# LCD Monitor Problem - Help Needed **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 19, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lcd-monitor-problem-help-needed/536599 "2010-04-19T03:44:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Doctor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Doctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lcd-monitor-problem-help-needed/536599/1 "2010-04-19T03:44:19Z")
So, I have an Optiquest Q7 LCD monitor which every so often likes to freak out. By that I mean that the image on the screen gets scrambled around. The best thing I can liken it to is losing sync on a CRT monitor, except this is digital and so the effect is much freakier. When it does this, I slap the monitor (pretty hard) a couple of times, and it goes back to normal. The problem now is that it is becoming much more frequent now. It also like to turn a purplish color as well every so often and the same slapping the monitor around handles it. I have taken the monitor apart once looking for loose or damaged parts or cables to no avail. I searched for a service manual as well, but only found user manuals. The full part number is Optiquest Q7B-3 VS11147. Anyone ever run into this or know what could be causing such a problem? I am not totally incompetent when it comes to electronics, so I can replace components or repair cables as needed. Thanks for any help you can provide. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lcd-monitor-problem-help-needed/536599/2 "2010-04-19T04:37:06Z")
try reseating the video cable at the video card and the monitor, if it is removeable. Keep a eye on sales, as fixing it is unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lcd-monitor-problem-help-needed/536599/3 "2010-04-19T15:42:41Z")
Agreed on checking obvious connections. The only other thing I could think of was when our LCD monitor started misbehaving, sometimes the only thing to do was to completely unplug it from the UPS (not just turning either the monitor or the UPS off). Of course ours was misbehaving differently - sometimes it simply wouldn’t display anything on reboot (which we erroneously blamed on the computer), and one time it put itself into mirror image mode. Not the control-key trick where you can rotate the screen display, but actual _mirrored_ (move mouse right, it goes left, top is in the right place). That stumped quite a few people for a while. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lcd-monitor-problem-help-needed/536599/4 "2010-04-19T15:43:49Z")
Replace the monitor cable. I’ve seen this happen when I’ve had a bad DVI cable. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Doctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lcd-monitor-problem-help-needed/536599/5 "2010-04-19T16:06:16Z")
Yeah, it could be the monitor cable. Unfortunately it is wired into the monitor so it is not so easy to replace. What I can’t figure out is why hitting the monitor straightens it out. Hmmm… ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lcd-monitor-problem-help-needed/536599/6 "2010-04-19T17:47:33Z")
> [@Doctor](#): > > What I can’t figure out is why hitting the monitor straightens it out. Hmmm… Because there are a zillion surface-mount connections in an LCD monitor. One is poorly soldered, and giving it a dope slap fixes it for a short time. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lcd-monitor-problem-help-needed/536599/7 "2010-04-19T19:50:00Z")
technical term: sharp isostatic readjustment ---
**Author:** ![Doctor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Doctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lcd-monitor-problem-help-needed/536599/8 "2010-04-19T19:59:08Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Because there are a zillion surface-mount connections in an LCD monitor. One is poorly soldered, and giving it a dope slap fixes it for a short time. Probably correct. That does narrow the target, though. I actually took it apart once already and it is not so many parts that I cannot check for that. Might as well give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Doctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lcd-monitor-problem-help-needed/536599/9 "2010-04-19T20:00:16Z")
> [@The\_Vorlon](#): > > technical term: sharp isostatic readjustment 😃 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lcd-monitor-problem-help-needed/536599/10 "2010-04-19T21:42:25Z")
> [@The\_Vorlon](#): > > technical term: sharp isostatic readjustment I always called it _percussive maintenance_.