncmaster 152v screen went very dark - to the point that I could barely see my cursor. I assumed that this was some powersave setting and pressed enter, moved my mouse . . . all to no avail. I'm am currently assuming that reconnecting a PC to the net that hasn't had security updates or any recent anti-virus software in about 12 months, is the problem. I don't know, though, and any advice would be most welcome.

Please, any help would be very appreciated, as I want to join in as soon as possible.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 4:59 pm

Guys, I really need help on this . . .

Otherwise I will probably just end up buying a new PC ( which I can afford in about three weeks ), but it would be silly if I trashed my existing PC and the problem turned out to be something simple.

Please help me . . . any ideas ?

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:28 pm

weird. I have a Samsung. It sounds like your problem is with the monitor primarily. Do you have a way of testing the monitor?

If not does your Syncmaster have two different connectors on it? (one is DVI, the other is a standard old-style monitor plug) Your monitor might have come with two cables, you could try switching to the other connector if you've got the appropriate kind of port on your video card.

You might have a problem with your video card specifically. Did the trouble start on your first boot up after your computer had been off for awhile? Open your case up and clean out the dust. Make sure all your cards are seated firmly/screwed in where they're supposed to be.

Make sure all your FANS are spinning.

If the computer boots up and you get Windows then it's very unlikely that the entire computer is broken and needs replacing. It's hard to troubleshoot without more info.

Let me know if I can help.

Post by **Frug** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 1:36 am

Becky's right. It's probably not a problem with your computer itself. If you can see stuff but it's just really dark then the computer is working. Also computers tend to beep several times when you turn them on if something is broken.

It is either a problem with your monitor (probably) or it might be a problem with your video card (unlikely but possible). If you don't play games, then replacing your video card is cheap and easy. I have a few spare ones actually. You need to either take the monitor or take your computer somewhere and test them. To test the computer you don't need anything but the power cable and the computer itself. Plug it into another monitor, turn it on, and you should know right away if it's brighter.

I have some experience with samsung monitors. I had a 753 DF that slowly got darker over the years, enough that I couldn't do graphics properly (which I need to do for Thar). I have a buddy who showed me how to take apart monitors and look for the screw that adjusts brightness. Don't do that, it's dangerous and can kill you even if the monitor is unplugged (capacitors retain a charge). Also don't bother doing that because samsung monitors are the only monitors that my friend has been unable to find a brightness screw for (the screw that controls the voltage. Other screws are just sharpness adjustment). I tried anyway and couldn't find the knob, so I bought a nice new LCD monitor.

CRT monitors just get darker over time and they tend to be kind of cheap these days, so I'd just get a new one.

Post by **Blood Ravenous** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 3:44 am

Well that sucks!

Are you sure you didn't turn the brightness or contrast down? There's usually a menu or something on the monitor itself that will adjust that for you. If that's all the way up then you definitely have a problem. And make sure your cables are plugged in all the way and correctly. I don't know if monitors will work at all if there isn't enough power, but you may not have enough power going to it and that's making it dimmer. Try plugging it into a different outlet, especially if you have a lot of other things plugged in.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:20 pm

Thanks guys,

I will follow your suggestions this evening. I did try using the auto adjust button, bless it, it did try but nothing happened.

I appreciate you guys taking the time and effort to help me out, reminds me yet again why I want to part of this community

Don't you all just love the way Frug explains how to do something dangerous then says " Don't do that, it's dangerous " ?

If all goes well I will speak to you guys this evening.

As we say in England, Cheers !

Lanya Caliope · Post by **Lanya Caliope** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 2:19 pm

Well he's male, so clearly he *would* do it save for the fact that your particular monitor doesn't seem to have that special button. Ah, boys.