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General discussion

Defective Monitor??

Aug 3, 2004 4:27AM PDT

I am working on a Compaq monitor that does not come up. The power light is on, but the screen is dark. The monitor belongs to a Compaq Presario, 733 mhz, 128 mbs ram, 15 gb hard drive. I put an older Packard Bell monitor on the Compaq and it goes into post and then pops off before getting to the desktop.
I put the Compaq monitor on my Gateway and it will not come up on that either, same thing, power light is lit but will not even run post.
I was thinking the monitor is defective at first but now I think that I may be dealing with a defective power supply also. The Compaq's drive lights do come on however.
Any suggestions?
Laraine

Discussion is locked

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Re: Defective Monitor??
Aug 3, 2004 4:43AM PDT

Use the working monitor and boot the OS to Safe Mode. What happens?

Bob

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Re: Defective Monitor??
Aug 3, 2004 6:04AM PDT

I did that and the Compaq went into Safe mode fine. I rebooted and that is when it passed post and then went pop and the monitor went black.
Thanks for the response,
Laraine

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Now boot up in SAFE MODE and....
Aug 3, 2004 7:40AM PDT

Change the display setting to 640x480. Ok your way out and then boot normally.

What happens?

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Why it matters. Some displays are not autodetected by windows so we have to set the display mode to within the monitor's capabilities. I will not look up your monitor capabilities.

Bob

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Re: Now boot up in SAFE MODE and....
Aug 3, 2004 9:01AM PDT

Hey Robert thanks for the advice. I found out that this Compaq model has a sofpac update for this problem. I will try your procedure using the PB monitor and install this patch. I will keep you informed.
Laraine

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Re: Now boot up in SAFE MODE and....
Aug 3, 2004 9:56AM PDT

Hey Robert,
I can get into Windows on the Compaq with the PB monitor thanks to you. I followed your instructions that me into Windows. I found a sofpac driver for the Compaq model on the Compaq website, that I am working on and downloading as we speak. I was so baffled. I was told that Compaq monitors weren't compatible with Gateway computers, that is the biggest baffle of this whole weird situation.
I don't have the Compaq online so I am downloading the sofpac to my main Gateway and install it on a cdr. I am going to send the file to the desktop and install it from there on the Compaq.
Wish me luck& thanks again.
Laraine

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That's great. Here's the lowdown.
Aug 3, 2004 10:58AM PDT

That monitor can only do some video settings. I won't know which are compatible, but Windows should let you try 800x600 and if not, you know how to get back to what worked (safe mode, change...)

I think you are going to be fine.

Bob

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Re: That's great. Here's the lowdown.
Aug 3, 2004 12:05PM PDT

Thanks Robert,
I can get into Windows with the PB monitor on the Compaq now... I have been researching on the Compaq website and found a download for the Compaq black screen problem that I am working on. My problem is that I have downloaded the required drivers onto my Gateway to place on a cdrw. The file wants to install onto my Gateway computer instead of burning the file onto my burner.
Thanks for the help
Laraine

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Re: That's great. Here's the lowdown.
Aug 4, 2004 1:45AM PDT

Hey Robert,
I want to thank you for all of your help. I am still working on the computer. I downloaded a file from Compaq's website that is supposed to fix the black screen problem that I am having. My problem is that the Compaq is not online or networked and I am not able to copy the whole file from the Gateway that I have downloaded it onto. The compaq says that it needs to be networked to the gateway to get the needed fix. Any ideas on how I can remove the complete file onto a cdrw to place on the Compaq?
I appreciate the help. I still don't understand why the Compaq monitor won't work on the Gateway.
Thanks again,
Laraine

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Re: Defective Monitor??
Aug 3, 2004 4:47AM PDT

Compaq monitor fails on two systems, Secondary monitor fails on Compaq.

Sounds like two problems and perhaps originating with the video card.

Suggest swapping video card out with an older cheap one to verify it gets through post and VGA usage. Might want to use a PCI vs. AGP to test that as well.

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Re: Defective Monitor??
Aug 3, 2004 7:36AM PDT

I was just thinking, why won't the Compaq monitor work on the Gateway, they are built basically the same. I am not able to find a button the the monitor that looks as though it would be used to lighten/darken the screen. Do you know anything about the Compaq monitor?
Thanks for the help.

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Re: Defective Monitor??
Aug 10, 2004 2:58AM PDT

Monitors come with a limited number of Horizontal pixel densities, Vertical pixel densities, and Refresh Frequencies. Video cards also come with a limited repertoire of Horizontal pixel density, Vertical pixel density and Refresh frequencies combinations. Almost all video cards and monitors will operate at basic VGA 640x480 @60hz, beyond that you can find monitors and video cards that have no other density & Frequency combinations in common. Note, all 3 parameters must match exactly 1024x768 @72 won't work with 1024x768 @75. There's also the question of interlaced vs non-interlaced? (Another variable to consider in monitor/video card matching.) When you buy from the pc manufacturer, he takes care of these considerations for you. When you start swapping monitors around, or trying to upgrade, it's YOUR job to match the specs, or to get the store to commit to something (You'll have better luck with Men Wink ). Many modern (Multi-Sync) monitors will tell you that you have selected an incompatible frequency. In the bad old days you could blow up your monitor with a wrong input.