Screen goes blank (white) for no reason :(
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Thread: Screen goes blank (white) for no reason :(

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Question Screen goes blank (white) for no reason :(

    Hello everyone,

    My monitor screen goes blank (white) all of the sudden for no reason! At first, it was just all white, but lately, it has vertical dark thin lines against a white background.

    Details:
    I am usually clicking something (browsing the web, opening a program, etc) and the monitor goes blank. The monitor light stays green. The HD light doesn't flicker. The monitor doesn't flicker. I've tried all combinations of keyboard keys including Stand By, the Windows key, ALT-CTRL-DEL, etc, but it does nothing. I've tried inserting a CD with some program setup in it, nothing. I have to do a cold boot to get back to what I was doing . Needless to say, I lose all the work I was in the middle of ... *sigh*

    I am at a loss! I bought this computer in July/August 2005 but I kept my old monitor. It happens maybe 2-7 times a week. Please help!

    Here are the specs:

    HP Pavilion a1130n
    AMD Athlon 3500+ / 64 processor
    1GB SDRAM PC3200 DDR
    250GB HD
    ATI RADEON Xpress 200 Series / 128MB

    Monitor:
    I think I bought the monitor back in 2001 or 2002.
    Viewsonic PF790
    19 in CRT
    Screen res: 1280 x 1024 @ 85 Herz
    I have installed the latest driver from the Viewsonic website

    Thanks in advance,

    Jessica
    -- GMiF = Great Minds in Forum
    -- Thanks to all of you!

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Try cutting the monitor frequency back to 60Hz, or to adapter default and see what happens.

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    Check Device Manager forany problems(!/?) you may also want to check your temps....in BIOS, or Everest.(In my signature)


    Liam
    Desktop:I5 2500K|Asus P8Z68-V|8GB Corsair Vengeance|1280MB Nvidia 560 TI PE|1TB Seagate/60GB OCZ SSD|LG Blu-ray Writer|Corsair 750W
    27" iMac:I5 2500S|12GB Crucial DDR3|ATI 1GB 6970|1TB|Superdrive|Mighty Mouse

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Thank you guys.

    I will try running Everest. Will post results here.

    Device Manager doesn't show any conflicts.

    If everything is OK in the results, I will try the monitor setting changes suggested by lgbpop.

    :-)

    Jessica
    -- GMiF = Great Minds in Forum
    -- Thanks to all of you!

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    USA
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    Everest results:

    TEMPS:
    Motherboard 37 °C (99 °F)
    CPU 30 °C (86 °F)
    WDC 41 °C (106 °F)


    I've noticed that under Display >> Monitor, it doesn't report anything. What could that mean?

    Is there anything else I should be looking at?

    Thank you,

    Jessica
    -- GMiF = Great Minds in Forum
    -- Thanks to all of you!

  6. #6
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    Easiest thing to try would be the monitor cable, either unplug it from both ends and clean the ports and then retry it, or if possible try a different cable.

    Liam
    Desktop:I5 2500K|Asus P8Z68-V|8GB Corsair Vengeance|1280MB Nvidia 560 TI PE|1TB Seagate/60GB OCZ SSD|LG Blu-ray Writer|Corsair 750W
    27" iMac:I5 2500S|12GB Crucial DDR3|ATI 1GB 6970|1TB|Superdrive|Mighty Mouse

  7. #7
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    I've got a feeling that this might be a graphics card problem. If you can, try the monitor on another PC, which should confirm it one way or another.
    Nick.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Thank you. I will try all your suggestions one by one. May take some time as this doesn't occur frequently. I haven't had any problems since I posted my question, for example. Will come back with updates.

    Jessica
    -- GMiF = Great Minds in Forum
    -- Thanks to all of you!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    4
    Hello, New here. I stumbled across this post searching google for my computer problem.

    I have the exact same problem as jessicam. I actually also have the exact same computer bought at the same approximate time.

    This issue just started for me about two weeks ago. The only thing I changed is I paid for the year of Norton Anitvirus. This seems to have started occurring right after that.

    Now I have a 19" Proview LCD, so I think the problem is not the monitor.

    Any ideas on what is causing this would be much appreciated!!

    Thanks!!!

  10. #10
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    Welcome to Virtual Dr.

    If you have a new monitor, and the problem existed on an old monitor, it would point to the graphics card....you could try removing it, cleaning the contacts and reinserting it, make sure you power down, unplug the power cable from the PSU, and touch the metal case inside before you touch any components to ground yourself first.

    Liam
    Desktop:I5 2500K|Asus P8Z68-V|8GB Corsair Vengeance|1280MB Nvidia 560 TI PE|1TB Seagate/60GB OCZ SSD|LG Blu-ray Writer|Corsair 750W
    27" iMac:I5 2500S|12GB Crucial DDR3|ATI 1GB 6970|1TB|Superdrive|Mighty Mouse

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    4
    Thanks for the reply. I e-mailed HP support and they told me to do this:

    Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.

    I see that you are experiencing an issue with issue with HP Pavilion a1130n PC. The computer screen goes white with grey vertical stripes.

    I greatly appreciate that you have forwarded your concerns and have given me a chance to assist you with this matter. We cherish the opportunity to serve you and always strive towards rendering excellent customer service.

    This issue occurs due to various reasons. However, in this case it might be due to corrupt BIOS settings. To resolve this issue I recommend you to visit the following website to download and install the BIOS Update:

    ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/softwar...-2/SP26550.exe

    ===Installation Instructions ===

    1. Download the BIOS update.
    2. Double-click the BIOS update icon, and then click NEXT.
    3. Accept the license terms, and then click NEXT.
    4. If an Overwrite Protection message appears, click YES TO ALL.
    5. Click OK at the Windows Based BIOS Update window.
    6. Click YES at the next Windows Based BIOS Update window, and then wait for the update to complete.
    7. At the Windows Based BIOS Update window, click YES to restart your PC.
    8. If you see the following message during the restart of your PC, continue with the remaining steps; otherwise you are done with the update.

    Default BIOS settings have been loaded due to BIOS update or checksum issue.
    Press to enter Setup. Otherwise, allow the PC to continue.

    9. Press and hold F1 for a few seconds to open the BIOS Setup.
    10. Press F5 for a few seconds, choose YES, and then press Enter to load the BIOS defaults. (Use the arrow keys to choose YES, if necessary.) 11. Press F10 for a few seconds, choose YES, and then press Enter to exit the BIOS Setup and save your changes. (Use the arrow keys to choose YES, if necessary.) 12. Press Enter to confirm the save.
    13. If you see a System Settings Change message prompting you to restart your PC, click YES to restart the PC again.

    This should resolve the issue. If in case the issue persists, then please feel free to write us back with the above results so that I can assist you further.


    Does this sound right??


    Thanks!!!

  12. #12
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    Yep, it looks like they got it right this time, the support page shows that the BIOS update should fix things: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/g...name=c00432439

    Be very careful though, or you could end up with a doorstop mobo.

    Liam
    Desktop:I5 2500K|Asus P8Z68-V|8GB Corsair Vengeance|1280MB Nvidia 560 TI PE|1TB Seagate/60GB OCZ SSD|LG Blu-ray Writer|Corsair 750W
    27" iMac:I5 2500S|12GB Crucial DDR3|ATI 1GB 6970|1TB|Superdrive|Mighty Mouse

  13. #13
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    "Be very careful though, or you could end up with a doorstop mobo."

    Liam

    Thats what scares me. I am going to wait to do this until I am caught up with my work on the machine. I cannot afford to be down right now.

    Thanks!!

  14. #14
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    You're Welcome.

    Good idea, if it's under warranty, you should be entitled to a replacement board, should anything go wrong.


    Liam
    Desktop:I5 2500K|Asus P8Z68-V|8GB Corsair Vengeance|1280MB Nvidia 560 TI PE|1TB Seagate/60GB OCZ SSD|LG Blu-ray Writer|Corsair 750W
    27" iMac:I5 2500S|12GB Crucial DDR3|ATI 1GB 6970|1TB|Superdrive|Mighty Mouse

  15. #15
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    I greatly appreciate that you have forwarded your concerns and have given me a chance to assist you with this matter. We cherish the opportunity to serve you and always strive towards rendering excellent customer service.
    Isn't there enough BS in the world without this sort of thing. It wouldn't be so bad if they actually meant it

    Fasteddy, have a look at these articles before reflashing the BIOS, it's usually a safe enough procedure, but you do need to know what you're doing:

    Updating / Flashing BIOS

    Award Flash BIOS Update Guide

    AMI Flash BIOS Update Guide

    Reflashing a BIOS
    Nick.

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