LCD monitor problems - can anyone help please?

JohnOrangePeel

Ok heres the deal,

Was using my pc the other day as usual, playing a game at the time, and the screen on my 17inch BenQ (FP71V+) lcd monitor (About 3 / 3.5 years old) suddenly goes black, but doesnt turn off, nor does the PC crash / lockup etc.

I know this as the sound effects / music from the game was still coming through fine.

So i turn the pc off, check all the wires are still connected, nothing has exploded in the pc tower etc, then i try a reboot.

PC boots up fine, the monitor powers on, shows the startup signal thing for a couple of seconds, but then goes black again (i know the pc booted up fine as i can hear the windows jingle play once it is loaded).

However, On closer inspection i could JUST ABOUT see the display of the window desktop although very very faint/dark. I had checked the brightness / contrast settings, but they had not been touched at the time the picture stopped coming through; they werent altered.

So in summary i am thinking that this is a hardware problem with the monitor being broken in some way, do i need a new one or does the problem lay elsewhere?


This background info may be irrelevant, but this all happened on a fairly humid/ hot day; and a nearby TV displayed signal interference at the same time the pc monitor died on me. i had only seen this signal interference on the tv once before, on that same day, but just put it down to a nearby radio / mobile phone signal etc

Please help!

Thanks

P.S. can someone please recommend a fairly good / cheap widescreen lcd monitor just in case i need a new one? Around the 19inch width size would be fine

Satsumomo

What sort of power up display does it show? A full logo?

Is this logo bright and appears normal? Because this somewhat sounds like the lamps dying out on you, and iirc, these are not expensive to replace. But if the power up logo is bright and clear, then this isn't the case.

Ninja edit: This one time, a power transformer (Is this what they're called?) exploded nearby, so the power went out and came back instantly. My 24" LCD didn't turn on after that, even though it's connected to a power regulator. I let it sit for around 30 minutes and it came back to it's senses. 20 minutes later, the power went out again and came back instantly, doing the same thing. I repeated the process and it worked again.

JohnOrangePeel

Satsumomo wrote: »

What sort of power up display does it show? A full logo?

Is this logo bright and appears normal? Because this somewhat sounds like the lamps dying out on you, and iirc, these are not expensive to replace. But if the power up logo is bright and clear, then this isn't the case.

Ninja edit: This one time, a power transformer (Is this what they're called?) exploded nearby, so the power went out and came back instantly. My 24" LCD didn't turn on after that, even though it's connected to a power regulator. I let it sit for around 30 minutes and it came back to it's senses. 20 minutes later, the power went out again and came back instantly, doing the same thing. I repeated the process and it worked again.

Yeah it shows the usual blue startup display saying something like "Benq model XX monitor, Energy efficient! etc etc" Then when the proper image of the desktop should be displayed, its just black / very very very dimly visible.

I think youre on to something with the back-lights dying. Just wondering if its cheaper to repair or replace?

Also , i dont think it was a power shortage as nothing else in the house was effected.

Ego

OK, either the backlight is somehow getting turned off (ie there's a keyboard shortcut that does it with the monitor or a button on the display or something) or the power inverter is on it's way out. If you boot your computer with the display completely off, then turn the display on when you get to the windows login or desktop, does it briefly show up properly then go all dim?

Power inverter's aren't the hardest thing to replace if you've ever tinkered with electronics (and it's useless to you otherwise anyhow) so if you can find a cheap replacement inverter for that model display, I would say to give it a shot. Otherwise if the inverter is gone, you're looking at buying a new display.

Scrublet

Out of curiosity, did you try the monitor with a different computer? I can't think of a single reason this would make a difference, but I always want to rule out all extra variables before spending money/time on the problem.

Satsumomo

Scrublet wrote: »

Out of curiosity, did you try the monitor with a different computer? I can't think of a single reason this would make a difference, but I always want to rule out all extra variables before spending money/time on the problem.

Yes, this is my next suggestion, because since the initial screen looks ok, then the backlight lamps are working.

JohnOrangePeel

Scrublet wrote: »

Out of curiosity, did you try the monitor with a different computer? I can't think of a single reason this would make a difference, but I always want to rule out all extra variables before spending money/time on the problem.

Just tried that, exactly the same thing happens, startup signal comes on, screen goes black / on close inspection (dark room, windows closed, shinging a torch on screen) the desktop image can just about be seen. Must be a monitor / backlight problem.

Ego

Definitely the display's power inverter, then. Working briefly then going dim = bad inverter for sure. A busted backlight will just be off permanently.