When I boot my computer up in the morning and turn my on my monitor, it begins to flicker, go normal, flicker a bit, etc. That lasts for a few minutes. It also does this when I have had my monitor off for a while and I turn it back on (already logged in and whatnot). Some of the flickers are a bit more like flashes.

It doesn't when I turn it off for a very short time although I will still mess around with this.

It's an LG 19" (I'll check exact model when I get home if I need to). I checked cords to make sure it's connected well but that didn't seem to change anything. I've had it for just over a year.

Anyone ever have a similar problem or any idea of what the problem could be?

Thanks,

Paul

These are generic debug questions. If it doesn't apply to your setup (e.g. you aren't using a laptop/battery power, ignore the debug step)

This could to be a cold-cathode lamp 'warm-up' problem, which has several contributing factors.

Are you using the display in a somewhat cooler than normal room?

Is the problem eliminated or reduced if you try the same things in a warmer room? (over 75degF)

Could be an unstable brightness control circuit that is being affected by component heating. I assume you've tried various settings, but if not try all the way from where you can just barely see the display, to full brightness. See if start-up flickering goes away at any given setting(s). Note: you may have to deal with both hardware settings, and software settings, depending on your video subsystem, your display, and any special video software utilities or drivers that may be installed on that particular computer.


Could be an aging Cold-Cathode lamp in the display head (if it was re-furbished, or simply an early failure lamp, etc)

Could be the lamp inverter isn't putting out as high a voltage/current as it should, thus taking the lamp longer to ionize the gas and establish a reliable and uniform light along the length of the tube(s).

Could be a loose "trigger" wire/guard assembly w/r a lamp if it uses that design. Can cause start-up to be more sensitive to temperatures.

Could be unstable RFI (Radio-Frequency Interference) being produced by some display or non-display related component in the computer until the circuitry warms up. Until the RFI is reduced, it affects video card and/or display lamp control circuitry. (not very likely, but one of the more difficult to debug possibilities)

Could be base laptop supply power subsystem providing insufficient power to the inverter circuitry. Is there any symptom difference operating on battery v. AC adapter?

john albrich said:

No major changes in temperature. At most my room will fluctuate by a few degrees. I live in an apartment where I can't control the heat unfortunately but like I said, temperatures have been fairly consistent lately. In fact, there were colder days in January when it wasn't happening.

I will try hooking up my monitor to my roommate's comp to see if that changes anything.

I'll also try turning it off for like 1 hour periods tonight to see if the flickering still occurs. Usually I power on after at least 6 hours of it being off.

Thanks for those ideas, I'll look into them deeper tonight.