What can be wrong with my computer? The display suddenly turned red, and all the images are now reddish.?

Question

It happened suddenly. The image flickered and it remained red. Can it be my video card? Or my monitor? Did anything like this happen to anyone else?

Answer 1

If the image is only faded red then you have one of three possible problems.

1. Your monitor is indeed giving up the ghost and it's time to start planning the replacement.

2. Your monitor cable either has a broken line or a bent pin. Check for bent pins on both ends before replacing it. If you don't have any bent or broken pins, try using another monitor cable so see if that corrects the problem. If this isnt' the case, try using another monitor just to make sure that it isn't #3.

3. The video card could be having heat problems. Once the GPU grows too hot, it distorts the images and oftentimes corrupts the output. Check for heat and make sure that the heatsink is not only dust free but that the fan is working properly. If you don't have a video card and the video is built into the chipset, then you need to refer to #'s 1 and 2.

Answer 2

Sounds to me like the monitor is on the "blink" (no pun intended). Try going to something else (another monitor or tv) to check the input. If everything looks fine, your monitor is going out. If it is the same, might be your graphics card.

Answer 3

Found this:

The Red Screen of Death

Source: http://searchwinit.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,290660,sid1_gci1089200,00.html

The red screen of death is a term coined by some early testers of Longhorn (the code name for Microsoft's latest Windows operating system) who, in May 2005, came across an error message appearing against an all-red display screen. The error screen reminded them of the notorious blue screen of death that users of some earlier Windows systems have experienced in certain circumstances.
One Microsoft developer who encountered the situation said that he had made "a small set-up change" and altered the registry in some sort of destructive way. Greg Sullivan, a Microsoft spokesperson, said the red screen appeared as the result of a boot loader failure and called the red screen a "tempest in a teapot" that would disappear in the next version of Longhorn.
A page on Microsoft's support site indicates that Windows 98 users could also encounter an error message with a red screen if they had a hardware or Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) problem.
Source: http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/operating_systems/move_over_blue_screen_of_death.html

The Red Screen of Death (RSOD) is characterized as the “evil cousin” is displayed when Windows experiences a major problem that requires a “boot” to fix.

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If a boot doesn't fix it, try Windows Repair:
WindowsXP Repair Explained
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/options_to_use_when_a_system_will_not_start.mspx?mfr=true

WindowsXP Repair Tools
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm#How%20to%20Repair%20Windows%20XP%20by%20Installing%20Over%20top%20of%20Existing%20Setup:

http://www.download-download-this.com/4.html?OVRAW=Windows%20Installer%20corrupted&OVKEY=window%20installer&OVMTC=advanced

Fix and/or Repair Windows
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_install.htm
http://www.onsitechicago.com/support/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=23&nav=0

Answer 4

First, check for a loose cable

After that, try deguassing it

Then, maybe replace the monitor

When one of our monitors in our lab conked out, it turned all of the screen bluish.

Answer 5

sumthin is wrong wid ur video card definitely...this mayb da case while the other possibility is tht u mite hv used a hi-definition grafix card which does not match wid ur pc...

Answer 6

I think it's the monitor, specially if it's CRT one ... try to hit it few times or rotate it .. it could go back