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HELP! MY SCREEN HAS LINES ACROSS THE MIDDLE

Started by Guest_brattiemaddie_* , Oct 31 2005 06:39 PM

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#1
Guest_brattiemaddie_*
Posted 31 October 2005 - 06:39 PM

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:) Hello, I need assistance again... I have posted before when I had something on my computer.. BUT now I just got home and turned on computer and I have about 6" of lines going across my monitor from the middle to the right. This computer is not old and it is an expensive screen...I dont know how to figure out what is wrong with it or how to fix it.. I am hoping it can be fixed somehow. Can you assist me.. please? How can I tell if it is a system problem or someone screwed with my screen today. I am not sure if someone cleaned it today or not.. my son used is this am until 2pm and it was fine... Pls advise.. THANK YOU MADDIE :tazz:
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#2
Thef0rce
Posted 31 October 2005 - 06:59 PM

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lines across the screen that appear suddenly are not good news. it means that your graphics card could have died. do the lines appear while the computer is booting up? (before the windows loading screen) if not then you could have corrupted graphics drivers, which is less expensive to solve.
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#3
Tyger
Posted 31 October 2005 - 07:10 PM

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On the other hand some monitors use horizontal lines for calibration, so you might want to check the monitor, if you have another one try it.
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#4
Guest_brattiemaddie_*
Posted 31 October 2005 - 07:36 PM

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hello, thank you for the quick reply... the lines appreared as soon as I turned on the compute and then the screen. It appeared when it said gateway, right in the beginning. Now the lines which are vertical only are becoming less and less... I have all my cds from gateway with all drivers etc. Is there any way of diagnosising a problem using them or anything on my computer? Should I do a defrag? I did clean up the computer yesterday using cws shredder - yeilded one of those things which was removed, spybot - one tracking item quarantined , and adware - nothing and cleanup.. which removed alot of crap... I run that every week to get ebay junk off. Could my cleaning ladies cleaned this monitor and it got wet since it seems to be getting less and less now? I am not computer savvy.. just alittle. PLEASE ADVISE.. I would hate for this monitor to be ruined or breaking down. It is one of the flat screen ones... thank you again Maddie :tazz:
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#5
Fenor
Posted 31 October 2005 - 07:48 PM

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Hey brattiemaddie!

Video problems can be the effect of your video card going, but it can also be the effect of bad RAM. What I suggest you do, if you won't void any warranty(s) doing so, is to open up your case and take out the memory and reseed them. If you have two or more sticks, I suggest you first try taking them both out and then reseed them. If that doesn't work, take out one stick at a time testing each stick in the machine by itself in both slots, aka test each stick in slot one and slot 2 and slot 3, etc.. by themselves. Turn on the computer during each step and see if the picture gets better.

If the picture doesn't get better, then it is most likely a video card problem, in which case I would try to borrow a video card from a friend/family member or other computer if you have one in your house that uses a PCI/AGP video card and see if that solves your video problem. Only telling you to do this first so that you don't go wasting money on a video card and then find out it wasn't the video card at all, but rather a motherboard problem.

Fenor
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#6
MikeFromNY
Posted 31 October 2005 - 07:49 PM

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Flat screen, yes, but is it a CRT or LCD? If it's a CRT, I'd degauss it and see if it helps.

Also, adding to fenor's post, what's your current graphics card? Is it integrated, AGP, PCI, or PCI-Express?

Edited by MikeFromNY, 31 October 2005 - 07:51 PM.

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#7
Tyger
Posted 31 October 2005 - 08:11 PM

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Also heat from dust build up can cause problems. Might want to gently dust of the video card cooler and CPU cooler.
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#8
Guest_brattiemaddie_*
Posted 31 October 2005 - 08:53 PM

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Hello, Ok, thanks... but I guess I am not as computer savvy as much as I thought I was..perhaps kindergarten level compared to what you have written. I am sorry.. I dont know how to get into the video cards etc. I know I would have to open the CPU then I would be lost.. I do apololgize.. Also, when I turned on the computer then LCD screen, I did hear the screen make a sizzling noise.. but I freaked out because I saw thousands of vertical lines.. I am down to only 3 vertical lines now which leads me to believe that it may of become wet due to the cleaning service that came this afternoon... what do you think? Ughhh.. I am so upset... :) I also may have dust in the CPU.. as well.. which I didnt realize until now.. I just read it in the manual... my fan seems to be making some noise every once in a while. I do keep it elevated from floor. What is the proper way to clean as not to damage anything inside? Ok, I must admit, I work in medicine and not in IT.. lol..but I am trying..I dont know how you do it??? I think if I could fling my computer out the window every once in a while, I would.. :) thanks again for any assistance.. :tazz: Maddie
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#9
Guest_brattiemaddie_*
Posted 31 October 2005 - 09:00 PM

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Hello, Ok, thanks... but I guess I am not as computer savvy as much as I thought I was..perhaps kindergarten level compared to what you have written. I should of written down the middle and not across... I am sorry.. I dont know how to get into the video cards etc. I know I would have to open the CPU then I would be lost.. I do apololgize.. Also, when I turned on the computer then LCD screen, I did hear the screen make a sizzling noise.. but I freaked out because I saw thousands of vertical lines.. I am down to only 3 vertical lines now which leads me to believe that it may of become wet due to the cleaning service that came this afternoon... what do you think? Ughhh.. I am so upset... :) I also may have dust in the CPU.. as well.. which I didnt realize until now.. I just read it in the manual... my fan seems to be making some noise every once in a while. I do keep it elevated from floor and try to keep my computer healthy... What is the proper way to clean as not to damage anything inside? Ok, I must admit, I work in medicine and not in IT.. lol..but I am trying..I dont know how you do it??? I think if I could fling my computer out the window every once in a while, I would.. :)
thanks again for any assistance.. :tazz: Maddie
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#10
Tyger
Posted 31 October 2005 - 10:27 PM

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That's a possibility I hadn't thought about, sometimes grime and dust build up on the crt, inside the box, and cause arcing, which can cause all kinds of symptoms. It just needs to be wiped off, but don't remove the coating, just any grime and dust.
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#11
Jacobpro
Posted 06 September 2011 - 05:23 PM

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hi i kind of have the same problem but on my monitor i have a bar on the bottom of my screen that kind of looks like a bar code but the colors correspond to whats on my screen it only shows up after i log in BTW i am on an IBM thinkpad, i also think this happened because i lightly dropped my computer on my bed so if that helps any. PLEASE REPLY!
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