by Ryan Reid
Member since:
October 5, 2008

Computer/monitor issues...

October 21, 2010 07:07 PM UTC
views: 0 | 6 people recommend this | comments: 38

ok starting just about an hour ago i am having issues with my monitor. whenever i do anything somewhat graphics intensive (and sometimes not even that) the screen goes black for about a second and then comes back.

for the most part, not an issue, but when i start up photoshop it goes crazy, cant stay on for more than a few seconds. i really have no idea whats causing this.

but i have noticed quite a few new issues with my computer in the past few days and that directly coincides with a few windows updates that i installed...so i think its time that i run a full system restore on this bad boy. i usually do it once a year, but i guess ill just be a little ahead of schedule this year...well, im off to back up all my photos and music. ill be back before long, hopefully with a working monitor...

 

im worried its actually the monitor though...its getting old

Comments: 38

Thomas Millington Oct 21, 2010, 7:20pm UTC
I've had similar problems. I figured my monitor was getting old and needed to be replaced.
Ryan Reid Oct 21, 2010, 7:31pm UTC
i kinda want a new one anyway....hehehe...no, cant afford one right now
Thomas Millington Oct 21, 2010, 7:46pm UTC
When my screen goes black, which it does more frequently now, I just pound on my desk with my fist and the screen comes back up. I don't know how long I can keep this up.
Ryan Reid Oct 21, 2010, 7:47pm UTC
i have a situation like that in my car lol, the dash goes out so i kick the dash, it comes back. its short in the system somewhere...been going on for years. but at least it stopped blowing out headlights every week! lol
Justin Reid Oct 21, 2010, 7:23pm UTC
If its display problems its either the monitor or video card. Check for new drivers first.
Ryan Reid Oct 21, 2010, 7:30pm UTC
im downloading new drivers now for the video card. might still reboot though...
Ryan Reid Oct 21, 2010, 8:12pm UTC
now its just more random than before. i cant pinpoint whats causing it. at first i was sure it was because of high graphics use, now...not so sure...
Bryan R. Oct 21, 2010, 7:32pm UTC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMe032S9krc
classic... good luck with your monitor and system restore though.
Ryan Reid Oct 21, 2010, 7:46pm UTC
hahaha! how hadent i seen this????
Adelaide M. Oct 21, 2010, 7:40pm UTC
Good luck! Hope it's an easy fix!
Adelaide M. Oct 23, 2010, 2:16pm UTC
Thanks for posting to Point Taken.

Have a great weekend!
Sandy Moore Oct 21, 2010, 7:41pm UTC
I am no help on this. Good luck with it.
Bernard C. Oct 21, 2010, 7:43pm UTC
I got lots of problems like that too - the updates are not all what they crack up to be - best to get the update from the monitor manufacturers to be up to date :-) My pc won't run any updates for some strange reason - it did few and then refuses to do the rest - not giving any specific problem just says there's no intnernet connection - but its had just downloaded like 45 files so there is a connection - :-)
Mary McKinney Oct 21, 2010, 7:49pm UTC
Mine is doing that once in awhile, and jumping :~(
dee b. Oct 21, 2010, 7:53pm UTC
My monitor is old, about nearly 6 years old now, but its still as bright and clear as it was the day I bought it. My only problem is that my drives are getting full. In time I will have to go in hock for a new one.
With yours I would say the same things others here have said, that its to do with the video card.
Ryan Reid Oct 21, 2010, 8:11pm UTC
i just updated the drivers...and it runs PS now, but its doing it randomly now...ugh
dee b. Oct 21, 2010, 8:40pm UTC
Nothing like a computer to give ya a headache! Lord knows I've had my share. But I guess being this is an old bugger I can't complain to much.
Tory H. Oct 21, 2010, 8:52pm UTC
What's even more bizarre is that for the first time, my monitor did something similar this morning. It would turn on, and then flicker to black though the light said it was still getting power and all of that. It finally stayed on and hasn't done it since, but it was bizarre.

Hope you can sort out what's going on with yours!
Ryan Reid Oct 21, 2010, 9:00pm UTC
i think it was an update from windows....never had this problem before!
Risa G. Oct 21, 2010, 9:01pm UTC
Sounds like time for a new one. That happened a couple of years ago and Steve went out and bought a new flat monitor. Love it. Now we have other problems with our computer. Always something.
Debra C. Oct 21, 2010, 9:40pm UTC
If you updated your drivers successfully (and you didn't say what OS this is), I'd also look to be sure your RAM and VRAM are working properly. I've walked into a number of sites that lost 1/2 their RAM and wondered why applications were blanking on the screen recently -- and all the machines are about 5 years old.
Ryan Reid Oct 21, 2010, 9:45pm UTC
this one is 8 months old....widows 7 64bit....
Ryan Reid Oct 21, 2010, 9:46pm UTC
the monitor is old, not the computer. the monitor is probably...5-6 years old
Debra C. Oct 21, 2010, 10:30pm UTC
Well it could be the monitor, but I'd look at machine performance before writing it all off to the monitor.

Usually in Windows 7, the screen going black means it is trying to access something that needs (or wants) admininstrator mode before proceeding. It could be that you got some update between Microsoft and the providers of the other softwares on your system that is triggering this.

Do you have a second monitor (or a friend that would lend you theirs) to plug in and see if the problem replicates?
Ryan Reid Oct 21, 2010, 10:53pm UTC
its mainly when im doing something that is more Graphicly intensive. like photoshop. its fine just sitting there but when i scroll or zoom it blanks out more rapidly than ever. but it seems to have mostly stopped with the Driver update.

we'll see i suppose.

and no...i dont have a spare monitor anymore...sigh...i sold it last time i needed some money for bills...

i have 3 dead computers but only one monitor lol
Ryan Reid Oct 21, 2010, 11:23pm UTC
with a little more investigation im more worried actually. i just noticed my CPU is running very high. i closed some unnecessary programs running the background and its back down to normal levels...now im thinking its overheating or something...
Debra C. Oct 22, 2010, 1:14am UTC
Overheating is a possibility. Incomplete installation of one or more update is another. Incompatibility of one or more update is a third.

It sounds like a bit more digging on the machine performance might be the way to go.

Good luck.
Ryan Reid Oct 22, 2010, 1:19am UTC
i have everything important backed up on an external hard drive, in the morning im going to do a whole system restore. i usually do it annually anyway. clear the slate and all.
MrsRoadRunner . Oct 21, 2010, 11:18pm UTC
I had some issues with the update.... some of my plug ins were not working properly. So a install I did.
Hope you get it fixed and it is not the monitor......
Ryan Reid Oct 21, 2010, 11:24pm UTC
its far less frequent now, and i can run PS again. but now im just worried about it overheating for some reason
MrsRoadRunner . Oct 21, 2010, 11:38pm UTC
With all the construction work you are doing could the air vents gotten clogged? Oil heat will also do havoc on computers..... wood as well. Both leave a nasty film over things. Why plants can have problems living in such environments as well as electronics. Can not hurt to check right??
Ryan Reid Oct 22, 2010, 1:19am UTC
thats all upstairs and there is no vents near the comp,

plus....i didnt start yet....heh.....lol
MrsRoadRunner . Oct 22, 2010, 1:30am UTC
In your tower as well as on the monitor there are vents to let the machine breath ......
Ryan Reid Oct 22, 2010, 2:12pm UTC
yeah, i checked them. lol

i do that quite frequently, i had one computer that loved to just clog up, so now its a regular thing for me to clean them out...
Diane Huizenga Oct 22, 2010, 8:12am UTC
monitors last forever, but it could be that, that's what I'm thinking.

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