CRT Monitor Problem

Hello I hope someone can help me I have a problem with a CRT monitor,
19" SyncMaster 957DF. The problem is that over the last couple of
weeks I have noticed the screen is beginning to fray/wobble/go wavy at
the edges, the whole screen is actually a little wobbly and if you are
looking at text it kinda blurs slightly, to cap this off the pc which
I use as a kind of server for a network crashed, when I looked at it
the CRT was frozen on its screensaver with about 10 very fine red
vertical lines going down it, it couldnt be recovered by the usual
means of task manager so I just turned the pc off and rebooted and it
was fine again but still with the wobbly text and edges. The wobble
isnt severe and the pixels only move about 1mm but its enough to make
your eyes go a bit cross eyed and I am worried it will get worse
especially as it made the pc crash too, someone told me the pc crashed
a week or so ago too so thats twice now. Does anyone have any ideas on
whats happening, is my monitor which is about 5 years old about to
kick the bucket or has my graphics card gone loopy? I would test the
pc out on another monitor but all my others are TFT/LCD so im not sure
that would really help with the diagnosis. Also the monitor is
connected by VGA and by USB, I have no idea why it needs both, could
it be something to do with this aspect maybe? Any help will be much
appreciated.
Kind regards
Ollie

p.s. I have checked all connections and also used a different usb port
to no avail.

"Ollie" wrote in message
...
Hello I hope someone can help me I have a problem with a CRT monitor,
19" SyncMaster 957DF. The problem is that over the last couple of
weeks I have noticed the screen is beginning to fray/wobble/go wavy at
the edges, the whole screen is actually a little wobbly and if you are
looking at text it kinda blurs slightly, to cap this off the pc which
I use as a kind of server for a network crashed, when I looked at it
the CRT was frozen on its screensaver with about 10 very fine red
vertical lines going down it, it couldnt be recovered by the usual
means of task manager so I just turned the pc off and rebooted and it
was fine again but still with the wobbly text and edges. The wobble
isnt severe and the pixels only move about 1mm but its enough to make
your eyes go a bit cross eyed and I am worried it will get worse
especially as it made the pc crash too, someone told me the pc crashed
a week or so ago too so thats twice now. Does anyone have any ideas on
whats happening, is my monitor which is about 5 years old about to
kick the bucket or has my graphics card gone loopy? I would test the
pc out on another monitor but all my others are TFT/LCD so im not sure
that would really help with the diagnosis. Also the monitor is
connected by VGA and by USB, I have no idea why it needs both, could
it be something to do with this aspect maybe? Any help will be much
appreciated.
Kind regards
Ollie

p.s. I have checked all connections and also used a different usb port
to no avail.
Monitors are sometimes affected by the magnetic field from other devices,
such as a second monitor, UPS, or motorized device like a desk fan. Turn
off everything not necessary for the operation of the affected computer,
including any desk lights, and see if the monitor stabilizes. Sometimes
just separating the monitor from the computer a little farther can clear
things up as well, especially if the computer case is weak in the shielding
department.

A FAQ on the Samsong web page about your monitor went like this:
Question
Image is not stable and may appear to vibrate
Answer
Check that the display resolution and frequency from your PC or video board
is an available model for your monitor. On your computer check : Control
Panel, Display Settings.

Possibly one of Window's seemingly continuous updates changed the sync
frequency of your driver.

Hi GBM thanks for your advice although it cant be the windows updates
as I have them turned off and my CRT is on the desk while the tower is
on the floor along with the power supplies. Also the pc crashed again
about 10 minutes after writing my initial post, again on the
screensaver with the red lines, Ive turned the screensaver off for the
time being. I also have no power driven items near my CRT, the only
thing I have near to it are a couple of speakers that have always been
there and they are always turned off at the controller speaker anyway.
Perhaps the monitor is just in its death throws? The driver idea was a
good one, although I cant find my CRT model on the samsung site, Ill
try again perhaps Ive just missed it somehow.

"Ollie" wrote in message
...
Hi GBM thanks for your advice although it cant be the windows updates
as I have them turned off and my CRT is on the desk while the tower is
on the floor along with the power supplies. Also the pc crashed again
about 10 minutes after writing my initial post, again on the
screensaver with the red lines, Ive turned the screensaver off for the
time being. I also have no power driven items near my CRT, the only
thing I have near to it are a couple of speakers that have always been
there and they are always turned off at the controller speaker anyway.
Perhaps the monitor is just in its death throws? The driver idea was a
good one, although I cant find my CRT model on the samsung site, Ill
try again perhaps Ive just missed it somehow.

Could be a failing PSU or video card, that would explain the crashes.
Also run memtest and check the seating on your memory and video card.

"Ollie" wrote in message
...
Hi GBM thanks for your advice although it cant be the windows updates
as I have them turned off and my CRT is on the desk while the tower is
on the floor along with the power supplies. Also the pc crashed again
about 10 minutes after writing my initial post, again on the
screensaver with the red lines, Ive turned the screensaver off for the
time being. I also have no power driven items near my CRT, the only
thing I have near to it are a couple of speakers that have always been
there and they are always turned off at the controller speaker anyway.
Perhaps the monitor is just in its death throws? The driver idea was a
good one, although I cant find my CRT model on the samsung site, Ill
try again perhaps Ive just missed it somehow.

I agree with RIAA that it could be memory or power supply related as well.
With the crashing PC I'd lean more with something PC related rather than the
monitor itself. Power Supply/Memory/Drivers, and possibly check to see that
both the computer and the monitor are plugged into the same power strip.
Don't have one going to a UPS and the other direct to the outlet. I have
seen power ground loops cause problems as you describe as well.

Here is the URL for links to the Samsung drivers. Mind the long URL's that
wrap on the screen for most monitors.
Win 95/98/ME Updated : 2003-08-28 =
http://www.samsung.com/download/File...pe=DR&language

Win 2000 Updated : 2003-08-28 =
http://org.downloadcenter.samsung.co..._sm957df2k.zip

Win XP Updated : 2003-08-28 =
http://org.downloadcenter.samsung.co...0_957df_XP.zip

Win 98/ME/2K/XP Updated : 2003-12-23 =
http://org.downloadcenter.samsung.co...37_SM957DF.zip

PDF User Manual in English =
http://org.downloadcenter.samsung.co...eng-AN19IS.pdf

I see that they list two different ones that might work using XP and all
show a different byte count on their web page so your guess is as good as
mine but if I had to guess, I'd try the last one. Newest date and it looks
like they rolled all of them up into one version but still left the
individual ones available as well.

Another thought is to get a hold of one of the Linux CD boot disks and see
if the monitor is stable when booting Linux directly from the CD. If it is
then the it's a Windows driver or some other Windows related problem, if not
then it's hardware problem of some kind provided you choose the same monitor
resolution.

Hi guys thanks for the great advice I hadnt even considered the power
supply being the problem, or memory for that matter, I'll take all
your advice and fiddle around with it and see what results I get and
then report back my findings, fingers crossed its not my pc although
if its my crt its still gonna cost me, sigh, i wonder if its too late
to amend my letter to santa?

Ollie wrote:

Hi guys thanks for the great advice I hadnt even considered the power
supply being the problem, or memory for that matter, I'll take all
your advice and fiddle around with it and see what results I get and
then report back my findings, fingers crossed its not my pc although
if its my crt its still gonna cost me, sigh, i wonder if its too late
to amend my letter to santa?

I don't think it's the PC PSU. It could be the graphics card because
I have a cheapo that made wiggle worms slowly climb up the picture
until I changed its capacitors, but sometimes just changing the
refresh rate or other timing parameters (a new graphics driver may
also do that) can help.

CRT monitors can also develop bad capacitors in the horizontal and
vertical sections, and the www.repairfaq.org has a lot of information
about repair. But don't overlook bad solder joints.

Can you take a walk through your neighborhood and find another CRT
monitor? They're so abundant where I live that I pass on anything
smaller than 19".

Well, as you correctly deduced, either your monitor or your video card is
failing. The only way to determine which is the culprit is to replace
either one of them (which ever is more convenient) and see if that fixes it.
You really don't have any other options, other than taking it into a shop.

--
--DaveW
"Ollie" wrote in message
...
Hello I hope someone can help me I have a problem with a CRT monitor,
19" SyncMaster 957DF. The problem is that over the last couple of
weeks I have noticed the screen is beginning to fray/wobble/go wavy at
the edges, the whole screen is actually a little wobbly and if you are
looking at text it kinda blurs slightly, to cap this off the pc which
I use as a kind of server for a network crashed, when I looked at it
the CRT was frozen on its screensaver with about 10 very fine red
vertical lines going down it, it couldnt be recovered by the usual
means of task manager so I just turned the pc off and rebooted and it
was fine again but still with the wobbly text and edges. The wobble
isnt severe and the pixels only move about 1mm but its enough to make
your eyes go a bit cross eyed and I am worried it will get worse
especially as it made the pc crash too, someone told me the pc crashed
a week or so ago too so thats twice now. Does anyone have any ideas on
whats happening, is my monitor which is about 5 years old about to
kick the bucket or has my graphics card gone loopy? I would test the
pc out on another monitor but all my others are TFT/LCD so im not sure
that would really help with the diagnosis. Also the monitor is
connected by VGA and by USB, I have no idea why it needs both, could
it be something to do with this aspect maybe? Any help will be much
appreciated.
Kind regards
Ollie

p.s. I have checked all connections and also used a different usb port
to no avail.

Ollie wrote:

Hi guys thanks for the great advice I hadnt even considered the
power supply being the problem, or memory for that matter, I'll
take all your advice and fiddle around with it and see what
results I get and then report back my findings, fingers crossed
its not my pc although if its my crt its still gonna cost me,
sigh, i wonder if its too late to amend my letter to santa?

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--
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy New Year
Joyeux Noel, Bonne Annee.
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http://cbfalconer.home.att.net



--
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On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 13:50:39 -0800 (PST), "larry moe 'n
curly" wrote:



Ollie wrote:

Hi guys thanks for the great advice I hadnt even considered the power
supply being the problem, or memory for that matter, I'll take all
your advice and fiddle around with it and see what results I get and
then report back my findings, fingers crossed its not my pc although
if its my crt its still gonna cost me, sigh, i wonder if its too late
to amend my letter to santa?

I don't think it's the PC PSU. It could be the graphics card because
I have a cheapo that made wiggle worms slowly climb up the picture
until I changed its capacitors, but sometimes just changing the
refresh rate or other timing parameters (a new graphics driver may
also do that) can help.

CRT monitors can also develop bad capacitors in the horizontal and
vertical sections, and the www.repairfaq.org has a lot of information
about repair. But don't overlook bad solder joints.

Can you take a walk through your neighborhood and find another CRT
monitor? They're so abundant where I live that I pass on anything
smaller than 19".


I had an aging 19" that was giving the screen the wigglies
at about 1mm movement as soon as the room ambient temp went
down as the winter season approached. Temporarily replacing
it with an LCD, after playing around with the cable
positioning and refresh rates, showed it was the monitor
itself. With mine the tube was getting darker year after
year and it isn't worthwhile to me to try to repair it at
this point as I was already planning on replacing it - just
needed the extra push.