1. Monitor Troubleshooting
2. Monitor out of adjustment
3. Cleaning your flat screen monitor
4. Cut down on screen glare
5. Low Volume, High Pitch Whining Sound
6. What do I need to run a dual monitor setup?
7. Fixing stuck pixels on your LCD monitor

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Monitor Troubleshooting

If you are experiencing the following problems with your monitor:

Quick Links:
Monitor is blank after restarting system
After connecting a monitor, the picture looks bad
The monitor has started making a strange noise
Monitors display settings are not correct
Display is rotated

<>Monitor is blank after restarting system:

1. Check to be sure that the Monitor has power and that the light is on.
2. Disconnect all devices except for the mouse, keyboard and monitor. Reboot your computer to see if the issue is resolved. If it is, then it is one of the devices that you have disconnected that is causing the problem. try connecting them one at a time and rebooting each time until the original problem occurs. Once identified, try reinstalling the device and updating the driver to resolve the issue.
3. Try connecting the monitor to a different PC using the problem monitor's power cable. If it still doesn't work, try the known good monitors power cable.
4. Try unplugging the monitors power cable, then wait about 20 or 30 seconds and plug it back in.
5. If none of the above troubleshooting steps does not solve the issue, then it is likely that the monitor is bad.

<>After connecting a monitor, the picture looks bad:

1. Start the system in Safe Mode by rebooting the system and pressing the F8 key once per second while it is rebooting. Once you see the Windows Startup menu, select Safe Mode from the listed options. press Enter.
2. Go to Start>> Right click My Computer>> Properties>> Hardware tab>> Device Manager button.
3. Click the plus (+) symbol next to the Monitors entry to expand it.
4. Once expanded, right click on the installed monitor(s) and select Uninstall.
5. Exit the Device Manager and restart your system.

Windows will reinstall your hardware automatically.

<>The monitor has started making a strange noise:

It is usually a glass display type monitor that will create some unusual noise. Such noise could be:

1. A high pitched tone or high pitched squealing sound:
   Usually, these sounds will be of such a high frequency that they are our of the human ears range. But it is possible for these frequencies to radiate off of internal components making the sound audible. Most of the time, moving or adjusting the height of the monitor cures this problem. Also, try simply turning the monitor off and then back on. If the sound continues or worsens, then either have a qualified technician take a look at your monitor or replace the monitor.
    
2. Monitor is making a clicking sound:
   This type of noise is usually caused by the monitors relays opening and closing. You could hear this type of sound when the computer starts up or when you are playing a game and a display setting is changed. This sound is considered normal.

<>Monitors display settings are not correct:

This problem usually occurs when a new monitor is installed. It can happen if the automatic detection installs the wrong driver for your hardware resulting in incorrect display settings for your application.

You can try reinstalling the monitor by using the above troubleshooting step; "After connecting a monitor, the picture looks bad". It is possible that Windows will find the correct drivers this time.

Or, visit the manufactures web site and manually install the correct driver for your hardware and operating system.

<>Display is rotated:

This is usually caused from a game that has changed the Rotation setting within the Graphics Controller. To change this back:

1. Go to Start>> Control Panel>> Intel Extreme Graphics Applet>> Rotation tab.
2. Uncheck the Enable Rotation check box.
3. Click Apply, then OK.
4. Exit Control Panel.

Note: The above steps may vary depending on the graphics card you have installed. You are looking for the Graphics Controller properties window to change the Rotation setting.

An alternate method of finding your Rotation setting is:

1. Right click an empty area of your desktop.
2. Select Properties.
3. Click the Settings tab.
4. Select the Advanced button.
5. Click the Graphics card tab.
6. Select the Graphics Properties button.
7. Click the Rotation tab.
8. Uncheck the Enable Rotation checkbox.
9. Select Apply and exit all windows.

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Monitor out of adjustment

It may be that your Monitor is simply out of adjustment if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:

• Excessive black areas around the picture
• Parts of the picture are missing around the edges
• Picture scrolls up and down
• Incorrect colors
• Image is too dark or too bright.

Your adjustment would depend on the monitor you are using. Please visit the manufactures web site for details on how to make the proper adjustments to clear up the above symptom(s).

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Cleaning your flat screen monitor

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Cut down on screen glare

1. Position your computer so that the computer screen is facing away from the window. Also, be sure that you are not facing the window as well. A proper screen to window angle should be around 90 degrees.
    
2. It is fine to have sunlight from outside shining in to your office. But, it is best if this light is defused by using shades or blinds. Even the use of flat paints will help reduce glare in an office.
    
3. Avoid having a bright light directly above your work station. If you have such a light, try (if possible) turning that light off and use a desk lamp instead.
    
4. If you are not able to avoid the glare from outside or a bright light above you (or both), you can purchase an anti-glare screen to put on your monitor screen.

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Low Volume, High Pitch Whining Sound

The recommended resolution for my 17" CRT monitor is 1024x768. But I prefer to use the resolution 1152x864 at max supported 75 Hz. But recently since a few months from using the latter resolution, my monitor gives a audible low-volume, high-pitched continuous whining sound, which disappears if I change the resolution to 1024x 768 at 85Hz. But reverting back to 1186x864 at 75 Hz doesn't produces any whine at all.


Answer:

Most of the time a monitor will whine because the sealant on the flyback, which is a high voltage transformer, is coming off or apart. The reason you hear it is because of the cycle it's going in. You will have to take it to a shop for them to put sealant on there. DO NOT try to do this yourself due to an extremely high voltage shock hazard, even when unplugged. It doesn't hurt the monitor to run this way, but it sure does get annoying!

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What do I need to run a dual monitor setup?

I'm currently running Windows XP and would like to find out what specific software and/or hardware I would need to run a dual monitor setup?

Answer:

As far as software goes, you won't need anything else. Windows supports up to ten monitors. The only hardware that is in question is your video card. You will need to check with the video card manufacture to be sure that it supports a dual monitor setup. Additionally, the video card would need to support the specific monitor that you are adding. For instance, a video card may support a dual monitor setup but may be limited to a certain monitor size. Adding a wide-screen monitor may take your current video card out of the equation.

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Fixing stuck pixels on your LCD monitor

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