Our flat screen computer monitor is displaying only lines of color, what could be causing this?

Question

I sat down at our computer, and moved the mouse to wake it up. When the display came on it came on white and then faded in to simply just lines of color, no display whatsoever. I've restarted computer after letting it sit overnight and still same problem. is this just the monitor or something with the computer? Yikes... Help!

Answer 1

It sounds like a bad graphics card or a bad monitor.

Most monitors have a test pattern when you unplug them, so try that. Also try pressing the menu button on the monitor to see if the OSD menu looks good or is corrupted too.

If the OSD and the test pattern both work then I would suspect your graphics card. If they are corrupted then it is definitely your monitor.

If you can, try the monitor on another system. That would definitely show which is the problem.

Answer 2

Well, this seems to be an issue with your monitor. We can check this to ensure the issue is really with the monitor.
Do you have another monitor at hand to check your computer? If you do, you will instantly draw a conclusion. Try your friends or neighbours. Any model of monitor is fine for testing purpose. Juz ensure that as yours is a flat panel and has a white connector going to the tower, and the borrowed monitor is a CRT(the bulky one) borrow the cables also from your friend.

Going by your description of the problem, it indicates towards your monitor. And it is common problem with flat screen monitors, so don't worry. I would personally suggest a CRT monitor any day, if looks is not your prime concern when weighed against performance.

Answer 3

Faulty monitor, graphics card or connection (unplug/replug cable). If you get the normal display before Windows loads, someone might have accidentally selected an unacceptable display mode. I had this once and ended up changing Registry settings via Safe Mode. You could try loading into Safe Mode (and hope that it displays correctly there). Then via Control Panel, System, Hardware, Device Manager, uninstall the display adapter and monitor. Then shut down and restart to let Windows detect new hardware and install the drivers.