Last night, my 6-year-old Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2020u was dark when I got home; I had left it on with the screensaver running. I brought up the on-screen display, but it was smaller than normal and smeared out in appearance so as to be almost unreadable. Turning up the brightness and contrast all the way, and turning off the room lights, I could see my desktop, very very dimly. Icons were just shadows and text was unreadable. Power-cycling didn’t do anything.
Does this sound like something that might be simple or cheap to fix, or should I just bite the bullet and head out to CompUSA to shop for a new flat-screen monitor?
This is an easy one. You generally cannot have monitors fixed at all and even if you could, it almost certainly wouldn’t be worth it from a cost standpoint. Time for a new monitor.
Per Shag it’s a dead doorstop. Pity too that is/was a very nice monitor. RIGHT NOW is the very best time of year to be checking out the thrifts for large monitors in working condition. A lot of people got LCD flat screens for Christmas and have dumped their perfectly good CRTs.
Nah, I’m getting a new one. As long as I need to replace it already, I’ll get a flat-screen model which doesn’t take up so much desk space. Hopefully I can find a 21" model which won’t break the bank (and which Windows 98 can talk to).
In the mean time, try Advanced Gamma Corrector. Someone on the board mentioned this a while ago and it was exactly what I needed to compensate for my browned-out dark screen. It will give you time to research what will work with your system.
Looking back on my install logs it seems I’ve been using it for over a year and a half. Neat little program.
Even at its brightest, the screen was too dark to see what I was doing. I’ve reverted to an old 15" monitor on a temporary basis. Takes a bit of getting used to, seeing your picture-window on the world reduced to a porthole. Visited CompUSA today, but I’ll probably be ordering online.
You follow the same rule I do; have a backup monitor.
If you weren’t determined to get a brand new monitor, I could steer you to a really good used one. I found this guy on eBay, but when I asked what I should say to other people, he said that eBay gets thousands of dollars in fees from him every year, and I should tell people to contact him directly.
I bought a 21" Mitsubishi from him with a 3 year warranty, and he was excellent about helping me with driver problems. His eBay ID is monitormon. I don’t know whether it’s okay to give someone’s business address & phone in a SDMB post, so send me a message if you want that information; I’ll gladly supply it. He can’t legally give you that information, or try to sell to you offsite, if you contact him through eBay, y’know.
I think he gets monitors coming off lease, or refurbished. And I’m sure I’ve seen him list some LCDs. I do know I’m a satisfied customer. I started out telling him what I was replacing, and asking him about a different, cheaper monitor (a popular brand). He said I wouldn’t be happy with it. How many sellers will tell you something like that?? And kept on answering question after question about different monitors he had listed.
Since this monitor replaced a 20" Magnavox that I bought 11 years ago, 66 pounds vs. 85 pounds, and a tube housing about a third shorter than the old one make it seem not that much of a space-waster to me (and the Magnavox is now my backup, instead of a dinky 15" CRT).
Ummm. Whatever you buy, may I offer a suggestion? Use Energy saver instead of screensaver. Your electric bill will be smaller, and your monitor will last longer, no matter what kind. I have mine set to blackout at 10 minutes, Just In Case I forget to hit the switch as I get up.