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Monitor takes forever to open. How to test?

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by Adela, 2006/09/23.

  1. 2006/09/23
    Adela

    Adela Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hello Friends:

    I have a 17" monitor that came with my Dell computer and with win98, for 6 years. At one point it started to take about 6 minutes to open! When I upgraded it to WinXP I thought it would cure itself, but it didn't, except it now takes about maybe 3 or 4 minutes.

    Someone suggested to test it before replacing it just in case it may be a minor thing to fix. A neighbor can lend me her laptop but neither she not I know how to test it. :D

    Would someone be so kind as to tell me how to test my monitor with a laptop? Thanks ever so much! Adela :)
     
    Adela,
    #1
  2. 2006/09/24
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Adela

    On the back of the laptop, maybe on the side you should see a D-Sub connector - usually coloured blue and the same form as the socket on the back of your PC into which the monitor is plugged.

    Plug rhe monitor into that socket and connect the monitor to a power supply. Switch on the monitor and boot up the laptop.

    On the laptop keyboard there is an Fn key which toggles those keys which have a second function on them, in another colour, blue on mine. Look for a key which has a monitor symbol on it - probably one of the F keys.

    Hold down the Fn key and press the monitor key - you will need to do this more than once. This action toggles the display settings between ....

    Laptop screen only
    Laptop screen + External Monitor
    External Monitor only

    If you have a manual for the laptop there should be guidance there.
     
    PeteC,
    #2


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  4. 2006/10/15
    Adela

    Adela Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hello Peter, I'm sorry I didn't answer sooner, but the neighbor who has the laptop was out of the country and I didn't know anyone else with a laptop. She arrived a few days ago!

    I now have the laptop and hastened to try the suggestions you so kindly, as usual, gave me...and as usual too, I'm a little confused and fear I may not have followed correctly. This is what I did:

    I shut off my monitor, plugged it into the laptop and switched it on. To "boot up the laptop" means to restart the computer? Or does it mean to press the 3 keys: Ctrl+Alt+Del? If so, I didn't do it then, but I restarted the laptop and tried it again and this is what happened:

    Held Fn + pressed monitor key: At first the screen became black and didn't change at all. Tried again, and it showed the opening page: "Click your user name ". I clicked on my neighbor's name and it gave me a black screen again. Tried again and it showed the desktop, I repeated the pressing of these 2 keys but each time it would alternate among screens none of which were the display settings you mentioned. I wish I knew what I'm doing wrong!

    I wonder, Peter, if I still can hope to understand some day the technical complications of the computers??? Now, my neighbor says she needs the laptop, preferably by Mon. 10-16-06... She is SO busy now that I don't dare asking for the manual right now but I'll try.

    Hope to hear from you to know what I did wrong. Thanks ever so much!!! Adela

    P.S. Once I get this test right (if ever), how will I know whether it's the monitor that's wrong or the computer???
     
    Adela,
    #3
  5. 2006/10/15
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Adela

    Let's go back over the instructions I posted ....

    1. With the laptop turned off plug in the monitor.

    2. Boot up (start) the laptop - wait until Windows has fully loaded to the desktop - log in if you have to.

    3. Switch on the monitor and wait a few seconds for it to warm up.

    4. Then press and hold the Fn key and while holding that key down press the monitor key on the laptop keyboard. This action toggles the display settings between ....

    Laptop screen only
    Laptop screen + External Monitor
    External Monitor only

    The monitor key on the laptop will have a monitor icon on it - on my HP laptop this is on F4. Those keys which have an icon on them in a different colour have two functions - the normal keyboard function and the second function (icon in a different colour) is only available when the Fn key is depressed and held down.
    If the monitor shows a picture then it is functioning OK, but you may need to wait for the picture to appear as on your desktop. If the monitor behaves exactly the samd as on your desktop then there is a monitor problem. If the monitor comes on immediately there is a problem with your computer. Post back with your results.

    Good luck :)
     
    PeteC,
    #4
  6. 2006/10/16
    Adela

    Adela Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hello Pete, thanks for not quitting on me! :) I tried it again several times, going over your instructions very carefully and each time it showed a different set of combinations just like the listing you gave me, only in a different order, and I hope the order doesn't matter?

    Then to make sure I shut off my computer and monitor and let them cool off for a few hours and tried again with similar results.

    During the testings, I noticed that at one time, the desktop screen on my monitor appeared almost right away and another time it appeared in 2 minutes. However, this might've been because my monitor was still warm from having used it just before? So when I let my computer and monitor cool off for a few hours, my monitor did take as long as it used to. But I don't know whether my assumption is right or not?

    I also noticed that the screens sometimes would the desktop and sometimes the log in screen and wonder if this makes a difference in the result?

    I wonder if I still shouldn't test it on another desktop, but it's too heavy to dragg around... LOL!

    Before returning the laptop tonight, I'll test it once more to see if I can get a definitive answer (now that I became an expert on testing monitors) :D

    Thanks so very much for everything!!! Adela
     
    Adela,
    #5
  7. 2006/10/16
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Adela
    No, that's just how I wrote it from memory :)

    If I interpret the results of your testing correctly you are saying that the monitor, when cold takes as long to show a picture as it does when connected to the desktop. When warm the time may be slightly shorter - this is normal, but we should be dealing in seconds here, not minutes.
    No, all it means is that the screen came on at a different stage in the laptop booting sequence.

    I think your monitor is getting 'tired' to put it in non-technical language. As you are experiencing very much the same results on both laptop and desktop I think we can safely say that there is no problem with the desktop.
     
    PeteC,
    #6
  8. 2006/10/16
    Adela

    Adela Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hi again Pete, I'm sure you're right as to the monitor being the culprit here. So I'll start looking for a new one that could be used also for whatever computer I might need to replace too (which probably isn't too far off...).

    My last minute testing before I returned the laptop gave the same results - slow...slow...slow... LOL!

    I printed out your instructions so that when the new one gets "tired" I'll know what to do. ;)

    Thanks so much for your valuable help, and meantime I learned new computer vocabulary too. :) Adela
     
    Adela,
    #7

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