flat screen takes hours to show anything. any hope ?

July 8, 2007 12:57 PM

My flat screen takes hours to show anything. Any hope ?

My flat lcd screen started to behave strangely. First it was a few minutes of black nothingness before displaying the normal windows XP screen, the desktop, etc.

Now it takes litterally *hours* before it displays anything. By the way, I'm not typing this on a dead screen, I'm using a laptop. Once it displays something, everything is fine. There is no suspect noise or odor coming from the screen.

So, besides a trip to the places that sell new screens is there anything to do ?

Does it look like a screen problem or video card problem (haven't tried hooking up another screen, so I can't be sure)

The screen and the win XP box it belongs to is made by Medion and supposedly still covered by the warranty but I need a screen now and I suspect a replacement would take about a week.

posted by Baud to computers & internet (4 comments total)

When the flat screen is on but not working, shine a flashlight on it at an angle or look at it under a strong light. Do you see the screen? Just very dimly?

Sounds like the backlight (CCFL) or inverter is dying. (You've probably seen fluorescent bulbs that have difficulty coming on but once on, stay on - same deal.) It's possible to fix it yourself. It's also possible to take it in and have it fixed. This repair should cost substantially less than the cost of a new monitor, so it's worth doing.

http://www.backlight4you.com/shop_content.php/coID/21/product/FAQ
posted by jellicle at 1:19 PM on July 8, 2007

If it takes forever to display the "Windows XP" screen (the boot screen) it's not your screen, it's your computer.

Can you plug your screen into your laptop to see if the behavior changes?
posted by Ookseer at 1:31 PM on July 8, 2007

I recently had some heat issues with my computer (combination of dust and a new video card that seems to block airflow, or run hot, or something) and when it got too warm, it took a long time to come back up from the screensaver...like 5-10 minutes. A few times it never came back and I just powered down and waited awhile for things to cool down. I opened the case and cleaned out the dust and that helped.

However, if you're talking about this happening during bootup, then the heat thing is probably not it.
posted by cabingirl at 3:11 PM on July 8, 2007

When the screen comes on does it follow the normal sequence (Windows splash screen, login screen, desktop, icons) or does the complete desktop suddenly appear?
If it's the former, then it's not the monitor but the computer. Some possibilities:
1. Make sure there are no CDs or floppy disks in their drives.
2. If it's a problem with the registry, you can try System Restore and restore it to an earlier date.
3. Malware. Scan the computer for viruses and spyware.
4. A program that runs on startup may be causing the delay. Try running the System Configuration utility (msconfig)
4. A component or device may be failing
5. The hard drive may be failing. To check it:

1. Click on Start | My Computer.
2. Right-click on the hard drive to be checked for errors. Select Properties.
3. Select the Tools tab.
4. Select Check Now.
5. From the Check Disk Local Disk, select Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
posted by euphotic at 5:07 PM on July 8, 2007