Monitor won't shut off

[Weatherton]

I've had this issue for quite a while and have begun to just hit the power switch on my monitor but I'm afraid it will wear out. Is there a software app. that can force my monitor to sleep? I use keyboard shortcuts to turn off the monitor but it just wakes back up, even if I turn off my mouse. I'd prefer to not have to log off my account also.

 

[Weatherton]

*bump* Is this in the wrong thread?

 

[Gautama2]

Where'd you get the idea that hitting the power switch will wear it out?

 

[CurseTheSky]

If you haven't done this already:

Right click on your desktop. Go to properties. Go to the screen saver tab. Click the "Power" button on the lower right-hand side. Set "Turn off Monitor" to whatever value you wish.

 

[Weatherton]

Thanks for the replies.

Hitting a button several times a day is bound to wear it out, the paint is already coming off and I don't think it was made to be hit that often.

I have the power option set to 10 minutes but, whenever that time comes the monitor turns off for a brief moment but then comes back on automatically. Again, I've ensured that it's not a sensitive mouse...

I use an app called "keyman" to use a keyboard shortcut to turn the monitor off but the same thing happens. I should also note that the same issue occured with my last build after a while and also on my laptop... It's a more difficult issue for my laptop because I like to minimize the number of times I close the screen as this tends to lead to a wobbly screen after a while.

 

[Weatherton]

Is this seriously not an issue for anyone else?

My ideal solution would be a button on the desktop (or even better, on the quick launch) that would turn the monitor off and keep it off until I made a key press or something. Heck, even a button on the login screen would suffice.

 

[Bat123Man]

Hi,

There is an answer, but it does come with a bit of a price. I run a little widget called MonitorOff. It works beautifully. It creates an icon of a monitor which I keep in the lower right side of my screen. When I want to switch off the monitor, I just click it. There is a "Whooooosh!" sound and the monitor turns itself off. You shake your mouse to bring it back to life. I have seen that issue with other solutions before where the monitor just comes back on, but not with this widget. Now for the price. In order to run the widget, you have to install Yahoo's Widget engine. That's it, it's all free. However I don't like having extraneous software running on my machine, especially something designed to run user-written code. There is no guarantee that any widgets you find (there are thousands of them available) will run perfectly. But this widget is so useful, and works so well, that I now have it as a permanent part of my desktop.

You can find it here :

http://widgets.yahoo.com/gallery/?search=monitoroff&x=0&y=0

Cheers,
TH

 

[corkyg]

And here is an easier one than the Widget - and it is free.

Off

There is no install. Just run the program as downloaded. Put a shortcut to it in your Quick Link area and it is an immediate Monitor Off - and it comes back with any mouse or keyboard movement.

 

[Weatherton]

Both great suggestions, really exactly what I was looking for BUT my monitor still wakes up immediately with these. Is there some way I can search my running programs and see what is causing this?

 

[Childs]

heh, if you dont want to wear out the power button you can always yank the power cord. How old is your monitor?

 

[Weatherton]

It's a Samsung SyncMaster 191T that I got in early 2003.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: Weatherton
Both great suggestions, really exactly what I was looking for BUT my monitor still wakes up immediately with these. Is there some way I can search my running programs and see what is causing this?

I suspect that some vibration is occurring that is sensed by your mouse. Try placing it on a thick pad or turn it upside down after you invoke the Monitor Off.

Alternatively, it could also be a spurious emission from your keyboard that equates to a key being pressed. Can you try a different keyboard?

 

[mulletgut]

Research suggests that on/off switches for that model (SyncMaster 191T) will only cope with 8000-9000 presses before they spontaneously combust.
You are right to be concerned, and if my calculations are correct at "several times a day" X about 3 and a half years, you are in trouble any day now!
:Q