It's Purple

[JohnnyO]

The monitor on the workstation at my office suddenly developed a purple tone over everything late Friday. You can read it but it's dimmer and purple.
Thoughts? Video card or monitor?
I own the company, so it's my dime we're talking here.

[Bubba Bob]

Try it on a different computer to see if it is the computer or the monitor itself.

[Chance]

My guess would be either the monitor or the monitor cable... try a different monitor to see if it still does it.

[fleck]

Sounds like an old CRT. Did you know people are basically throwing away 19-21" Trinitron monitors that used to cost from 500 to 1000 dollars? A used CRT of high quality is dirt cheap (they sell on Craigslist for $30). You might as well get a new one and let the old one fly out the back of a moving Sport Trac ;)

[Twizzler09]

haha, I agree with Fleck on this one. Probably just an old monitor on its last legs. Take his advice and ditch it and get a dirt cheap used one.

[Nhaz]

The purple tone is usually a monitor cable on the way out or a pin bent over.

The bent pin is fairly common. The bad news is they do not take bending well and the attempt to bend them back into shape usually snaps them off.

others suggested that the CRT is on its last legs. thats also possible. id start by looking at the pins though.

You Can get high quality CRTs pretty cheap. CRT's are still better then the LCD's for video quality and lack of ghosting. providing of course you get a good quality CRT.

the CRT'S that sold for 100 bucks where the sony was selling for 600 bucks isn't the CRT you want. you want the old sony CRT.

I am actually currently using a Old high quality CRT its a Phillips with a sony trinitron flat tube at 21 inches. it does silly resolution at 1920x1620 or something silly like that. at 120hz is you need it that high. 85hz is fine for me.

I picked it up almost 6 years ago for the price of $100.00 the bad news. it weights in at about 60 pounds. and uses more power then a LCD. it also uses up a good half my desk. but i dont care it looks so much better then that LCD crap they have been selling for the last 5 years.

[Mark_88]

I had something like that at work one time...turned out to be the connector at the back of the monitor was wonky and you can't remove some of them...I wiggled the cable around a bit with the power off then turned it back on and it worked fine...

If that's not it...try the previous suggestion and attach it to another computer if possible...that should tell you whether its the card or the monitor (but it could be just a matter of reseating the cable)...if it works on another computer try connecting it back to the original computer...

[Nhaz]

Yes if wiggling the cable around fixed it then the cable itself is pretty much on the way out. you can wiggle them for months to keep them working but it will eventually stay purple.

The good news:

They tend to look like they can't be replaced but they can.

Those cables have a connector inside the CRT that unplugs and you can get it replaced. This does involve taking the cover off the CRT.


The Bad news :

I do Not recommend you do this unless you know what the heck your doing. CRT's like regular old tubed TV's Store Very large charges of electricity inside the tube ( 20,000 + volts ) and reaching around inside them can discharge them right into you. which at the very least will hurt like hell and can cause 3rd degree burns in a small area. And it can kill if the jolt hits you wrong. like traveling through the heart =>. Aren't I just a wet blanket?

Leaving the monitor off for a few days or so and unplugged generally discharges the tube on its own.

If you really like the monitor and don't know what to do or what not to touch, pay a professional to change the cable over. It will probably cost about 60 bucks. Lots of those cables are interchangeable, but not all. Computer recyclers tend to save a few of various types just for that situation and the monitor repair guys" which are getting harder to find around here" also tend to have a few.

[Mark_88]

Yeah, the cables can always be replaced...but I don't usually recommend that either unless they know what they're doing or at least know enough to let the capacitors discharge...but they aren't even worth the effort if it don't work since they're a dime a dozen now...

[superdave1984]

Degauss the monitor. Usually one of the buttons on the front will be a menu button. FInd the degauss and do it.

[rboyer]

If you know how to solder you could just go to radio shack and pick up a DB15 connector for next to nothing and just replace it.



Leaving the monitor off for a few days or so and unplugged generally discharges the tube on its own.

I have pulled charges out of CRT's that have been setting around for weeks already.

[Nhaz]

yah but the charge after a few weeks tend to be low enough not to kill. or burn. just a nice zap.

I never liked working on monitors.

[addiman09]

Degauss it, it is just color pixels in the monitor screen misplaced.

[Jspafford]

Check to see if your cable is loose.

[JohnnyO]

Borrowed a spare monitor from the office upstairs (easier than pulling mine out and connecting it to the workstation) to try. It was the monitor. Currently borrowing one that my secretary had at home.
Thanks all!

[ryan]

Borrowed a spare monitor from the office upstairs (easier than pulling mine out and connecting it to the workstation) to try. It was the monitor. Currently borrowing one that my secretary had at home.
Thanks all!

sucks - i just threw out a 17" LCD that nobody wanted a month ago

i have bent pins back with success though

[Psychopete]

Becareful with old CRTs. I had one catch on fire one morning at work when I first turned it on. Pretty scary stuff. Smelled like crap in my office for a few days.

Pete

[Nhaz]

Becareful with old CRTs. I had one catch on fire one morning at work when I first turned it on. Pretty scary stuff. Smelled like crap in my office for a few days.

Pete

sounds like it blew a cap.

dont be fooled the newer lcds can blow caps just as easily, possibly more so since 99% of them are made in china. and it if isn't chances are the caps themselves are.

I have allready repaired more bad chinese power supplies(for LCD monitors) in the last few years then I care to count and a good 70% of the cases have been bad caps.