I was replacing my father's computer this past weekend, and he brought up a problem he'd been having with the "new" monitor my cousin recently gave him. ("New" is a very relative term; this monitor was new to my father, but definitely a couple years old. Unfortunately, I don't remember the manufacturer and model number.)
The symptoms started perhaps 2 weeks ago — that is, prior to me going out there and replacing the system. (So we can eliminate that change as a possibility here.) When he turns on the computer and the monitor, a massive white spot appears in the upper right corner of the screen, then steadily grows to fill the entire screen. About 2 – 3 minutes later, shutting the monitor off and then turning it back on will bring the screen (mostly) back to normal.
(By "mostly," I mean that it will be usable, but you will see what appear to be horizontal refresh artifacts for another 30 – 40 seconds. After that, it'll be fine until the monitor is turned off again.)
Is this an issue with the backlight starting up? Is the monitor on its last legs? Has anyone encountered anything like this?
Best Answer
Dead no, last legs, yes!
It really depends on make/model, but this usually means a problem with the back-light / control circuit.
If it is a "few" years old, it may be worth seeing if the manufacturer has a 3/5 year warranty you can claim on.
I had this on a old Samsung monitor, I used it on a server where I only needed to turn it on once every week or so for 20 minutes, it lasted a further 2 years before it finally died (but this was low usage), if you are using it constantly, it would most likely be quicker so get a standby monitor ready!