# Oh look. A wonky monitor **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 3, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931 "2005-07-03T18:13:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TheOnlySaneOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@TheOnlySaneOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheOnlySaneOne)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/1 "2005-07-03T18:13:44Z")
Anyone want to help me out with this one? I’ve had this lovely computer for less than two weeks, and there’s something up with the monitor. Now, the monitor is quite old so it may just be that. In any case, there seem to be several horizontal stripes running across the screen. Slightly purple in hue, they seem more prominent when certain programs are up and running than others. Does anyone know what might be causig them? Or better yet, how I can fix them? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/2 "2005-07-03T18:21:05Z")
work, you are screwed. It is possible to fix a monitor. However, the first step is to unplug it, and leave it alone for several days, so that once you start work, the built up electricity doesn’t kill you. Not a very practical solution. If unplugging it from the computer doesn’t work, and it costs too much to pay a repair bill, don’t try and fix it. Buy a new one. ---
**Author:** ![Tyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e56c9b/32.png) [@Tyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyr)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/3 "2005-07-03T18:26:48Z")
Was the monitor purchased with the computer from a company like Dell or HP? If so call the company and ask them how to return it and have it replaced. If it is an old monitor then really your best option is to leave it off for a few days, if that doesn’t fix it you probably need to buy an new monitor. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Stan\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/4 "2005-07-03T18:46:04Z")
> [@](#): > > It is possible to fix a monitor. However, the first step is to unplug it, and leave it alone for several days, so that once you start work, the built up electricity doesn’t kill you. Not a very practical solution. **Very** bad advice. Leaving the CRT unplugged for a few days will not always safely discharge the capacitor(s). If you don’t know what you’re doing, do not open the case under any circumstances. [http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/sam/captest.htm#ctsdc](http://repairfaq.ece.drexel.edu/sam/captest.htm#ctsdc) ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/5 "2005-07-03T18:49:17Z")
> [@Stan Doubt](#): > > **Very** bad advice. I did not give a second step for a reason. So he would not do it. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/6 "2005-07-03T19:35:41Z")
> [@Stan Doubt](#): > > **Very** bad advice. Leaving the CRT unplugged for a few days will not always safely discharge the capacitor(s). If you don’t know what you’re doing, do not open the case under any circumstances. Ah, that takes me back to my hardware repair days when we actually replaced a CRT in the field, rather than just replacing the whole monitor and sending the broken one back to the shop for repairs. We discharged 'em with a screwdriver, and there was always that sweet terror of wondering whether you’d completely discharged it or not. I’m glad those days are over. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/7 "2005-07-03T20:29:27Z")
Not quite sure what you mean by horizontal stripe? How big is this stripe? If the unplugging doesn’t work your monitor may have some sort of degauss function in its menu’s. That usually fixes most color anomolies. Also, is your monitor a flat CRT? Flat CRT’s have 2 1-pixel wide lines running horizontally about 2/3 up and 1/3 down the monitor. They can be best seen on a white background. They’re part of flat-crt technology and are not considered a defect. ---
**Author:** ![TheOnlySaneOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@TheOnlySaneOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheOnlySaneOne)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/8 "2005-07-03T20:33:09Z")
To clarify, when I say old, I do mean old. The monitor is an IBM G70, given to me for free. So I know I’ll need to buy a new monitor eventually, just want to see if I can fix this one first. As for the stripes, they’re faint, barely there. Some might not even notice them. They’re about half an inch wide and don’t follow any sort of pattern. There may be two right next to each other, or there may be a few inches between them. And I have no desire to take this thing apart, and, you know, die. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/9 "2005-07-03T21:03:01Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > Unplug the connection to the monitor, then plug it back in again. If that doesn’t work, you are screwed. > \ > If unplugging (and reattaching) it (the monitor cable, not the power cable) from the computer doesn’t work, and it costs too much to pay a repair bill, don’t try and fix it. Buy a new one. Or, [Some way too dangerous advice.](http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.video/browse_thread/thread/2dbb96ff2b7fb6b0/241fc3526930377b?q=IBM+G70+%2Blines&rnum=5&hl=en#241fc3526930377b) ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/10 "2005-07-03T21:38:41Z")
> [@TheOnlySaneOne](#): > > To clarify, when I say old, I do mean old. The monitor is an IBM G70, given to me for free. So I know I’ll need to buy a new monitor eventually, just want to see if I can fix this one first. > > As for the stripes, they’re faint, barely there. Some might not even notice them. They’re about half an inch wide and don’t follow any sort of pattern. There may be two right next to each other, or there may be a few inches between them. > > And I have no desire to take this thing apart, and, you know, die. Amazingly enough, I just replaced an IBM G70 for someone the other day that was displaying the exact same symptoms. They’re especially noticeable on a white background, aren’t they? Unfortunately, I have no idea how to fix it. I just put a replacement monitor in and my boss decided to surplus the monitor as trash. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/11 "2005-07-03T23:11:50Z")
[Moire](http://www.mathematik.com/Moire/)? If it is, there’ll be a menu setting to try to adjust it away. (Though on some monitors it doesn’t seem to do much). Degaussing and changing resolutions sometimes helps this problem too. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/12 "2005-07-03T23:14:50Z")
Are these ‘stripes’ very, very thin? Is it a flat (Trinitron or similar) screen? Are there only two (perhaps 3) stripes? Then these are tension wires - they keep the tension mask in place. ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/13 "2005-07-03T23:16:03Z")
A long shot, but it only takes a second to check. Are you using an extension video cable between the regular video cable from the monitor and the computer? Some combinations of monitors and video cards can give you grief if your video extension cable is not absolutely first rate, and sometimes even then. If you are using an extension, move things around so you can (at least temporarily) do without it, and see if it helps. ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-look-a-wonky-monitor/310931/14 "2005-07-04T00:30:31Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Are these ‘stripes’ very, very thin? Is it a flat (Trinitron or similar) screen? Are there only two (perhaps 3) stripes? Then these are tension wires - they keep the tension mask in place. I can’t speak for the OP, but if it’s doing the same thing the one I dealt with did, we’re talking a good half-inch wide stripe that’s discolored (kind of a brownish tint) across the screen. IBM never made Trinitron monitors anyway, to my knowledge.