my computer monitor was discoloured due to strong magnet. how can i restore it?

Question

my small brother brought a strong magnet near the computer screen. and the screen is showing diffrent colours
i tried reinstalling drivers it didnt help
please suggest a remedy

Answer 1

Hi there:

I looked over the answers that were given before me, and I
can't believe the awful responses. 90% of the replies are from people who don't work with monitors or TVs.
There is NO difference in deguassing the monitor or a TV. The coils are exactly the same thing...

--tombucks suggests a "restore" button or buy a new Monitor - the 'restore' would be a digital onscreen menu item or a button on the front that states " degauss". This puts ordinary 110 volts through a coil of wire wrapped around the outter front edge of the display, just under the plastic frame. There are only a FEW strands of copper in the wire, so that the current is VERY high - high enough to turn red hot and set the plastic insulation on fire in seconds, if left ON. When you turn on a TV or Monitor, there is a CLICK, POP, click as the relay that closes the 110 Volt contacts, snaps the contacts closed, and then opens. The very strong 110 VOLT AC ( Alternating current ) in the wire makes a huge magnet that reverses polarity at 60 cycle, or 120 times a second, ( North / South pole, South, North pole ), and this huge, powerful magnet, magnetizes, and then re-magnetizes the SOLID METAL screen that is sitting, hidden, just behind the front glass of your monitor or TV screen - people do not realize that they are staring at a sheet of metal !!. This metal has thousands of tiny holes in it, where electrons from the back of the TV/ Monitor travel through to the many tiny Red, Green and BLue dots on the back surface of the glass. Where ever the electrons go through the holes, the phosphor color dots light up, and this is what you see. The metal screen is needed to make an electrical charge -- the red hot filament at the back of the tube boils off electrons, which would just float around --- however, the flyback transformer in the TV/ Monitor generates 10,000 to 60,000 volts of electricity - the back of the tube is at one end of the high volts, and the metal mask at the front of the screen is at the other end. The electrons are pulled to the front of the tube by the typical 30,000 volts. When they get there, some just hit the metal. Others randomly go through the tiny holes, and hit the color dots, that you see.
ANY magnetic source can affect the front metal screen. Speakers, appliances, VCRs, electrical cords, etc.
If a strong magnet is placed on the front of the screen, the metal plate behind the screen is only a fraction of an inch away, and the metal plate is now magnetized... The electrons racing to the screen, now are curved and go through the WRONG holes - electrons that should go through blue holes would hit the tiny holes for green or red, and this is what gives you the distorted colours...
The built in deguassing coil in just designed for a general cleaning of stray magnetic fields - not to remove a HUGE magnetic distortion in one spot...
Turning on the Monitor/ TV repeatedly would slowly remove the discolouration of the magnetized metal screen, but it would take a LONG time...
Bottom line --- NO YOU DONT NEED TO BUY A NEW MONITOR !

---tashha sayes to buy a new monitor -- again NO - what a waste!

--xzelian sayes to try the built in 'degauss' or just use a strong magnet, by hand, to shift the magnetic fields in the metal screen behind the glass. He states that this can do more harm than good, and he is right.

THERE IS A WAY TO DO THIS, and years ago, I did it... If you are on Antarctica or on a remote island or whatever, and you do not have access to any equipment, then you do what you can with what you have. You can take a one inch magnet. like a refridgerator magnet, and start at one corner of the screen, and put the magnet close to the screen. You flip it over. Then you move 1/4 inch over, and do the same across the top. Then you move down 1/4 inch, and do a second row. You keep doing this until you reach the bottom.
Then you do it again starting from top to bottom in rows. ( don't touch the screen, just get close ). Then you repeat the process, staying 1/2 inch away from the screen. Then you repeat the process doing it 3/4 inches away. You then turn on the TV/Monitor to see what you have got. You may have to do a specific area two or three times to clear it up.....
You would have to be stuck to do this though, and most people are too impatient...

-- gerry z gives an answer to try the built in deguass, and gives a wikipedia link and a link on how to make you own from a scrap coil of copper wire. Not many people have the ability to find and make the coil he describes. To electronic repair shops, it would be trivial. There are no safeties on this design, and it is potentially dangerous for home use ( Caution kids, don't try this at home )

--kinqueror just sayes get a new monitor - again NO...

--guess who sayes check with your 'dealer' -- whatever ?

--rivalslay.. sayes the problem is the electron gun ( at the back of the tube ???), suggests degauss option on the menu, and to try moving a magnet ( like the suggestion above which can make it worse if you dont understand why or what you are doing ! )

--ukmad states to get a new monitor -- again ,,,, NO !

--skull 2 states that a component is ruined, and to get a new monitor -- agian,, NO !

--aggi74 states to try the built in degauss ( again, this would take months to work properly, as it is not designed for severe magnetic spots on the metal screen )

-- gold g states that NOTHING will restore the colors - buy a new one --- again ... NO ! This owuld be like buying a new car because the ashtray is full...

-- rich gives a copy and paste link to a bland website that gives NO mention of degaussing, or your problem...

@@@@@@@@@

So here we are -

The metal sheet of steel behind your screen is magnetized, beyond the ability of the built-in degaussing coil to fix...

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS RE-MAGNETIZE THE METAL SCREEN.

I have discussed the "hand" moving the magnet around trick, and it is tricky and time- consuming.

There are many ways to get around this though.
1/ you can just take it in to a repair shop and ask the technician to degauss it. NOTE: Beware though - since most people dont have a clue what degaussing involves, many TV / COMPUTER repair shops keep the set for 2 weeks, and at some point the tech just grabs a coil of wire or a store-bought degausser, and waves it around in front of the screen for 30 seconds, and he is done. The then calls the customer and charges $80 for "repairs" ( that took 30 seconds, but the Monitor/TV has been in the shop for 2 WWEEKS to make it look good !) The guy can degauss right in front of you in seconds. If he wont, you know what you are dealing with ! ! !
2/ You can MAKE a degaussing coil from the links below if you have the technical knowledge,
3/ You can use an appliance that has a large magnetic, 110 volt coil in it, to degauss, by trial and error, like a drill, a or a soldering GUN ( not a soldering pen ), etc, and experiment with how to hold and move the device around the screen to clear up the spots. Note that you start CLOSE to the screen, and repeat the sweeping pattern, getting further and further away - if you turn OFF the device near the screen the last 60 cycle blast of North/South polarity will put a huge magnetic field on the metal sheet --- making a NEW disscolored spot! You move away from the TV/ Monitor until the feild os too weak to affect the sttel sheet, and THEN turn off the device...
4/ You can do a mechanical, smart, homemade " flip the magnet" trick. This is sort of described in the links below.
You use a variable speed drill, or a hand mixer/blender from the kitchen, or a variable speed electric screwdriver, or whatever you can think of, and TAPE ( with strong book or DUCT tape or fiber re-inforced package tape, or lots of layers of 'other' tapes ), the magnet to the end of the rotating part. To prevent accidental scratches, you tape a sheet of PAPER onto the front of the TV/Monitor screen. Then, you follow the row-by row pattern I described above with the hand method, getting further and further away from the set.
There have been MANY positive results on the web of people who have used this method to degauss the TV/Monitor simply and cheaply at home, with no outside assistance.
5/ A slight modification to the drill/blender method is to tape the magnet to a stick or long handle, and wave it quickly in front of the screen. By turning over the magnet with each sweep, again in a row by row pattern, and getting further away, this would work as well, and would be faster than the hand- flip method. It owuld be trickier though, and if you have a drill/blender, etc. this would be much easier and faster...

READ THESE LINKS to get a rough idea, some with pictures, of what people are doing....

http://woil.ws/fixmonitor/
Spin a magnet near the monitor/TV and slowly pull away.

http://www.twobits.com/degauss.html
Explains about the mask and offers 2 degaussers

http://www.oscarcontrols.com/degauss/index.shtml
Shows how to make your own deguasser, cheap
THis method is like the one below, but has a
lightbulb as a current limiter, which is really
great. A TV degauss coil will set on fire in
30 seconds if left that long ( the click, pop you
hear on a TV/Monitor is the coil relay turning on
and onff for 1 to 2 seconds ).

http://www.buchanan1.net/purple_spot.shtml
Tells how to make a degaussing coil from wire - does
NOT mention how long the wire is ie. no specs, and
this is dangerous if you don't work with electrical
devices enough to know what you are doing!!

You should be up and back to normal one way or another -
DON'T be scammed into getting a new monitor ! Just re-magnetize the one you have !!!

robin

Answer 2

Most CRT's have a "degauss" function in the OSD setup.
It should look like a finger with a line through it. (Sometimes it is an independant button) Often using this function several times will cause the unit to reset enough to allow for magnetic redistribution. Sadly there is a chance that the unit is permanently damaged.
As a last ditch effort I have known some who used a very strong magnet to "shift" the distortion, till it was no longer there with a smooth constant movement, but that method is extremely iffy and sometimes results in more harm than good.

Answer 3

The problem is with your electron gun. The picture tubes electromagnetic algnment is dostorted. Does your monitor have Disgauss option? I dunno, my monitor doesn't support, but the TV support. So, I think your monitor may support too. If not then you may try to place a small magnet near the monitor and move it. You may can restore it by moving it(Opposite magnetic field may do it). But it can't be restored completely. I cant garentee the success for this remedy. Be ready to buy a new on and try this remedy.

Answer 4

The monitor or display of a computer is the primary user interface. Monitor problems are some of the most common computer problems since the voltages inside a monitor can be as high as 10 KV. Many of the problems can be fixed yourself by simply changing the settings. Detailed instructions available at http://fixit.in/monitor.html

Answer 5

This has nothing to do with setup or a rest button on your monitor. It has to do with internal components of the monitor and well that component is ruined and it cannot be fixed only replaced. Now the replacement is more expensive than the monitor itself so its not worth it. The best thing to do is just buy a new monitor is less expensive and warranty does not cover this because you caused the malfunction. Sorry but you need to buy a new one.

Answer 6

That recently happened to be, but it wasn't due to a magnet.

I had to take it to the Apple store (because i have a MAC) i thought i was my card that puts out color, but it was just my monitor was ruined, all the way down to the wires.

I suggest you buy a new monitor, or tell Santa.

Answer 7

Hey, that's really bad. I think you should change the monitor. But first check out with your dealer. I don't think he can help, but still just to be sure.

By the way, how small is your small brother. Magnets and electronics don't match. I think he's got his lesson.

Answer 8

nothing is going to restore colors of your monitor buy a new monitor better go for a tft they dont get affected by magnets.

Answer 9

You need to degauss the monitor. Check the buttons on your monitor or its manual.

Answer 10

you have to degauss your monitor. try reading the manual if the monitor has a degauss function. for additional info, click the link to wikipedia. on how to degauss your monitor click the last link.