Possibly loose DVI or tight VGA?

March 11, 2010 5:55 PM

My monitor is a 24" Samsung with dual VGA and DVI outputs. I've been using the DVI output to connect to a 3 year old white Macbook. Today, like an idiot, I moved the monitor without detaching the monitor cable, and the screws snapped off, and I cannot get what is left of them out of the holes. So now, I can either use the DVI output with no screws to hold the cable in place, or I can use the VGA output. Which is my best option?

Thanks for your help.

posted by 4ster to computers & internet (10 answers total)

The screws aren't necessary to good video display and instead are there to stop things from shaking loose. So keep using the DVI port and secure things with a bit of duct tape if the cable wiggles loose.
posted by Mitheral at 6:01 PM on March 11, 2010

Will the DVI cable not stay in without the screws? They are purely mechanical retention, they are not required for the cable to work properly. You could always find some other means* to attach the cable if it won't stay in place.

*blu-tak, tape, rubber band, jb-weld, superglue etc.
posted by defcom1 at 6:02 PM on March 11, 2010

I'm no expert, but I believe DVI has better video quality. Does your cable fall out a lot?

(Have you given up on removing what's left of the screws? If not, what strategies have you tried so far?)
posted by box at 6:02 PM on March 11, 2010

Those standoffs that hold the screws are usually removable and cross-compatible. You could try unscrewing the standoffs with a needle-nose plier or some such tool from the VGA port to put into the DVI one.
posted by zer0render at 6:09 PM on March 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Do whatever it takes to use DVI. On monitors bigger than 1024x768 it makes a very noticeable difference.
posted by mhoye at 7:21 PM on March 11, 2010

Actually you are better off not screwing the monitor into your computer. You shouldn't need to and if you hadn't you wouldn't be facing the issue you now are. People trip over these cables, and it's better that the cable comes out (an in a rare case the plug gets a bent pin) than dragging your computer off the bench/ ripping out/snapping the video card for desktops.

Also, you must have REALLY moved it to snap off the screws.
posted by mattoxic at 8:04 PM on March 11, 2010

Screws are holdovers from when PC hardware was designed like a tank. Modern stuff like USB, Ethernet, HDMI, etc. don't use them at all. You'll be fine leaving your DVI plugged in sans screws.
posted by squorch at 8:12 PM on March 11, 2010

Seconding zer0render
posted by gregr at 8:32 PM on March 11, 2010

DVI is far better. Be sure and double check that you didn't bend any of the pins inside the cable connector before you reinsert it.
posted by chairface at 8:59 PM on March 11, 2010

seconding what squorch said, the DVI should fit snugly enough without the screws. If the monitor has a DVI socket such as this:

http://www.atmarkit.co.jp/fsys/cableconnect/05disp_video/03dvi_d-box-l.jpg

You may be able to grasp the hex bolts that contain the broken-off screw with a needle nose pliers, and unscrew those... Then you can replace them with the same ones off any old VGA monitor. Sometimes the hex shaped bits come loose on their own and remain mated to a monitor's screw.
posted by thewalrus at 11:36 PM on March 11, 2010