PC Pals Forum

Technical Help & Discussion => Self Building, Upgrading & General Hardware Help => Topic started by: Baz on August 02, 2007, 20:02

Title: monitor question
Post by: Baz on August 02, 2007, 20:02
Hi all,

nice forum you have here with loads of topics to choose from  :)   decided to have a look after someone from here (cant remember who  :blush:) joined the ISP I am with recently and left the link.

I'm sure I recognise some of the names/faces from ages ago on various other forums I visited but cant remember where........it will come to me I'm sure.

anyway, anyone have ideas on this. a few days ago I noticed two coloured lines down the left edge of my screen, one pink then another blue, running from top to bottom. cant get rid of them. monitor is only a few months old  >:( so not to pleased if its knackered all ready.

thanks



just re-read my post.............seems I may have to be getting some memory enhancing pills or something, forgot a few things havent I  ;D ;D ;D


Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Simon on August 02, 2007, 20:56
Hi ermmm, and  :welcome:

I think you may have spotted me on the FF forums, and you probably know some of us from the now defunct EzPC, or possible ISPr.  ;)

As for your monitor problem, I'll ask the basics first, then someone will come along with a sensible answer.  ;D  Have you tried expanding the width of the display with the monitor geometry buttons, or even just moving it over to the left, to mask the lines?

Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: chorleydave on August 02, 2007, 21:27
Hi, Ermmm.

I don't know anything about monitors, so I can't help with your question.  However, I remember you from EZPC.

:welcome:
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Baz on August 02, 2007, 21:57
 :) :)    ah yes   EZPC  it could well have been that  :)  seems a long time ago now  thanks for the memory jog. Having a quick look round here also Sandra and Lona seem familiar too.

and yes it was on FF forum Simon. hope you're settling in ok.


thanks for the tips but yeah I have already tried the simple things which didnt fix it. Have also tried with no wallpaper and just a plain background colour to see if the lines go but they dont.



off topic for a bit now is there a spell check on here?  it seems to be flagging words which arent spelt the american way.......colour etc
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Clive on August 02, 2007, 22:07
If you have checked your cables for loose connections (I'm sure you have!) then try the monitor on another computer to see if the problem remains.  If it does then you at least know for certain that it's a faulty monitor and not anything to do with your computer.  Do this for your own benefit because when you contact the supplier to claim under warranty, you can prove beyond doubt where the fault lies.  Do not be fobbed off by a supplier who tells you to send it back to the manufacturer for repair.  The supplier must arrange repair or replacement.  That is the law.  I have an LCD TV which developed exactly the same fault as you describe.  Unfortunately mine waited until it was out of warranty.  Even worse the supplier was the dreaded PC World.  The fault has got worse over time and now there is a wide multicoloured line on the left side of the screen.  Sometimes the line is jet black and sometimes the whole screen acquires a double picture!  
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Simon on August 02, 2007, 22:32
:) :)    ah yes   EZPC  it could well have been that  :)  seems a long time ago now  thanks for the memory jog. Having a quick look round here also Sandra and Lona seem familiar too.

Yes, we can't seem to get rid of them.  ;D

and yes it was on FF forum Simon. hope you're settling in ok.

Well, it seems a nice forum, but I'm not certain as to whether they might just be a handful of FF devotees.  It's encouraging that the people who run FF seem to frequent the forums.  It's a choice at the moment, of FF, IDNet, or stay where I am.  The earliest I can request a MAC key from Pipex, without incurring penalties, is Aug 20th, so I have a few weeks to make up my mind.

off topic for a bit now is there a spell check on here?  it seems to be flagging words which arent spelt the american way.......colour etc

No, there's no active spell checker on here.  Do you have one as an add-on to your browser?  Maybe it needs a British English dictionary?  The FF forum uses the same software as us.  Do you get the same problem there?  :dunno:
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Sandra on August 03, 2007, 00:19
Are the coloured bands there in safe mode ?

If not then its possibly a driver issue as the graphics card drivers arent fully loaded at that point, so either reinstall or update them if possible.
If they are there then I would assume its a faulty monitor.

Oh and :welcome:  :)
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Baz on August 06, 2007, 19:36
well I'm thinking its a dodgy monitor. tried everything you have all suggested thanks but nothing fixed it. its still the same on another system and with just power up the monitor itself, no pc on.

just to make me more sure, turned it on today and its now grew another line about 1 inch from the right hand side ;D ;D

anyway its going back soon. got in touch with where I bought it from and yes they said I have to get in touch with the manufacture. I was insistant that they change it but they wouldnt have it :dunno:

how do you get round that problem I dont know. they said as it has a 1 year on site warranty thats how it works. so am waiting for more instructions as to what to do.

so far I have  got.........

wait for two emails from UPS, print off the label, with a laser printer  :D :D, stick it on the packed monitor and wait for the van to  pick it up. ( it must be in its original packaging, if possible, and would you believe it the only time I havent kept a box for something like that..is now :) )

when UPS pick it up they take it to service dept. then send out a new one, by UPS.

I could have taken the thing to the shop or to the same dealers at a local computer fair this weekend and exchanged it there and then.

makes me quite mad >:(


Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Simon on August 06, 2007, 20:09
The retailer you purchased it from must offer an exchange or repair, under the Sale of Goods act.  Although the terms may differ with online sales, the principal is the same:

Quote
Sale of Goods Act

Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 traders must sell goods that are as described and of satisfactory quality.

If consumers discover that products do not meet these requirements they can reject them and ask for their money back providing they do so quickly. Alternatively, they can request a repair or replacement or claim compensation.

The Sale of Goods Act has been amended by the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 which transpose a European Directive. Although the impact of the Regulations is relatively modest there are some useful benefits for consumers.

http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/buying-selling/sale-supply/sale-of-good-act/page8600.html

You could try threatening them with Trading Standards or court action.  Just so we know who to avoid, which company is it?
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Baz on August 06, 2007, 20:38
Yeah I had a feeling thats the law but how do you actually push it through when the company says "no". Ive had quite a bit of gear from them and this has been the first real problem  so I wont name them yet Simon if thats ok.

stuck as what to do now.......push it or take the easy option and wait for this new one.   but then if I get a new one, same make model, whats to say this is going to be ok or the same as dodgy one
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Simon on August 06, 2007, 20:57
Well, personally, I wouldn't let them get away with it.  They know they are trying it on, and are just hoping you will back down.  A strongly worded email or recorded delivery letter to the company's CEO or MD might get the ball rolling.  Not too threatening at this stage, but give them all the facts, like you've tested the monitor on another PC, and offer them another opportunity to accept it as returned faulty, under the manufacturers warranty.  You have the law on your side, so let them know you're not going to be a push over.  I know the easy option is tempting, I suppose it depends on whether you can be bothered to start a battle. 
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Baz on August 17, 2007, 22:20
well, got my new monitor yeaterday..........seems ok so far. :)

went the route of sending it back under warranty. got in touch with the service centre in UK but ended up they sent me details to send it back to GERMANY :o :o ???

tracked it over a few days via UPS site and same on the way back, took just over a week in total.

Yeah I should have taken it back to shop maybe, but didnt want to push it too far and went with the flow. Lucky I had my old hefty crt job to keep me going  :D.

if this one goes the same will take it back to shop, honest Simon :)

Thanks again
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Simon on August 17, 2007, 22:57
Glad you got it sorted, but I thought you might be interested to read this post I stole from another forum.  I don't know how clued up this guy is, but here's what he said, in relation to another member's faulty TV:

Quote
UK consumer law (oh god, not that again) provides consumers with protection for 6 years after purchase. For 6 years the product must have been of "satisfactory quality" in the eyes of the normal person. So a sense of reasonableness applies. If a £30 DVD player breaks after 5 years 11 months will you get a free repair or replacement? Probably not. But if a quality TV goes tits up after (say) 2 years, you will almost certainly be able to go back to the people who sold it to you and get it repaired or replaced for free (or get some compensation from them, i.e. money back.) It is not reasonable to expect a TV to break in less than 2 years or so these days. This fact renders 2 year warranties almost worthless and longer ones questionable too.

Of course the stores trying to sell you extended warranties don't tell you this do they.

What matters is that you now have a working monitor, but it sounds like your retailer needs, in the words of my old Gran, "his hat putting straight".
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Baz on August 17, 2007, 23:06
cheers Simon. thats interesting, especially the bit about 6 years :o

thing is with me I just want it sorted with as little hassle as poss. some say I should have pushed the shop but I didnt want to give them much grief really, next time maybe,  I told them I had to send it back, they said its the norm :dunno:.

will keep the info you gave in mind and try it next time........hopefully I wont have to though  ;D
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Reno on August 18, 2007, 05:04
Jesus, 6 years on electronics??? The law here is buyer beware. They sell you a product with an advertised warranty. That is the limit of their responsibility.

What is the FF forum?
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: sam on August 18, 2007, 07:41
.. and I'm wondering what part of the law this is from - cant say I have ever really read any consumer laws!
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Simon on August 18, 2007, 09:46
As I said, I don't know how clued up the guy is, and I've never heard that interpretation of the law before, so it could just be BS.
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Simon on August 18, 2007, 10:12
But then, it might not be - more here:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/pcworld/77353-sale-goods-act-etc.html

http://www.singletrackworld.com/article.php?sid=1250
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Baz on December 02, 2007, 10:11
hi all, remember this post about my dodgy monitor......well the new one has a strange "feature"  when I shut down the system it seems the monitor dosent go into standby mode but gives a 'no signal' message (which seems normal) then flashes through loads of coloured screens until I turn it off  :dunno:   :)

its not any bother but Ive never seen it before.





also to save starting a new thread  anyone have any ideas on this.  I have some front audio connections on my system but when I try to set it up to use the headphones it doesnt cut off the rear panel so I get sound out of both at the same time. The only way I can get it to work is to get down under the table and turn off the speakers at the back. I do get a message when setting the options in the sound feature control panel saying, 'JD function only work with HD audio front panel'. I guess its to do with that
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Rik on December 02, 2007, 11:18
That sounds like another faulty monitor, I'm afraid. It should go into standby once it detects 'no signal', and it clearly isn't.

What sound card are you using?
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Baz on December 02, 2007, 11:43
onboard sound Rik. MSI K9VGM-V mobo. I think its Realtek audio.


not what I wanted to hear about the monitor though, I can put up with it though.

Thanks for the reply
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Rik on December 02, 2007, 11:53
The Sale of Goods Act is quite clear on retailer responsibility. Unfortunately, almost all retailers will refer you to the manufacturer, many of whom have a swap out warranty policy. Most consumers opt for this as it's more convenient than having the retailer organise the repair, leaving us with no monitor.

Nonetheless, the liability is still on the retailer, and as this is the second one to fail, you might want to tackle them again. When I has a similar problem with a Viewsonic monitor, Scan agreed to take it back, give me a refund and sell me a new monitor (Eizo). They arranged for the new one to arrive the day before they collected the Viewsonic, to minimise inconvenience.

Don't have any knowledge of the sound card, sorry. :(
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Baz on December 02, 2007, 14:06
strange one this. have now tried the 'power options' settings from control panel and set the 'turn off monitor'  to one minute just to see what happens and it worked...........black screen, LED on monitor  went to amber, started back up ok.

So its only when I fully power down the system each time. Cant think what. could something be either not shutting down or still asking for input??

what about my router, wireless keyboard/mouse?   dont know relly just random guesses

I have never bothered with screen savers and power saving features before as theres always someone on the computer.
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Rik on December 02, 2007, 14:10
If it's like the Eizo, that's the monitor's internal circuitry shutting the monitor down on a timer. What it doesn't seem to be doing is taking the 'no signal' state as an instruction to shut down. It might be worth delving about in the OSD menu a bit, to see if there are any other settings. Nothing else should affect it, only the output from the graphics card.
Title: Re: monitor question
Post by: Baz on December 02, 2007, 14:34
thanks Rik