Monitor: V7 R19WPS 19" widescreen LCD, native resolution 1440 x 900

My monitor has worked without a problem for almost two years up until yesterday. I used it almost all day yesterday. Here's how it all happened.

• A relaxing evening at the McFly residence
Last night, I was working on some programming, when I took a break to go watch TV. I went to the living room for about 10 minutes (leaving the monitor on), and came back during the next commercial break. I had no idea what I would find there would change my life ... forever.

• The initial investigation
When I came back, after only 10 minutes, I noticed the screen was off (including the backlight), but the blue power LED was still on. On my monitor, a blue LED means that there is a power+signal, and an orange LED means that there is power+standby (no signal). I thus found it strange that the backlight would be off (meaning a blank screensaver wasn't in play), and yet the blue LED would still be on. Curious, I leaned closer.

• McFly leans closer
I moved the mouse, I hit Escape, I hit the spacebar, I hit ctrl+alt+del. Nothing. "O RLY?," I said to myself out loud. "Damn it to hell," I continued. "My compy must have crashed." Figuring a reboot would save me, I reached for the reset button. But wait ... why the fu** is that blue LED still on? Before rebooting, I turned off the monitor, waited a second, and turned it back on. My desktop! Huzzah! I sat down and got right to work, forgetting about the entire ordeal.

• 10 seconds later ...
The monitor turns off again. Same deal. No backlight, blue LED. "NO WAI!" I said. Repeating the monitor on / monitor off routine yields the same results. On for 10 seconds, a brief backlight flicker, and off she goes.


I tried this from the BIOS screen too, to rule out video drivers being a factor. I also tried it with a laptop's video output, to rule out my video card or my computer in general.

It looks to me like the backlight or its inverter are fried, I guess probably not the backlight itself, since it does turn on and works perfectly for those 10 seconds.

It's also out of warranty. So what say you?

I'd say it's time for a new monitor - or , depending on your particular situation, I guess.

Based on me wanting a bigger monitor:
Based on my financial situation:

Only two years? that sucks. Is an inverter from eBay an option, or is that more than it's probly worth?

Do what this guy did:

http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=5930862&page=1

Maybe. But I'd have to find something that would be compatible.

V7? Never heard of that brand. Seriously, it doesn't matter what brand or type of monitor you buy today. Every single one has a cheap-ass transformer that will blow with relative regularity after the warranty expires. I tell you it's a scam.

My Proview 17" CRT died just after the 3 year warranty expired. I would bet on the fact that my current Sylvania 17" CRT will do the same. I don't know about LCDs because they haven't had widespread use until recently but we'll be finding out sooner rather than later. I wouldn't be surprised if the number of dead LCDs booms in the next few years.

Well now, I'm going to (before it gets thrown in the trash or sold for parts) try to replace the cathodes inside with some regular store-bought ones. I figure that if I can't get an inverter to match, I'll just use one of the inverters that comes with CC kits, and dremel a small hole in the back of the monitor case to run to the inverter, and velcro it or something to the back of the monitor. Can't hurt to try (unless I shock myself, that will hurt).

So ... what would you guys say is the best quality CC maker? The ones I've used are generally pretty cheap and dim after only a few months.

Mcfly

My vp930b(19") did just about the same thing. If i rebooted my pc, it would kick on after about the 10th hard boot. Then it would go off permanently if the screen saver came on, stand by or if the screen went black while entering a game.

My led light stayed on also.I had already sent the monitor in twice for warranty and after dealing with vs and waiting months, i decided to switch to any other company.Im sure they still make a good monitor though, just not mine. The second time it broke was just past the warranty by 2 months.

I've opened the entire baby up right now, finally got my way to the cathodes -- I'll test each one individually, if they all work, I'll assume it's the inverter.

Anybody know where I can buy 16-inch white cold cathodes? I normally see 12-inchers ... 16-inch anybody?

Its a shame your so far mcfly.I have an Extra Dell 2007FP just sitting in the Box that i could sell cheap

That's not a widescreen, but if this doesn't work, I'd need something better than a CRT.

PM me with how much you'd want for it.

FordGT90Concept said:

Interesting because my 17" CRT monitor from HP has lasted 7 years and I bet it still works but I moved to LCD. So I guess it's a matter of certain brands or just that old things were made better than the new things we have now.


McFly, shouldn't you try taking it to a repair shop? I'm sure in the states there's much more veriety and expertise than here, so maybe have a look at how much it costs for a repair? OR!!!...

You can subscribe to TigerDirect newsletter and just wait for one of their offers on LCD's, I see them come nd go every month or so.

*Edit*

I bough my 22" LCD from CompUsa before they got bought by TigerDirect for $180 or close to $200 which for me is a very good price. I think you can get a cheap 22" LCD for a minimum of $180

I did inquire about repair. They wanted well more than the damned thing is worth. Almost as much as me just buying a brand new 22" widescreen. >:-[

Use your TV instead for a while


EDIT:

That reminds me of OCGW the overclocking grand wizard or w/e he called himself lol, he had his PC hooked up to his TV and 2 leather recliners

Well, I think I may be able to fix it with parts that I already have. I've got at least an extra two of those dual-CCFL inverters laying around, so I might just take the monitors inverter out-of-the-loop (no pun intended), and run the existing lights off that, unless they're busted, which they don't look to be.

That way, even if the inverter gets fuxed in the future, it will be external so I can just replace it quickly.

The downside is that the external inverter won't shut down the backlight automatically for things like sleep mode, or even me turning the monitor off. Unless I use a relay ... but I don't have any on hand. Maybe a trip to Radio Shack is in order.

Meats_Of_Evil said:
2000-2001 is when stuff started to be manufacturered to break. Stuff built before then may still be working. I do know I threw out a lot of 1990-2000 CRT monitors last year that had picture tube failures (just a bright white line). They weren't well kept.

It does depend a lot on brand. Some stuff is still running like Liteon drives, Biostar motherboards, Seagate hard drives, etc. Sony and Proview are, in my eyes, the greatest offenders. That list will expand with time...

my CRT is still holding strong from 2002

I believe it. This monitor says V7 everywhere on the outside, but on the inside, everything is labeled to be manufactured by Proview.

When you were talking about a V7, I thought you were talking about a Viewsonic, which I have several of, and have had no difficulties with (with the exception of resync after quiet mode shutdowns). I actually have a Viewsonic 22" CRT from 1995 or so that is still going strong, and an IBM 20" CRT from 1996 that is doing OK as well. My oldest running LCD is a 1999 15" IBM LCD, again with no problems.
My everyday rig is a 20" standard Viewsonic and a 22" widescreen Viewsonic, both of which are about 3-4 years old.

Now I'm going to state a couple of assumptions. I'm assuming that it's the backlight that is going out. I'm also assuming that the backlight is the largest draw upon power. Having said that, most LCDs use an external power converter/block. Have you attempted to replace this as of yet? the fact that the backlight works for 10 seconds or so seems to indicate the brick has failed. I've had this happen on several laptops.

Gerritt