Odd display hassle...?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kenneth
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K

Kenneth

Howdy,

I have a Dell desktop system (XP Pro) that has started to
have an odd display problem:

When dark characters appear against light backgrounds,
certain letters have an orange "halo." The characters with
the halo are always vertically oriented, so, for example the
string OOOOOOOO would look fine, but the string lllllllllll
would be tinged with orange (most obviously between the
characters, rather than above and below.)

Beyond that, all characters display in a slightly fuzzy, and
lower than normal contrast.

All the same problems occur in safe mode as well as normal
mode.

I called the Dell technical folks, and we walked through the
expected diagnostic stuff. I tried another monitor and
cable, but the problem persisted. Uninstalled, and
reinstalled the display drivers, but still no luck.

We also ran exhaustive tests on the system ram, and all
passed.

Eventually, the technical support person decided that the
problem was hardware related, and, because the system has
integrated video on the motherboard, today, sent a new MOBO
to me.

It was installed, we fired up the system, and the problem
persists...

Might you have any other thoughts on what could be causing
this sort of thing?

Thanks for any help,
 
Kenneth said:
Howdy,

I have a Dell desktop system (XP Pro) that has started to
have an odd display problem:

When dark characters appear against light backgrounds,
certain letters have an orange "halo." The characters with
the halo are always vertically oriented, so, for example the
string OOOOOOOO would look fine, but the string lllllllllll
would be tinged with orange (most obviously between the
characters, rather than above and below.)

Beyond that, all characters display in a slightly fuzzy, and
lower than normal contrast.

All the same problems occur in safe mode as well as normal
mode.

I called the Dell technical folks, and we walked through the
expected diagnostic stuff. I tried another monitor and
cable, but the problem persisted. Uninstalled, and
reinstalled the display drivers, but still no luck.

We also ran exhaustive tests on the system ram, and all
passed.

Eventually, the technical support person decided that the
problem was hardware related, and, because the system has
integrated video on the motherboard, today, sent a new MOBO
to me.

It was installed, we fired up the system, and the problem
persists...

Might you have any other thoughts on what could be causing
this sort of thing?

Thanks for any help,
Click to expand...

Hi Kenneth - could this possibly be due to electromagnetic interference?
Have you tied using your PC in another area of the house? Just thinking that
it is unlikely to be hardware now that you've replaced the motherboard.
 
Might you have any other thoughts on what could be causing
this sort of thing?
Click to expand...

I've had similar problems in the past, with a crt. Pulled the back off, found
some plastic adjustment knobs, and experiting with them fixed it.

Be very very VERY carefull. Crt monitors have very high voltages inside,
and capacitors that stay charged even when the power has been removed.

If you don't have steady hands, or are not comfortable, take it to an expert,
or just replace it.

If this is an lcd monitor, just ignore this reply. :)

Regards, Dave Hodgins
 
Kenneth said:
Howdy,

I have a Dell desktop system (XP Pro) that has started to
have an odd display problem:

When dark characters appear against light backgrounds,
certain letters have an orange "halo." The characters with
the halo are always vertically oriented, so, for example the
string OOOOOOOO would look fine, but the string lllllllllll
would be tinged with orange (most obviously between the
characters, rather than above and below.)

Beyond that, all characters display in a slightly fuzzy, and
lower than normal contrast.

All the same problems occur in safe mode as well as normal
mode.

I called the Dell technical folks, and we walked through the
expected diagnostic stuff. I tried another monitor and
cable, but the problem persisted. Uninstalled, and
reinstalled the display drivers, but still no luck.

We also ran exhaustive tests on the system ram, and all
passed.

Eventually, the technical support person decided that the
problem was hardware related, and, because the system has
integrated video on the motherboard, today, sent a new MOBO
to me.

It was installed, we fired up the system, and the problem
persists...

Might you have any other thoughts on what could be causing
this sort of thing?

Thanks for any help,
Click to expand...

Is ClearType enabled ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleartype

"In this magnified view, it becomes clear that, while the
overall smoothness of the text seems to improve, there is
also color fringing of the text."

For some reason, I have this bookmarked. I don't know why
I did that. I would think the existing options in
Windows would have been enough.

http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypePowerToy.mspx

As suggested at the bottom of that page, make sure the
display resolution setting, matches the native resolution
of the display while you're experimenting. You can change
it back to whatever resolution you want later. That is just
to avoid any further complications from resampling at the
display itself. If the display is native 1280*1024, then
select that in the Display control panel. Resolution options
will be offered, if the video card driver is installed and
working.

Is the display connected via 15 pin VGA, or via a DVI
digital connection ? A lot of monitors now, only have
a DVI connector. DVI should be pretty clean, and not
subject to electrical reflections on the cable. With VGA,
there might be a need to use the "phase adjustment" in
the LCD screen's on screen display controls.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface

If you're still having problems, please identify the
make and model of display. It helps to know if it is
something weird.

Paul
 
Hi Kenneth - could this possibly be due to electromagnetic interference?
Have you tied using your PC in another area of the house? Just thinking that
it is unlikely to be hardware now that you've replaced the motherboard.
Click to expand...

Hi again,

That's a good question, but the answer is no...

Nothing has changed in the physical location etc.

Thanks,
 
I've had similar problems in the past, with a crt. Pulled the back off, found
some plastic adjustment knobs, and experiting with them fixed it.

Be very very VERY carefull. Crt monitors have very high voltages inside,
and capacitors that stay charged even when the power has been removed.

If you don't have steady hands, or are not comfortable, take it to an expert,
or just replace it.

If this is an lcd monitor, just ignore this reply. :)

Regards, Dave Hodgins
Click to expand...

Hi Dave,

I should have included the fact that it is an LCD...

I had assumed that there were similar adjustments, but
nothing had any effect.

Please see later in this thread, because I believe I may
have found the source of the problem...

All the best,
 
Is ClearType enabled ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleartype

"In this magnified view, it becomes clear that, while the
overall smoothness of the text seems to improve, there is
also color fringing of the text."

For some reason, I have this bookmarked. I don't know why
I did that. I would think the existing options in
Windows would have been enough.

http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypePowerToy.mspx

As suggested at the bottom of that page, make sure the
display resolution setting, matches the native resolution
of the display while you're experimenting. You can change
it back to whatever resolution you want later. That is just
to avoid any further complications from resampling at the
display itself. If the display is native 1280*1024, then
select that in the Display control panel. Resolution options
will be offered, if the video card driver is installed and
working.

Is the display connected via 15 pin VGA, or via a DVI
digital connection ? A lot of monitors now, only have
a DVI connector. DVI should be pretty clean, and not
subject to electrical reflections on the cable. With VGA,
there might be a need to use the "phase adjustment" in
the LCD screen's on screen display controls.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface

If you're still having problems, please identify the
make and model of display. It helps to know if it is
something weird.

Paul
Click to expand...

Hi Paul,

I think we may have a winner...!

My diagnostic order was apparently not the best:

I tried everything I knew on my own.

I called Dell, and did all they suggested.

I posted here.

And only then, did I start to read...

Yes, I do have Clear Type enabled, and based on your
comments, I strongly suspect that is the problem.

I'm not at the location right now, but will now with
certainty later today.

The monitor is a flat panel, and is not connected to a
digital source.

I turned on Clear Type about two months ago.

It definitely improved the appearance of text on screen.

But now, I have the problems I described, and I am not aware
of having made any other display settings, so the matter is
not exactly cut and dry.

Of course, I will know more when I simply turn Clear Type
off, but, (and assuming that corrects the problem) given the
benefits I had, I will then have to experiment further.

I'll report back...

Many thanks,
 
Hi Paul,

I think we may have a winner...!

My diagnostic order was apparently not the best:

I tried everything I knew on my own.

I called Dell, and did all they suggested.

I posted here.

And only then, did I start to read...

Yes, I do have Clear Type enabled, and based on your
comments, I strongly suspect that is the problem.

I'm not at the location right now, but will now with
certainty later today.

The monitor is a flat panel, and is not connected to a
digital source.

I turned on Clear Type about two months ago.

It definitely improved the appearance of text on screen.

But now, I have the problems I described, and I am not aware
of having made any other display settings, so the matter is
not exactly cut and dry.

Of course, I will know more when I simply turn Clear Type
off, but, (and assuming that corrects the problem) given the
benefits I had, I will then have to experiment further.

I'll report back...

Many thanks,
Click to expand...

Hi again,

I just went down to my office, and it appears that the
problem is resolved (though I am still perplexed)...

The system was running, and I went into Display Settings to
look for the status of Clear Type.

Before I got there though, I noticed that the fonts looked
fine. That is, there was none of the "color halo" problem I
had the last time I was at the system.

(Now, before I go further, I should say that last evening,
from my home, I logged on to the offending system remotely
to see if Clear Type was on or not. I could not tell because
those options are apparently not visible with the remote
hookup.)

In any case, I did, indeed, have Clear Type set to ON, but
everything looked fine. Weird...

Beyond that, I will mention that I am aware that for CT to
work properly, the monitor must be running at its native
resolution. This morning, it was, but I wonder if somehow
that might have changed when I was having the difficulty. I
do know that I did not change resolution manually, but
wonder if there might have been some sort of software
initiated change that caused the problem.

Well, that's it for now.

Many thanks, as before,
 
Kenneth said:
Howdy,

I have a Dell desktop system (XP Pro) that has started to
have an odd display problem:

When dark characters appear against light backgrounds,
certain letters have an orange "halo." The characters with
the halo are always vertically oriented, so, for example the
string OOOOOOOO would look fine, but the string lllllllllll
would be tinged with orange (most obviously between the
characters, rather than above and below.)

Beyond that, all characters display in a slightly fuzzy, and
lower than normal contrast.

All the same problems occur in safe mode as well as normal
mode.

I called the Dell technical folks, and we walked through the
expected diagnostic stuff. I tried another monitor and
cable, but the problem persisted. Uninstalled, and
reinstalled the display drivers, but still no luck.

We also ran exhaustive tests on the system ram, and all
passed.

Eventually, the technical support person decided that the
problem was hardware related, and, because the system has
integrated video on the motherboard, today, sent a new MOBO
to me.

It was installed, we fired up the system, and the problem
persists...

Might you have any other thoughts on what could be causing
this sort of thing?

Thanks for any help,
Click to expand...

After all of that you neglect to state what model of computer you have.
More importantly you neglect to state what sort of display is causing your
aggro -- the possibilities are totally different for an older CRT display
and a newer LCD display. And if you are using an LCD, the way it is being
interfaced to the computer could really matter -- Analog? DVI? HDMI?

The first and simplest troubleshooting step is to connect a different
monitor (borrow one if you need to), preferably using a known-good cable
and compare the display quality. If the problem went away then the problem
is either the old display or the old cable -- work it out from there.

BTW: the motherboard would have been pretty much the last thing I'd have
tried but with Dell's support they only do what their scripts tell them to do.
 
After all of that you neglect to state what model of computer you have.
More importantly you neglect to state what sort of display is causing your
aggro -- the possibilities are totally different for an older CRT display
and a newer LCD display. And if you are using an LCD, the way it is being
interfaced to the computer could really matter -- Analog? DVI? HDMI?

The first and simplest troubleshooting step is to connect a different
monitor (borrow one if you need to), preferably using a known-good cable
and compare the display quality. If the problem went away then the problem
is either the old display or the old cable -- work it out from there.

BTW: the motherboard would have been pretty much the last thing I'd have
tried but with Dell's support they only do what their scripts tell them to do.
Click to expand...

Hi again,

After all of that you neglect to read my post with
care...<g>

(I included the fact that I had tried another monitor and
cable.)

But, you are, of course correct that I should have described
more about the hardware.

In any case, the matter is resolved as you may have seen
elsewhere in the thread.

All the best,
 
Kenneth said:
Howdy,

I have a Dell desktop system (XP Pro) that has started to
have an odd display problem:

When dark characters appear against light backgrounds,
certain letters have an orange "halo." The characters with
the halo are always vertically oriented, so, for example the
string OOOOOOOO would look fine, but the string lllllllllll
would be tinged with orange (most obviously between the
characters, rather than above and below.)

Beyond that, all characters display in a slightly fuzzy, and
lower than normal contrast.

All the same problems occur in safe mode as well as normal
mode.

I called the Dell technical folks, and we walked through the
expected diagnostic stuff. I tried another monitor and
cable, but the problem persisted. Uninstalled, and
reinstalled the display drivers, but still no luck.

We also ran exhaustive tests on the system ram, and all
passed.

Eventually, the technical support person decided that the
problem was hardware related, and, because the system has
integrated video on the motherboard, today, sent a new MOBO
to me.

It was installed, we fired up the system, and the problem
persists...
Click to expand...

Why replace the motherboard - perhaps to replace the on-board graphics chip?
If it is a separate graphics card, then that is more likely the problem than
the motherboard.
 
Why replace the motherboard - perhaps to replace the on-board graphics chip?
If it is a separate graphics card, then that is more likely the problem than
the motherboard.
Click to expand...

Hi again,

The Dell tech folks said that because the on-board graphics
chip had trouble, they would replace the entire mobo.

I have no idea why they have that policy, but perhaps it is
to provide their customers quick turnaround.

Had the chip been bad, I assume they would replace my mobo,
take my old mobo, test it, replace the chip, and then
(eventually) send the repaired mobo out to someone else.

Also, as you may have seen elsewhere in this thread, the
problem is resolved, and was unrelated to hardware.

All the best,
 
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