DescentBB

I have this 18 inch hp lcd monitor that has never worked as long as I have had it (got it from a friend who also said it never worked out of the box).
When it is turned on the screen displays a rainbow of colors and slowly changes to an all white screen. When I plug it into a pc the screen will blank (like it is changing modes) but it will just go back to showing the white screen again.
I did manage to get it to show my desktop once. I had gotten fed up with it and just unplugged it from my pc and left the room. When I came back it had a black screen with the "no signal" words on the screen (first time I had ever seen it display anything usefull/meaningfull). So I plugged it back in and sure enough, it worked. But then I did the stupid thing of upping the refresh rate (to something it was supposed to support) and it went back to its normal, frustrating self.

Anyone have any ideas? I think the lcd is fine but just some component inside may be malfunctioning. Is it repairable?

Sounds like the ribbon or feed wires came loose behind the LCD or the LCD is shot. See if moving the LCD around has any effect, if it does I would check the connections behind it.

I don't think it is the connectors or ribbons as I took the whole thing apart and put it back together again. I looked at all the parts for a long time to try to figure out a possible problem.

Hmm, why don't you hook it up to a machine capable of supporting dual monitors. Have a working monitor setup as your main windows monitor, and have the broken LCD setup as an extended desktop monitor. Then start playing with refresh rates and resolutions. I doubt that'll help anything, but it's worth a try; it's a shame to waste a large LCD like that.

~Dev

Great suggestion! I have done a very similar thing by hooking it up and vncing into the pc to play with the refresh rates. The one time it did work (as I mentioned above), the monitor settings in windows showed the type and model, as it should any plug and play compatable monitor, and the settings it supported. But all the other times when it doesn't work windows just shows it as a default monitor and doesn't know what it supports and what it doesn't.

I guess all is left to do is throw it out or open it up again and fiddle with it. There aren't any dangerous parts in lcd monitors that can shock me like there are in crts are there?

Thanks for the suggestions. It hurts so much to have to give up on this.

if i had a screen that did that, i'd sell it on Ebay claiming it was possessed by the soul of Timothy Leary.

Here is a list of 18 inch HP LCDs. Find the your model and try downloading/installing the driver for your model LCD. Can't hurt.

~Dev

Xamindar wrote:Great suggestion! I have done a very similar thing by hooking it up and vncing into the pc to play with the refresh rates. The one time it did work (as I mentioned above), the monitor settings in windows showed the type and model, as it should any plug and play compatable monitor, and the settings it supported. But all the other times when it doesn't work windows just shows it as a default monitor and doesn't know what it supports and what it doesn't.

My monitor (a 19" CRT) has done the exact same thing. Most of the time, it appears as "Default monitor" instead of the model number and lists a whole bunch of refresh rates. Lately, my computer has been frequently forgetting the refresh rate when I shut down/restart; even though the display setting is at 100 hertz, the monitor itself shows 60, and I can see the flicker. Now, for some reason, the Windows refresh rate setting doesn't even do anything; I have to use the ATI control panel utility. Dell offers new drivers, but there doesn't seem to be anything to actually install, just a few config files, and I have no idea what I'm doing with them. If you do figure something out, please share it; maybe it will help fix my problem too.

Xamindar wrote: There aren't any dangerous parts in lcd monitors that can shock me like there are in crts are there?

AFAIK the highest voltage in a LCD is 120 VAC if it does not have a external AC/DC adaptor.

hmm, well the thing is in pieces now....I took it all apart and stared at the various pieces for about a half an hour. Then I decided to hook it all back together (but still in pieces). For example, the "main board" is just hanging there by its cables. I powered it up and I get a beautiful "Check signal cable" message on the display. YAY! no white screen!


BUT, will it work when I put it all back together again? Remimber, this is the second time I have taken it all apart.

I'm still waery of plugging it into my pc right now as one wrong move will send the lcd crashing down and most likley short something and then I would end up with a bricked computer

I wonder if it could be something as simple as a short in one of the connecting wires (as they are all bent different ways at the moment).

Fixed!!! Woohoo!!!

It must have been a dodgy cable (inside the monitor). I got it working all in pieces, then slowly put it back together bit by bit and tested it every time I made another change. I think the cable that connected the controls to the main board was dodgy. Right up almost until the last screw it worked then it did the white screen again when I moved the control board just a little. I wound the cables that connected it the opposite way and reconnected it and it works steady now! Thanks for the suggestions guys.

nooooooo tiiiiiiiiiiim

roid wrote:nooooooo tiiiiiiiiiiim

nani?

see my previous postt. yosh!

Nani indeedy.

timothy leary was an important figure from the "psychadelic 60s". thus the rainbow colours LCD moniter - Timothy Leary link.

'splained

Oh ok. Well, that went WAY over my head.