Technologically Inept

StrayDog

So my cousin gave me a flat screen monitor, a Samsung Sync Master 226 bw.

I hooked it up to my computer and all that came up were a bunch of vertical lines. I connected my old monitor and I had the same problem. In my frustration I restarted the computer a few times, and the picture came back on my old monitor. I don't want to try hooking up the flat screen again until I have a better understanding of the problem.

My computer's pretty old, my dad put it together back in 2002. I don't know if it's a graphics card issue or what. Any help would be appreciated.

t_catt11

Monitors are all pretty much plug and play - no other installation necessary. If you are seeing vertical lines, it's usually because either the monitor OR the graphics card are bad. If you get the same result on more than one monitor, then the card is at fault.

It is possible that your card was not seated properly, and that you loosened it a bit when plugging in another monitor. Make sure that this is not the case, else you could hasten its death.

matt has a problem

There's also a chance the monitors aren't hot-swappable. Different max resolutions and refresh rates mean you should power down, unplug the old monitor, plug in the new monitor, then turn your computer on.

PirateJon

Well, sir, what we have here is failure to communicate (proper resolution and refresh rates).

Install http://www.samsung.com/us/support/download/supportDown.do?group=&type=monitors&subtype=lcd&model_nm=226BW&language=&cate_type=all&dType=D&mType=DR&vType=&prd_ia_cd=05020100&disp_nm=226BW&model_cd=&menu=download"]this driver, attach the monitor, reboot.

You may see a very low res version of your desktop. If the monitor fails to work at this point, it's probably no good. Then set the display properties to 1024x768 with 60Hz refresh.

EDIT: Ok, that URL won't display right.

http://www.samsung.com/us/support/download/supportDown.do?group=&type=monitors&subtype=lcd&model_nm=226BW&language=&cate_type=all&dType=D&mType=DR&vType=&prd_ia_cd=05020100&disp_nm=226BW&model_cd=&menu=download

StrayDog

Oh wow, thanks for the speedy replies.

I knew enough to connect my monitors when the computer's off, heh heh.

t: PirateJon, I installed that file. When the computer's booting up the screen is still scrambled, but when it's done loading, the screen is normal (I'm using the flat screen right now). So thanks very much for your help, I really appreciate it. Now I just have to figure what's up with the screen when I turn the computer on.

matt has a problem

Probably a conflict with the BIOS boot resolution. We have a monitor at work that fragments into 4 quadrants with large black lines between them during boot, but otherwise performs flawlessly.