Picture tube burnt out?

[Poofy McPoofjohnson]

I was sitting at the computer this morning when the picture suddenly got distorted and then disappeared in the blink of an eye. I turned the monitor on and off, but the picture wouldn't return. The green light comes on for sure, and I can hear the picture tube turn on, but the screen just stays black. I presume that the tube suddenly went kaput from wear and tear, although I had observed zero evidence of deterioration up until it died.

This seems a little odd to me. The monitor, a Samsung SyncMaster 900NF, is only about 5 or 6 years old, and the picture has been immaculate up until its sudden death. And this model was expensive and high-quality when I bought it. Shouldn't CRT tubes last longer than this? I have 20 year old TV sets that are still working fine. It seems premature.

My question is: do you think the picture tube is the culprit or could the monitor cable have caused this? (BTW, the video card is not the problem, as it works on another monitor.)

I am wondering: is this at all strange, given the quality of the monitor and its relatively short life-span? Or is my monitor as good as useless now?

 

[LouPoir]

Probably high voltage power supply failure in the monitor -

 

[Poofy McPoofjohnson]

Any way to fix it?

 

[Seekermeister]

I have no idea if the tube went out or not, but I had a brand new KDS monitor a few years ago, and when I changed some settings using PowerStrip, which I was trying out for my cousin, the monitor went out, much like you described. The only difference was that when I looked closely, there were faint dots moving randomly across the screen, looking alot like thin smoke. Of course, that also went away in a few minutes.

 

[nineball9]

As LouPoir noted, the likely cause is in the HV circuits. A starting troubleshooting check might be the pins on the main syscon assuming low voltage is present. I suppose the OSD syscon/circuits could cause a no-raster situation, but without a schematic, I'm guessing.

It can always be fixed, given the availability of manufacturer's specific parts like the flyback or ASIC's should these be faulty. If you have to ask the question "can it be fixed?" then it's not something you will be able to fix yourself.

 

[bobsmith1492]

Wouldn't the HV capacitor be the most likely to have faulted? That should (might) be pretty easy to replace if it even is the problem. Just don't forget to put a piece of metal across its terminals before touching anything. 😛

EDIT: Actually, since you said you can hear the "picture tube turn on" by which I'd assume you mean you can hear the high pitched whine, the HV capacitor is probably fine.

Ya, check your cable first of all; actually, first, do you have another computer to check the monitor with? Maybe your computer died?

(side note) The worst thing with troubleshooting is that people assume the problem is exactly where they first see something wrong. I.E.: My car won't start - it must be the starter! Or, "My mouse won't move; my mouse must be broken!" (/side note).