Monitor looked funny today; didn't want to turn on

[VirtualLarry]

I packed up my 26" LCDs, so I'm using an older Westinghouse 19" LCD TV/monitor. (DVI/VGA/S-Video/Composite/Component (maybe)).

I have it hook up via DVI, and when I moved the mouse to make the screen come on (I leave my PC on), it didn't light up.

So I turned it off, and turned it back on. When it came on, the display was really bright, and washed out. Very bizarre looking.

So I cycled through the inputs, and got back to DVI, and then it was OK.

Is this a sign of things to come? Is the monitor going out on me?

What defect(s) would cause the screen to look really bright, and washed out?

If the inverter or backlight was going, would it appear super-bright? Or would it appear dimmer?

Or was it just not reading the DVI signal properly?

Could it be my video card (HD4850 w/dual DVI ports)?

Edit: When I say "older", this monitor might be 9-10 years old. The TV portion is NTSC.

 

[Ben90]

I was going to say something with the interface, because I've had some weird crap happen when trying to trim vertical blanking space to the absolute minimum, but generally it drifts from normal to insanely white within a second and then does something random. Never just stay completely washed out.

Hopefully it is just a one off thing, although more than likely something in there is degrading

 

[Mushkins]

It's a decade old, think about how many hours it's been on over that decade. The components are definitely degrading, could be anything really. All you can really do is keep an eye on it since it's working fine now, it *will* fail eventually like any electronic device. Keep using it until it stops working then replace it if you still really feel like you need a 19" LCD

 

[corkyg]

You might have to go back to older drivers. Your current ones may exceed the monitor's capability.

 

[VirtualLarry]

It's a decade old, think about how many hours it's been on over that decade. The components are definitely degrading, could be anything really. All you can really do is keep an eye on it since it's working fine now, it *will* fail eventually like any electronic device. Keep using it until it stops working then replace it if you still really feel like you need a 19" LCD

It's been unused for the last 5-6 years. Well, until just a few days ago.

 

[VirtualLarry]

You might have to go back to older drivers. Your current ones may exceed the monitor's capability.

When I hooked it up, the display properties auto-detected to 1440x900.

 

[Ben90]

While old monitors are pretty much the definition of a dumb device, things are slightly more involved than just negotiating the active resolution. It is possible your ancient LCD might need a specific type of blanking space (GTF, DMT, CVT). My card defaults my monitors to a reduced CVT which might not have been an actual specification 10 years ago.

If it still gives you problems, you could try downloading Powerstrip and see what things are negotiated as. Or plug it into a Nvidia card *cues driver debate*