NEED HELP!!!!!!

[canleakid]

First of all I am NOT a computer person, here is my problem
When I turn it on, all is well and working sometimes any where from a few min. to an hour or so, the lcd monitor goes crazy and will only display horizontal or veritical lines, now this started yesterday, the pc is about 3yrs old, the monitor about 5 weeks old. So is it a pc or a monitor issue?? Any help would be great. I have tried the HP help desk :bang:
I have a HP Pavilion Slimline s3123w Desktop PC
Thanks

[WeirdWilly]

First of all I am NOT a computer person, here is my problem
When I turn it on, all is well and working sometimes any where from a few min. to an hour or so, the lcd monitor goes crazy and will only display horizontal or veritical lines, now this started yesterday, the pc is about 3yrs old, the monitor about 5 weeks old. So is it a pc or a monitor issue?? Any help would be great. I have tried the HP help desk :bang:
I have a HP Pavilion Slimline s3123w Desktop PC
Thanks

Is there any way you can try either a different monitor for that PC or a different PC for that monitor? That would be the easiest diagnostic.

Another technique - less reliable, but still useful, would be to leave the PC on while turning off the monitor and letting it cool. When you re-power the monitor - does it go back to normal?

On a quick reboot (without cooling) - does it return to normal until the next problem, or does the problem remain until the system has cooled?

Any unusual smells, sounds, or heat from either component?

Any recent hardware or software changes? Alas, that question is not as easy to answer in this day and age of frequent, automatic updates. Nevertheless, ask it I must.

[canleakid]

thanks,
I only have one of each so I tried #2
re-powerd the monitor, so far all is copasetic
some times I hear the fan? in the pc some what louder then usual
Thanks for the tips, I will try step #1 this weekend (borrow an other pc and monitor) if it acts up again.

[wilderness]

thanks,
some times I hear the fan? in the pc some what louder then usual


Most fans are fairly easy to clean and even replace. Many computer stores sell a variety of used fans for dirt cheap.

[Hanover1]

The issue with slimlines is that they do not adequatly disperse heat, due to the size, and have a high failure rate as a result. Not saying that this is your issue at present, as this sounds like either a video card/monitor issue. You need to deep six the slimline, as its just a matter of time.......

[HUSKER55]

tHIS is a long shot but it happened to me a few years back. After I reloaded my software and made sure everything kosher my monitor still didn't work. It was off and on and mostly off.

I took it to the repair shop and they found a faulty cable connection. They fixed it and I have had no problems after that.

Check your cable and connections.

Good luck.

[Dave Schwartz]

It sounds like something is over-heating. If the monitor change did not solve the problem, the most likely culprit is the video card. (Many of the newer ones have their own fans.)

It could also be the mother board, the main fan or the CPU fan.

A longshot would be the power supply.

The point is that what you are describing is that after it runs for awhile (and the heat builds up) things crash.

Find a computer tech to trouble shoot.

[Pell Mell]

I had a problem something like that with overheating. I found a lot of dust build up in the cooling vents. Used a toothbrush to clean them and no more noise or overheating.

[JustRalph]

It sounds like something is over-heating. If the monitor change did not solve the problem, the most likely culprit is the video card. (Many of the newer ones have their own fans.)

It could also be the mother board, the main fan or the CPU fan.

A longshot would be the power supply.

The point is that what you are describing is that after it runs for awhile (and the heat builds up) things crash.

Find a computer tech to trouble shoot.

Ding!! As usual Dave is spot on....... easy to check the cable problem. The next time it acts up....reach back and wiggle the cable around. If it doesn't change anything after wiggling both ends....it's probably not the cable.

I am guessing overheated video card, dusty blocked air flow etc........or overheated monitor/LCD. It does happen............

[Dave Schwartz]

Thanks, Ralphie. I usually defer to you but this one was easy.

[canleakid]

Well I killed a bunch of Dust Bunnies, and so far all is still working, Thanks for all the help and advice. Hell the HP helpline is a :bang: :bang: , as was Dell when I had a Dell pc, so once again THANKS!!!!!! saved me some $$, now I can blow it on the Belmont tomorrow :D