Calling Any Computer Experts Please?

[Old#5fan]

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Calling anyone with computer expertise. My home PC monitor (Dell flatscreen, about three years of age) started blinking a couple of days ago so I checked all the connections and snugged them up and it was okay for several days until last night out of the blue, it started this flashing or blinking again and nothing I do has corrected it. I also cannot get it to turn off (go dead) unless I either unplug it or shut off my power strip. It just flashes both on the screen and on the power button. Of course I cannot use my computer at all. I am using my work PC to type this.

Is my monitor shot or is there a fix? I have never seen this before.

[Goober Noodles]

What do you mean by blinking? Turning on and off? Blinking a certain color?

Either way, that doesn't sound good.

First thing you want to do is isolate the problem. If you have another computer, try the monitor on the other machine so you can at least see if the issue lies with the monitor or your computer's video card. If you don't have another computer but have another monitor, try the other monitor on that computer, or just take the monitor with you to work or a friend's house.

[Goober Noodles]

A shot in the dark but:

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Repair-Dell-E173fpb-LCD-Monitor-Easily&id=473931

[Old#5fan]

What do you mean by blinking? Turning on and off? Blinking a certain color?

Either way, that doesn't sound good.

First thing you want to do is isolate the problem. If you have another computer, try the monitor on the other machine so you can at least see if the issue lies with the monitor or your computer's video card. If you don't have another computer but have another monitor, try the other monitor on that computer, or just take the monitor with you to work or a friend's house.

It simply blinks or flashes both the power button and the screen. I get nothing on my monitor but a blink or flash. It seems like it is not getting power but it won't turn off (go dead) unless I unplug the cord. In other words I cannot shut off the monitor by pushing the power off/on button on the monitor itself. I don't have another monitor to try but the power to the computer comes on okay and everything sounds normal and lights up. Its just the monitor that won't work.

[Old#5fan]

A shot in the dark but:

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Repair-Dell-E173fpb-LCD-Monitor-Easily&id=473931

What this article tells me is I will need to either replace my monitor or take it to a computer repair shop for repairs.:(

[TyCobb]

Well if you can't turn it off it isn't a cable probably. Did you get your monitor wet or extremely dusty lately? Sounds like the chip fried.

[Old#5fan]

Well if you can't turn it off it isn't a cable probably. Did you get your monitor wet or extremely dusty lately? Sounds like the chip fried.

Not wet but kind of dusty as our one cat jumps up on the window sill right behind the monitor and creates dust. If the chip fried can it be fixed or must I get a new or refurbished monitor? In my research I thought I read that it might be repairable since it is still blinking and it is only completely fried when it is totally dead as in no power at all.

[Old#5fan]

What do you mean by blinking? Turning on and off? Blinking a certain color?

Either way, that doesn't sound good.

First thing you want to do is isolate the problem. If you have another computer, try the monitor on the other machine so you can at least see if the issue lies with the monitor or your computer's video card. If you don't have another computer but have another monitor, try the other monitor on that computer, or just take the monitor with you to work or a friend's house.

Update, I did what you said and found that the monitor is okay it was apparently the video card as you stated it could be. I am getting it replaced right now. Does anyone have any idea how much I should expect to pay for this?

[Goober Noodles]

Like I said in my PM, as long as you're not a gamer, they're pretty cheap. A card under $60 is probably sufficient for your needs. What kind of computer is it? Make/model?

Installing a video card is usually very simple. Otherwise you would have to pay to have it installed.

[Old#5fan]

Like I said in my PM, as long as you're not a gamer, they're pretty cheap. A card under $60 is probably sufficient for your needs. What kind of computer is it? Make/model?

Installing a video card is usually very simple. Otherwise you would have to pay to have it installed.

A four year old basic Dell. I don't know the actual model number as I have it in for repair now

UPDATE: Bad news as the computer experts are now saying my hard drive crashed as they got the blue screen of death when they were booting up. They said it made it through some of the processes and then hit the death screen. I told them that seemed odd as I had received no warnings or any kind of inkling of that at all. So they said they would try installing a card but were not optimistic. :(

[Malike]

You could pay a repair man to come and fix it. Then give him a quarter so he can catch the matinee and buy a rootbeer float.

[Old#5fan]

You could pay a repair man to come and fix it. Then give him a quarter so he can catch the matinee and buy a rootbeer float.

Update on last update. It got even worse. Now they tell me the motherboard is fried or cooked and I need to get a new computer. They did say that they could save some of the data and emails and transfer them for me. Oh well. I will just be without a PC for a while.

[itsernst]

Update on last update. It got even worse. Now they tell me the motherboard is fried or cooked and I need to get a new computer. They did say that they could save some of the data and emails and transfer them for me. Oh well. I will just be without a PC for a while.

Motherboard is seperate from your HDD. You can recover all of your data.

[birdsofprey02]

Update on last update. It got even worse. Now they tell me the motherboard is fried or cooked and I need to get a new computer. They did say that they could save some of the data and emails and transfer them for me. Oh well. I will just be without a PC for a while.


Who are these computer "experts?"

Blue screen of death can mean SEVERAL things and it should not automatically be assumed that the HDD crashed. IMO, when someone says a hard drive crashes, it means it is physically unrepairable. If you got to the blue screen of death, then that means your OS at least loaded. I'd bet that the blue screen of death was your video card having issues...

I'd have a look at it for you if you weren't all the way in WV ;)

Lastly, be hesitant of what they charge you for the data transfer from your old hard drive. Its rather an easy thing to do. In fact, I could even do that for you if you want to drop the drive in the mail (assuming your files aren't too "private" for others to see). Usually, you try and save files like pictures/videos/documents/music, etc. Programs are not likely to be saved.

Good luck!

[srock]

Update on last update. It got even worse. Now they tell me the motherboard is fried or cooked and I need to get a new computer. They did say that they could save some of the data and emails and transfer them for me. Oh well. I will just be without a PC for a while.

This sounds like a power surge. Multiple components going out at the same time. Do you have a good surge protector or is one of those cheapy power strips? Or the video card may have died. If it is integrated into the motherboard, this could kill the entire board. I don't like integrated video if I can avoid it, but most business level PC's use them these day.

Honestly, if this is a basic Dell PC, 4 years old, you can probably just buy a new one for $100 more then fixing it is going to cost you. But if the shop is already billing you, that may no longer apply.

PC's are commodities these days, fixing them is rarely cost effective unless they are new or it is a simple swap of a modular component. Or you have a warranty, which probably cost to much as well.

[Old#5fan]

This sounds like a power surge. Multiple components going out at the same time. Do you have a good surge protector or is one of those cheapy power strips? Or the video card may have died. If it is integrated into the motherboard, this could kill the entire board. I don't like integrated video if I can avoid it, but most business level PC's use them these day.

Honestly, if this is a basic Dell PC, 4 years old, you can probably just buy a new one for $100 more then fixing it is going to cost you. But if the shop is already billing you, that may no longer apply.

PC's are commodities these days, fixing them is rarely cost effective unless they are new or it is a simple swap of a modular component. Or you have a warranty, which probably cost to much as well.

All I had was the standard power strip which worked fine for nearly four years. I think I will just buy a new PC but right now don't have the funds that I want to commit to doing so. I have a laptop I use for posting here but can only get work emails on it. I have not had a private email now in over a month!

[McLovin]

This sounds like a power surge.
Or the "experts" fried it...

[srock]

Or the "experts" fried it...

Expertly executed power trip surging forward profit margins.

[Old#5fan]

Expertly executed power trip surging forward profit margins.

End result to this story and thread is I just bought a new Dell PC.