Flickering Monitor
October 22, 2013 1:25 PM Subscribe
I have my Macbook hooked up to a monitor, and within a few minutes of connecting the two, the monitor starts flickering more and more. Help!
I am on a trip and it looks like sometime in my travels my Macbook (2008) got knocked about and the display is wrecked.
On the first leg of my trip, I was able to hook up my laptop to a friend's monitor and work that way, everything was great. In the second leg, I have another monitor (eight-year old Gateway), and within a couple of minutes of connecting my laptop to the display, it starts flickering, the flickering increases to migraine levels, and if I unplug the two and let them rest for a minute, I go back to a nice clear display, but then the flickering starts again.
My question: This seems like a faulty monitor, and I need to try and find another one, or is there some troubleshooting that I could try that might fix this?
Second question: There is a PC laptop here, can I corral it and use it as a display? If so, how?
(My computer is so tricked out for work, it would be a nightmare to use another computer as a quick fix).
I am on a trip and it looks like sometime in my travels my Macbook (2008) got knocked about and the display is wrecked.
On the first leg of my trip, I was able to hook up my laptop to a friend's monitor and work that way, everything was great. In the second leg, I have another monitor (eight-year old Gateway), and within a couple of minutes of connecting my laptop to the display, it starts flickering, the flickering increases to migraine levels, and if I unplug the two and let them rest for a minute, I go back to a nice clear display, but then the flickering starts again.
My question: This seems like a faulty monitor, and I need to try and find another one, or is there some troubleshooting that I could try that might fix this?
Second question: There is a PC laptop here, can I corral it and use it as a display? If so, how?
(My computer is so tricked out for work, it would be a nightmare to use another computer as a quick fix).
Never assume that it's the monitor. Start by replacing the cable first and go from there.
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 2:14 PM on October 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 2:14 PM on October 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: So a relative who arrived knew of a used computer dealer a couple of minutes away, and I just got back with a $35 monitor and thank the dear lord, no flickering.
Debaser626, that is an awesome idea, I will keep that in mind for future situations, it might get me through some of my office-y tasks if not the graphics.
Phew.
posted by nanook at 2:33 PM on October 22, 2013
Debaser626, that is an awesome idea, I will keep that in mind for future situations, it might get me through some of my office-y tasks if not the graphics.
Phew.
posted by nanook at 2:33 PM on October 22, 2013
If your macbook uses a mini-DVI cable adapter or something similar to connect to a monitor, that adapter could also be a point of failure.
Especially if you're using a cheapo generic $5 adapter.
posted by oceanjesse at 4:28 PM on October 22, 2013
Especially if you're using a cheapo generic $5 adapter.
posted by oceanjesse at 4:28 PM on October 22, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
As far as an immediate "fix," while the hive might have a better solution, you could try installing LogMeIn on your Mac (using the busted monitor until you get it installed), and then remote in to your computer from the PC laptop.
I have occasionally used this app from a Mac--> PC (though you're going the other way), and it's functional for most office-type stuff... but you're probably not going to be able to do detailed photoshop work. The mouse lags a bit and some key commands won't work through the interface. Additionally from my experience, it does work much better PC --> PC
Hopefully, someone will have a better solution for you, as it can be tough to navigate some of the UI, especially if you're used to instant response to commands, but it is a free download that may temporarily work for you until another monitor can be procured, which hopefully is your current issue.
posted by Debaser626 at 1:43 PM on October 22, 2013