In the last couple of days, my screen has started flashing on and off. It's a fairly new monitor, so I think the problem is that something has gotten old in the guts of my computer. Any suggestions?
One obvious thing to try first - are all cords and plugs seated firmly?
Check both the connection between the monitor and the computer, and the monitor and power.
If you have easy access to another monitor, try hooking that one up instead. If you see the same problems with a different monitor, you know it isn't the first monitor.
Mind you, there are plenty of other things it could still be: cables, the video card in your computer, the power supply in your computer, the memory in your computer, the motherboard in your computer... probably more that I'm not thinking of.
But test the monitor first. If you can't find another monitor to try, do you have a laptop you can hook up to your current monitor? That would also help isolate where the problem is.
Hmm! Ok, if safe mode makes any difference, then it is more likely a problem with your video driver (software used to tell the monitor what to do). Safe mode uses a default driver.
If there is any software installed for your video or monitor, it may have some method for automatically checking for an updated video driver. If not, you'll have to check yourself, and that depends on what operating system you're using. If it's a Windows box I can walk you through it (will need to know what version of Windows). If it's a Mac or Linux machine I won't be useful for that. :)
Is it random, or does it occur at regular intervals? I once had a monitor that would turn greenish from time to time, and if I thwapped the side of it, it would go back to normal.
I also encountered one that would blink off every few seconds; it turned out not to like my video card settings.
It happens a lot when I first turn the computer on. Then it seems to happen randomly. Sometimes it's just the screen, and sometimes it seems that the computer freezes for a few seconds, then starts to run again.
Comments 5
Check both the connection between the monitor and the computer, and the monitor and power.
If you have easy access to another monitor, try hooking that one up instead. If you see the same problems with a different monitor, you know it isn't the first monitor.
Mind you, there are plenty of other things it could still be: cables, the video card in your computer, the power supply in your computer, the memory in your computer, the motherboard in your computer... probably more that I'm not thinking of.
But test the monitor first. If you can't find another monitor to try, do you have a laptop you can hook up to your current monitor? That would also help isolate where the problem is.
Good luck!
Reply
Reply
If there is any software installed for your video or monitor, it may have some method for automatically checking for an updated video driver. If not, you'll have to check yourself, and that depends on what operating system you're using. If it's a Windows box I can walk you through it (will need to know what version of Windows). If it's a Mac or Linux machine I won't be useful for that. :)
Reply
I also encountered one that would blink off every few seconds; it turned out not to like my video card settings.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment