Thin Horizontal Line Across My Monitor

[mittene]

Hello,

Recently, a single thin horizontal line is permanently appearing a little more than halfway up my monitor. What I've noticed about the line itself is that it "tries" to blend in with solid colors, but ends up being darker than the color it is trying to blend in with. For example, if I display an all-white screen, the line turns gray. If I display an all-light blue screen, the line becomes dark blue, etc. The only exceptions that I've noticed so far is that with medium-red, it turns into more of a grayish red instead of a dark red, and with photos, it pretty much turns black.

Another thing I noticed is that the line will "maintain" its color for about a quarter or half of a second after switching to another image before it tries to blend in with the new image - so you can see there is a slight lag going on.

Also, only a few days before this problem happened, I got a message at boot-up saying that my system battery voltage is low. I have not seen this message come up since, but I get the feeling that it's just something coincidental. I have not replaced the system battery yet since I've read about some problems that others have run into while doing this (DVD/CD drives stop working after battery switch, etc.) My PC is about 5 years old and, If need be, I'll switch the battery. But first I'd like to see if the horizontal line is being caused by something else. Could my monitor or video card be on its way out?

My specs:
Dell Dimension 8400, Windows XP, Service Pack 3
Monitor - Dell UtraSharp 1905 FP (an LCD screen)
Video Card - ATI Radeon X300SE

Things I've tried so far:
-The Dell monitor has a Self-Test Feature Check, where you unhook the digital and/or analog connectors to the montor, and turn on the monitor. It reports no problems during the test, however the horizontal line still appears.

-I've booted to safe mode, and the horizonal line still appears.

-I've tried the different screen refresh rates available, but that doesn't solve anything.

Thanks!

[SuperSparks]

If the line is appearing on the self-test with the cables disconnected then it is a monitor problem for sure. I agree that the battery message is coincidental. Unfortunately I really don't think there is anything that you can do to fix the problem other than replace the monitor, but it would be worth waiting to see if any of our monitor gurus have any ideas.

[mittene]

OK, thanks for the input though. We'll see what the others have to say. I also want to add that the monitor is also about 5 years old.

[bugspop1]

Have you by any chance hooked the monitor up to another computer? How about hooking a different monitor up to your computer? If it's possible this is the quickest way to find out for sure what's wrong!

It sounds like the monitor is on its way out. Is this monitor an LCD or a CRT? If its a CRT it would make a good boat anchor (usually not fixable). If it's an LCD it can be fixed but it may cost more to fix it than a new monitor would cost.

[SuperSparks]

It's LCD.

A bit of further digging suggests that the most likely cause of this problem is a bad contact between the circuit board and the LCD panel itself (which normally use push fit connectors). If you feel up to disassembling the monitor, you may be able to cure it by unplugging and replugging the connector(s) a couple of times.

[mittene]

Well, I tried unplugging/replugging the connectors a few times, but it did not work. Thanks for the suggestion.

[lgbpop]

Your monitor is past the point of easy fixes. That model number denotes a monitor made for Dell by Planar, quite a decent brand several years ago; however, they aren't known for extreme longetivity. That vintage was doing well to get five years' service. Sound "Taps" and replace it with due decorum.

[mittene]

Originally Posted by lgbpop

That vintage was doing well to get five years' service. Sound "Taps" and replace it with due decorum.

I might just have to do that. Thanks.