# Dark Screen--Probably Monitor Problem? Or Card Problem? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 12, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-screen-probably-monitor-problem-or-card-problem/348000 "2006-03-12T02:20:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-screen-probably-monitor-problem-or-card-problem/348000/1 "2006-03-12T02:20:47Z")
My monitor kind of went “dark” today. It’s as though I had turned down the “brightness” setting–except, of course, I didn’t. Its _possible_ my 1-year old might have done something to it while sitting in my wife’s lap at the computer, without her noticing. But I’ve checked both the monitor’s settings, and NVidia’s software settings, and brightness and contrast settings are both at 100% for both devices. Are there other settings I should check before deciding something’s broken? If something is broken, is it possible to say either that it’s _probably_ my monitor or that its _probably_ my graphics card? Or is there just no way to tell without trying out a different monitor? (I don’t have a backup monitor, unfortunately, so this will take a little doing.) Thanks, -Kris ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-screen-probably-monitor-problem-or-card-problem/348000/2 "2006-03-12T02:26:57Z")
You checked the brightness and contrast settings, but did you also see if either one had a [gamma](http://www.svconline.com/mag/avinstall_gamma_closer_look/index.html) setting? Dialling down the gamma correction can also make it get dark. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-screen-probably-monitor-problem-or-card-problem/348000/3 "2006-03-12T02:46:52Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > You checked the brightness and contrast settings, but did you also see if either one had a [gamma](http://www.svconline.com/mag/avinstall_gamma_closer_look/index.html) setting? Dialling down the gamma correction can also make it get dark. I found the gamma setting. It was set right in the center of its slider bar, at a setting labled “1.0”. I assume this is probably where its been all along–if the problem had been caused by someone accidentally changing this setting, I’m guessing it would have been at some other (more “random”) value. I’ve increased the gamma, and now its sort of brighter, but it still doesn’t look right. So… is it probable that I can just say my monitor’s broken and go get a new one? Or do I really need to test it by switching out monitors etc? (In other words, do graphics cards ever do anything like this when they start to go bad? Or is it almost always a monitor issue when things go dark like this?) -Kris ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dark-screen-probably-monitor-problem-or-card-problem/348000/4 "2006-03-12T03:04:57Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I found the gamma setting. It was set right in the center of its slider bar, at a setting labled “1.0”. Yes, 1.0 is the normal setting, so it probably wasn’t fooled with. As to your other questions, swapping out the monitor with a known good one would be a good idea, if you can manage it. In fact, anything you can do to narrow down the source of the problem will help. If you can swap out the video card, do that as well. Make sure your video cable is plugged into the video card firmly, too. I’ve never seen a loose connector cause a dim display, but I suppose it’s possible. Is it an onboard video card integrated with the mainboard, or is it an expansion card? If the latter, it couldn’t hurt to open the case, pull the card out and reseat it firmly.