So, on startup, the computer goes ‘Bong…!’, normal hard drive and fan noises, but the monitor don’t turn on. If I leave it a few minutes, then it does come on, but it might take a few sleep/unsleep cycles to get it to come on. Then, right, if it’s left for a while, and it goes into power saving mode, when i wake up the computer, the display seems very dim, and then it all just fades to grey.

I’ve tried another monitor, and that’s working fine, so I really don’t think it’s the computer thank God, but the original monitor seems a good bit dimmer than the second one, and it’s got it’s brightness turned up and that.

Is it a problem with the backlight bulb or something? Samsung SyncMaster 920LM LCD. Had it about 3 years or so, and it gets used 12 hours a day or more, quite often.

Is it just knackered, or can it be fixed? I’d rather pay to fix it than chuck it away for the sake of a simple part inside.

Backlight. Either the lamp or the driver. I think the drivers (or whatever they are called) are cheap, lamps stupidly expensive.

Can be changed easily on some montiors, not at all on others.

Bums. So probbly a costly replacement then? Or how easy is it to fix?

How can test if it’s the backlight unit?

I don’t know much about electronics, but it’s as though the monitor struggles to charge up or something, as I said it might take a few goes to get it working.Once on, it stays on, but it seems to have dimmed over time. suggests a knackered bulb maybe?

Why these things so expensive to fix bloody useless. 🙁

It all depends. Google your make and model.

If it’s the back light then when it’s off you will still be able to see an image on the screen if you look against a bright light.

Cheers Mol. I’ve had a Google, and it might well be the backlight on it’s way out. Flips sake.

The problem only seems to occur when it’s bin turned off a while, so obviously something’s failing. Probbly due to constant use really. Spose I shoon’t complain really, it din’t cost me much. Just annoying.

😥

Everything dies, Elf. Everything dies.

*sigh*

Could be the inverter </speculation>

(I thought Macs never went wrong, etc etc)

Inverter, that’s the word I was looking for – more common than the lamps apparently and cheaper/easier to fix.

12 hours a day isn’t that long, ours at work are on 24/7 365 days a year and I’m sure they last a lot longer than 3 years. Maybe you’re switching it off too often 🙂

Copuld be, Dibs, could be. Same way as switching a lightbulb on and off too often shortens it’s life.

It’s knackered. I’ve got the two side by side here, and the second one is way, way brighter, sharper, and just better all round really. The Samsung has an overall pinkish hue which I can’t shift, no matter how much fiddling I do. Symptom of a knackered bulb apparently. And it won’t stay set, it just gets dimmer after a few minutes. TBh, I’ve never liked it that much really. This cheapo DGM thingy, what is a good bit bigger (24″ v 19″) is loads better, but a bit too big for my liking, as I sit quite close to it. Cost me less too.

Oh well. Thanks for the replies, and I’ll do a bit more googling see if the bits aren’t too costly.

Shame really, in’t it? I mean most of the electronics are probbly fine, such a wasteful world we live in- chuck it and get a new one often cheaper and a lot easier than fixing something. Just not right.

I thought Macs never went wrong, etc etc

Someone have a word please. 🙄

Someone have a word please

Annoying, isn’t it.

(-:

What, your idiocy?

Where did I mention a problem with my Mac? Hmm? Come on, where?

You silly billy…. 🙄

If you have decided that a replacement is due, you will have very little to lose by opening it up – it is always worth looking at the capacitors on the power board (The bit that changes the electricity from AC 240V to 12V DC) as they often degrade.

You can tell when they have gone as they will have a distinctive domed top! I have repaired five or six TFT’s in this manner over the last six months. They can just be desoldered and replaced with others from ebay.

Rysz.

My father in law had his laptop screen go, I think he fixed it on the cheap – it was the invertor.

The screen went on my first laptop – I thought it was the lamp so I ripped it apart to find the thing on a nothing-to-lose basis. Gutted, cos it probably wasn’t, and I could probably have fixed it 🙁

rysz – most inverters in LCDs have no electrolytic caps, they’re not converting 240 to 12, they’re usually boosting 12ish to a few kV and so require little in the way of electrolytics. The varying brightness does suggest it’s possible the inverter is struggling, but it woudl be far easier to just swap the board.

Backlight inverters…

Ok so; I’ve opened the bugger up, and there’s one capacitor on the power supply board that’s very slightly ‘domed’, but not blown. Could that be the problem? Seems to be a 1000 uF 10v green one.

Would this be the problem? A new capacitor would be pennies! 🙂

A new screen will be hundreds possibly thousands of pounds. 🙁

A new screen will be hundreds possibly thousands of pounds.

The monitor would only have been around £120 new, bin it, buy a new one and spend the time you would have wasted messing around with the old one drinking beer 😀

You sure its not the cable / converter dongle? I had a couple of DV to VGA adapters fail with similar symptoms. Presumably you’ve checked the cable / adapter on t’other monitor?

there’s one capacitor on the power supply board that’s very slightly ‘domed’, but not blown.

Possibly – after all it’s only very slightly not working.

It’s knackered. I’ve got the two side by side here, and the second one is way, way brighter, sharper, and just better all round really

That’s how I felt about my second wife Debs (R.I.P). A wonderful women with a right hook that would lay Welsh rugby player out, she too started to fade. Then came my third wife Babs (R.I.P) a wonderful woman who could knock out Sottish logger with just he flick of her wrist. She too started to fade. I’m with Jen and she’s a keeper, ex-sheep rustler from NZ, can knock out a Cockney wide boy with a back-stoke of her heal.

Anyway the moral of the story is don’t worry when something brighter comes along don’t worry to much it’s probably for the best.

I just had this :-(.. Computer boots them switches off then reboot and is OK whne holding the ctrl key.

Let it do all the updates and seems OK today.

The monitor would only have been around £120 new, bin it, buy a new one and spend the time you would have wasted messing around with the old one drinking beer

Yeah but what if I spend 5 minutes fixing it and £120 in beer tokens? Eh? EH???

I’d much rather fix it if possible, than bin it. I’ve just binned a load of old dead electronic stuff, like a BT homehub, some old cordless ‘phones, and a bunch of adapters which are just cluttering the place up. What a waste of materials. 🙁

Geoffj; all dongles/cables adapters etc checked and fine.

I’ve discovered a suitable replacement capacitor for EIGHT PENCE. 😯

8 pence! WOW, for the half hour or so of time, how chuffed will you be if it works?

They are a real weak point on TFT’s and are always worth checking!

Hope that it all works for you!

Rysz.

Where did I mention a problem with my Mac? Hmm? Come on, where?

First sentence in your OP.

there’s one capacitor on the power supply board that’s very slightly ‘domed’, but not blown. Could that be the problem?

Could be. If it’s domed, it’s probably failed. Photos? How old is it? Capacitor death was -very- common a few years ago (google, ah, ‘capacitor plague’ iirc).

I’d give it a try but not hold out much hope.

UPDATE!

Oh Happy Joy! 😀

Thanks to here and Google, I figured it might be a dodgy capacitor, so I got hold of some from RS Electronics down the road from me, and swapped the bad one for a new un.

And my monitor now works again! It’s a little brighter than before, but not brilliant, so the lamp is probbly nearing the end of it’s life, but it’ll do for a while longer yet hopefully. It is noticeably better than it was though.

A Samsung service centre quoted me £56 to look at it, with a possible £20-30 for a new board (they wouldn’t just replace a dodgy capacitor). So, the cost of a new monitor, basically.

The capacitors cost me £3 for 5, so just 60p for the one.

The monitor would only have been around £120 new, bin it, buy a new one and spend the time you would have wasted messing around with the old one drinking beer

[smug gloaty mode] I now have £117 to spend on beer. And it took me about 10 minutes or so to change the component. The RS place was on the way to me mums so very convenient. [/smug gloaty mode]

for the half hour or so of time, how chuffed will you be if it works?

Very chuffed indeed. I’m well pleased with myself, considering I know nowt about electronics really.

So thanks to those that offered help, very grateful.

Oh, and Cougar; if you read my OP propply, you’d see it’s nothing to do with my Mac at all. That’s working perfectly. 😉

Nice one! Still surprised there was an electrolytic on it in a modern monitor but it’s all turned out well! There’s quite possibly nothing better than fixing something like that.

High5 Elf. It’s a great feeling isn’t it? 🙂

Mol; I am well pleased with myself. I mean, it’s probbly a minor easy thing for someone expert in such things, but that I’ve managed to research and identify the possible problem, then fix it, is a right result for me.

That it took so little time to actually fix, and so little money, is just brilliant. Minutes and pennies.

Top News Mr. ElfinSafety…

It’s a great feeling isn’t it! Definitely worth the time.

Rysz.

Cheers Rysz, and thanks for yer help.

The fact that I know very little about electronics, and even less about such complex stuff, makes it all the more rewarding.

That it was such a cheap and easily replaceable part makes it even better! 😀

I still think it’s on it’s way out, slowly, but I’ll get a bit more use out of it yet I reckon. It was never the best monitor really anyway, and in the last few years, monitor technology has come on loads.

I just hope Psychle has as much luck with his mobo…