my monitor (?) is dying...

[tsukikage]

Ugh, so, somewhere along the line my monitor isn't working right. At first I thought the computer wasn't turning on, but judging from the sound of my computer and the lights on the keyboard... I think it is, and it's just that nothing's showing up on screen. Usually restarting the system once or twice does the trick, but this morning I had to restart it around 10 times. I'm going to run some diagnostics later to see if I can pinpoint the location of the problem, but... That might get to be a pain. I'm kind of hoping it's just the monitor itself. I mean, although it's a nice monitor, it's also 20 years old and really deep, and it would make a good excuse to get a smaller one (hopefully not smaller in the sense of screen size, though). I'm also wondering if it's in the sound/video card, which I know has been giving me trouble. I have another card that either idkrash or eurohybrid62 gave me - I can't remember which - so I can try swapping that, which I've been meaning to anyway because of my video/sound interaction issues, but... I don't have any way to ground myself, and I'm just generally procrastinating on it because, truth be told, I'm not very experienced with dealing with hardware, and it's going to be quite a chore, not to mention there's a possibility I'll screw it up. But seriously, especially now that Pat's not really in my life anymore, I need to learn this stuff myself.
*grumbles a bit*
Anyways, I have work to do.

[EDIT: I talked with my dad, and he pointed out that especially since the monitor only changes condition when I reboot the computer (i.e., it doesn't suddenly turn off or on while the computer's already on) it probably isn't the monitor.]

Comments

[eurohybrid62.livejournal.com]

I remember giving you the sound card, but I threw away my video card. Swapping out the sound card shouldn't have any effect on the monitor not turning on, so it might be just the age of the monitor itself. If you're looking to get a new monitor, I have a 17-inch CRT monitor by IBM that's not as deep as yours that I'm looking to sell for really cheap. Let me know if you're interested ^^

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

For some reason I thought what you gave me was a sound/video card. How much are you looking for for the monitor?

[eurohybrid62.livejournal.com]

No, sound cards and video cards have completely different connectors on the outside and are attached onto different lanes on the motherboard. So you need one card dedicated to video, one dedicated to sound. And I'll just say... $15 for the monitor. If you want to see it anytime, just arrange a time with me, since it's sitting in my dorm room right now.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

Well, what are you doing before MAS on Thursday? (I get off of work at 4.)

[eurohybrid62.livejournal.com]

Not much- I'm off class at 2:00. I'll tell you what: you can take my monitor and just use it for a while to see if the computer starts turning on properly. If that fixes it, then I'll sell the monitor. If there are still problems and it's not your monitor, then I'll take it back.

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

Well, I can't take it Thursday, since I assume it will be a bit much to carry on the bus. I'll ask my dad about taking me to pick it up next weekend.