How do I stop my monitor from shaking?

February 6, 2009 7:06 PM

Help, my CRT keeps shaking and its driving me nuts!

I've read the past threads on here but don't know enough about electronics to really test much. Here's the situation...I have a ViewSonic P220f CRT from about 5 years ago. It has worked beautifully all these years and I've taken good care of it.

Now, regardless of whether I have it plugged into my desktop or my laptop there is a slight shaking of the image that is giving me the biggest headache. It is MUCH different from when the refresh rate is too low and in fact the only time the shaking stops is at 60hz which is unusable for long term computing.

On my desk surrounding it I have four speakers (satellites), a speaker control center, two mice, keyboard, my desktop (under my desk) and my laptop (next to the monitor). Also, under the desk I have a subwoofer.

Now, my first thought was magnetic interference. So I tried moving things around and nothing works. Plus, I've been using it in this setup just fine for over half a year with ZERO issues. I frequently switch my monitor cord between my desktop and my laptop depending on which I want to display on the monitor and it was after I switched it to the laptop tonight that I first noticed it (it was fine when I had it on my desktop earlier tonight) although now it does it regardless of what it is on.

I should also mention that the VGA cable goes through a VGA -> DVI converter plug.

Any suggestions on what to test? There's a mess of wires under my desk and lots of electronics on it, but why would that JUST NOW start causing a problem?!

PLEASE HELP METAFILTER! (and please don't get into electrician speak, I'm fairly technical, but don't know electrical engineering at all).

posted by Elminster24 to technology (15 comments total)

When my old CRT monitors did this I would find the degauss option (look for an icon that has a magnet with a strike through it if there is nothing that says degauss) and hit that. If that didn't work banging the side of the monitor would make it go away for a while.
posted by GleepGlop at 7:09 PM on February 6

Can you try changing the cable? It may be flakey from all the switching, and it's worth testing if you have a spare.
posted by jenkinsEar at 7:29 PM on February 6

Thanks for the suggestions so far...I should have mentioned I tried both those options, no dice.

I'm positive it isn't the graphics cards either because my laptop works fine on its own and my desktop works fine when I connect the DVI->HDMI cable to my TV. Its only when I use my CRT that I have issues.

I tried the cable from my gf's LCD monitor to no avail and am about to try using her monitor to see if that works.I'm at my wits end with this and I'm stuck using either 60hz refresh rate or dealing with the shake and both make me nauseus and give me headaches!
posted by Elminster24 at 7:34 PM on February 6

Have you rearranged your desk recently? A fluctuating electric or magnetic field impinging from outside can do that.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 7:47 PM on February 6

I've tried moving stuff around but no dice. Also, I've tried with the laptop and speakers powered down in case there was interference there and nothing.
posted by Elminster24 at 8:09 PM on February 6

You've changed the cable, but did you try changing the VGA to DVI converter?

If it happens the same on both computers, it's pointing at a monitor problem. You could try updating the monitor and graphic card drivers on both of your computers, but it's unlikely that will help.

If it's indeed the monitor, you might just have to give it up. It would probably be more cost-effective to just buy a new one.
posted by Relic at 8:35 PM on February 6

There's some helpful info on WikiAnswers about this exact issue.
posted by Xuff at 8:50 PM on February 6

When I worked in Hancock Tower on the 38th floor in Chicago many generations of CRT ago, the screens would do a shimmy when the elevators went by. It was quite a mystery until I solved it with (wait for it) a stethoscope.
posted by OneOliveShort at 11:49 PM on February 6 [1 favorite]

When this happened to me at work it took days to figure out what it was.

The guy in the next cube rearranged his desk and his monitor influenced the magnetic fields on mine. I moved my monitor about 6 inches and that was it.
posted by Drasher at 5:56 AM on February 7

Have you got a fan or a space heater nearby?
posted by gjc at 6:46 AM on February 7

Follow-up time...

Ok, to answer some questions:

1. I have not rearranged my desk recently.

2. Re: converter, I frequently move the monitor cable from my desktop to my laptop and I first noticed it when switching over to the laptop so that was my first guess. I tried a new converter and that didn't fix it.

3. There is literally nothing I can think of in my apartment that has changed that would impact this. I've tried reinstalling graphics card drivers (although it seems unlikely those are the problem because I've tried on two computers that both worked fine before) and reinstalling the monitor drivers to no avail.

4. Just got off the phone with Viewsonic who had this interesting tidbit to share....they claim that running my monitor at 85hz at the resolution I ran at (1600x1200) can shorten the life of the monitor and "burn it out." They don't state that anywhere in the manual and I think its bullcrap. Is there any claim to the fact that running at a higher refresh rate will shorten the life of the monitor?

She basically told me my only option is to try a local repair shop since I'm out of warranty. I now have to weight the cost of the repair shop against buying a new monitor which I would hate to do since the color reproduction and top resolution of this CRT still blows any new LCD out of the water. I can run as high as 2048x1536...lets seen an LCD do that!
posted by Elminster24 at 8:28 AM on February 7

Could be a grounding issue on your power line and outlets. Try plugging the monitor into a different AC outlet, using an extension cord if necessary, to test this theory.
posted by exphysicist345 at 7:13 PM on February 7

It is certainly worth moving the monitor someplace new and trying again, preferably with all different cables and computers (but I wouldn't buy anything to accomplish this unless you'd only ever tried one video cable or one adapter).

I'm positive it isn't the graphics cards either because my laptop works fine on its own and my desktop works fine when I connect the DVI->HDMI cable to my TV. Its only when I use my CRT that I have issues.

Since both computers are having problems, the following is probably irrelevant, but.. DVI -> HDMI uses the digital connections of the (presumably) DVI-I connector on your video card, but the CRT is using the analog part, so testing with the HDMI stuff isn't proving much of anything. Same thing for the VGA out of your laptop, it can easily develop problems that don't effect the main laptop display.

they claim that running my monitor at 85hz at the resolution I ran at (1600x1200) can shorten the life of the monitor and "burn it out."

I've seen this claim. It is true that you are running the electronics harder, and hotter, but if it is a spec'd operation mode it shouldn't have any trouble doing it long term. Since the monitor is out of warranty it is a moot point.



I've seen 22" LaCie Electron Blues being given away for free on craigslist or freecycle quite recently. I'm sure if you keep your eyes open you can find an equivalent CRT for under $100 in your area.
posted by Chuckles at 8:35 AM on February 8

Ok, so I've tested a couple other things...I think it might be electrician time.

I brought my brother's monitor (a P225f, I have a P220f so they are nearly identical) and prior to bringing it here to test, I made sure it ran fine at 85hz at his place and it was fine. Brought it here--same issue. So I'm not pretty certain it is not the monitor.

I rent in a 113 yr old apartment building and my landlord has taken really good care of it, but I'm wondering if there might be bad wiring or a grounding issue. I think I want to get an electrician involved but I don't really know whether I should call an electrician before I call my landlord or what...would the landlord have any objections to this potentially?

Either way, what sorts of things should I have an electrician test for this and how much (ballpark) can I expect to pay for this?

Before I take the plunge I'll be sure to check my upstairs and downstairs neighbors to see if they've made any new additions to their apartment that would generate sufficient interference to cause this.
posted by Elminster24 at 8:50 PM on February 8

Ok...one more small update. So out of curiosity I tried an outlet on the other side of my apartment. Previously I had only tried an outlet down the hall in our bedroom, but that outlet and the one my computer has been plugged into are both West facing and there are powerlines outside our apartment on that side (not that that has ever been an issue as they are across an alley and higher up).

So I tried an outlet on the east wall and while the problem isn't 100% gone, it is NOTICEABLY IMPROVED!

Ok, so that is starting to narrow things down...

Could powerlines have a change in them that would cause this all of a sudden after 6 months?
posted by Elminster24 at 9:49 PM on February 8