partial display, horizontal lines, flicker - SOLVED

gabrielsmit · 07 Sep 2015

as this is solved it is for information only, mainly aimed at those who also have this 'problem'

suddenly my 23" samsung 2333 display started to flicker and give a partial display of my win screen with a lot of horizontal lines.
see image.
although i managed to get into windows the top edge of the screen was not accessible, making it virtually impossible to access controls situated at the top of open programs - i had to guess where the cursor is as it 'vanished' from the visible part.

after uninstalling printer drivers, removing the graphics card and plugging the monitor into the mother board the problem persisted, reminding me it was there in bios as well!

replace display with old one lying around, voila, problem sorted.
the display needs replacement.

so i figure if you guys get a problem display even at bios level, before any drivers start kicking in; odds are good the display is the culprit.

in Christ
gabriel

damocles · 14 Sep 2015

Horizontal and vertical line as well as garbled pixels are a classic sign of a failing monitor or GPU - a monitor can be fixed as it usually a blown capacitor or two...this would be the cheaper option.....if you have the cash, get a better monitor. If it's the GPU upgrade to new tech as the chances are the current GPU is old.

gabrielsmit · 14 Sep 2015

tx damocles,
my reasoning process [which is not always what it used to be ] tells me that if the fault is my gpu the monitor i now use would also behave faulty - as i use the same gpu as before and during the problem with the display.
to test if it was my gpu i bypassed it [removed it and deleted all nvidia drivers] and used the on-board graphics and the fault on the monitor remained.
secondly the fault on the monitor also showed up in bios, i.e. where the bios options become visible on screen, this is before any drivers load.
i am glad you indicate that a monitor can indeed be repaired as the syncmaster 2333 served me very well and i nearly bought another display today - in the meantime i stare at an old nearly square syncmaster 720n which i keep for emergencies.
keep well and God bless!
gabriel
ps, there is no sword dangling above those in Christ :)