is my crt on the way out?

i currently run 2 crts off my 9600XT, my current problem is with my primary which is a slightly older 17" HP, i have tried both video outs (vga & dciw/DAC) and it is the monitor.

specifically the monitor is sort of unfocused in the bottom left and top right corners. in all honesty it is focused, however a few of the colours are focused a mm or so to one side of the majority.

i've tried all the settings i can think of to fix this and nothing seems to be doing anything. so, is this a problem i'm just going to have to live with until i can scrape together enough money to buy a half decent 17" LCD or is it an early warning sign that the magic smoke that makes electronics work is going to escape soon?

Hmm... I doubt it would be magnets... but it is possible.

Also I wouldnt be to worried... you DO have a spare monitor

well CRT monitors are awfully complex in the way they work. if that electron gun that lights up the phosphors is out of line, then it will make it look like the colours don't line up properly. if that's the problem then you just need to replace the monitor. other than that it could be magnets, but that usually doesn't disalignt it. that just discolours it.

since it's at the edges and corners though, it could be something else...

is it a trinitron?

Degauss it. I had a CRT monitor give me symptoms like that when there was a magnetic disturbance.

i am not a big fan of crt. it charges me up with static and when i touch a ground, i usually get shocked. this is fine and dandy until i start handling sensitive hardware >.>

i forgot to mention earlier, degausing it does NOT fix the problem. btw, i'm no terriby eager to use my spare monitor as my as it's only 15"

sevendevilhell said:

well CRT monitors are awfully complex in the way they work. if that electron gun that lights up the phosphors is out of line, then it will make it look like the colours don't line up properly. if that's the problem then you just need to replace the monitor. other than that it could be magnets, but that usually doesn't disalignt it. that just discolours it.

Click to expand...

I'm in agreement, sounds like your gun is out of alignment. It's not cheap to fix, and probably not cost effective given the age and relatively low replacement cost of the 17" crt.

well, it could've been worse. looks like i'll have to start scraping change together towards that lcd earlier than i planned, then this lump can become my decondary and my 15" can got to computer part heaven.
thanks for the advice everyone.

just making sure but there's no sudden drop in lcd prices predicted in the next 6 months or so that i should hold on for is there?

A Possibility

After you follow all the advice given above.If none are sucessful usually one of two items cause the problem.The aligenment or the mointor power unit.There are adjustments inside the montor that trained personel can do to try to fix your problem.It souldn't be done by untrained people because the capactor is in close proxicity to the controls and it has a very high charge even when the units are unpluged.I have found that is is sometimes worth a phone call to your favorite shop to discuss the problem and sometimes they will check and see if an adjustment can correct your problem at a resonable fee(it doesn't cost to make the phone call) and if the fee is too high just put the money on a new unit.
Good Luck