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can you "blow out" a VGA cable?

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - can you "blow out" a VGA cable?

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CodeJunkie   05-29-2007 at 05:05:51 PM

Just got an email from a friend of mine with a very strange problem.

Quote :

I have an inexpensive flat screen monitor on my old computer & we have had a number of power outages. Even darned time the power goes out, I wind up having to replace the cord between the monitor & the computer. The computer puts out video consistently, it will work on my other monitor but I get "no signal" on the flat screen monitor. I have tried moving things around, redoing the connnections, etc. but the only thing that works is replacing the cable. The monitor is on a surge protector & nothing else is breaking that is on the same one including the computer the monitor is hooked up to. Any ideas?????



I asked if the "blown" cable would work on the other monitor or if the "blown cable would work if simply disconnected and reconnected.

reply was:

Quote :

It won't work if I just disconnect it & reconnect it. My other monitor has a built in cable so I can't test it on that.

It has happened twice in the past week where we had our power go out & I wound up buying another cable. It is just the oddest thing! Both times, the monitor wouldn't work on either computer but if I hooked up the other monitor to the old computer, I had video. Once I replaced the cable, then the monitor worked on either computer.

I could understand a power surge possibly blowing a cable but two times in a week & nothing else was broken? It is driving me nuts!!!!



I am at a loss for ideas. I only know that the flat panel is an "off" brand, not sure which, and the video card is AGP, again not sure on model but since it continues to work it shouldn't be important.

Thanks for any help you can offer. the new cables are rather expensive.

Matt

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Boristhetech   05-29-2007 at 05:56:56 PM
- 0 +

Power issues can be a little wacko sometimes. The real fix is probably replacing the monitor, since it apparently has suffered some type of power related damage. Surge protectors don't always work, and they can suffer from lifespan issues (They will protect less and less as time goes on). It's pretty unlikely that the cable is bad. All it is is a bunch of wires. The monitor may not be getting quite enough voltage to detect the video signal, which gets worse right after a power outage. The cheap fix is putting everything on a battery backup UPS.

Also, have him try connecting one of the older cables he has to the monitor when he's getting a good signal. Getting a new cable may just be whacking the monitor back into shape.

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DJ_Jumbles   05-29-2007 at 06:39:21 PM
- 0 +

I had some weird issues with my Gateway 22" LCD monitor when I first hooked it up, too. But nothing as weird as this.
You might want to try having him unplug the vga (or DVI) cable, unplug the monitor from the wall and let it sit. Then, reattach the VGA/DVI cable back to the monitor, then plug it back into the wall. Turn on the computer, then turn back on the monitor.
The reason I say to try this is that when the monitor kicks on, it auto searches for sources. If there is no source present when it turns on, it usually kicks into standby mode and powers on when a signal starts to come in. If this works, it means that his standby/hibernate feature of the monitor is at least messed up directly after a power-loss and the monitor needs a hard-reset that only an extended power down can resolve. I know it sounds weird, but I've been a tech for years and seen stranger stuff than this that gets worked out on it's own by unplugging the thing for a while, then plugging it back in. Cant say that it's the most technical of fixes, but hey, it sometimes works.

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