Emerson's post #10 is absolutely spot on. A pity you seem to have completely ignored it.

I'm not entirely sure if this is a request for technical advice or simply more babble and chatter....

here at finland there is secondhand stores called "kierrätyskeskus" ("recycling center" in english) and they sell old but functioning computers and parts of em, i bought keyboards from them, 5€ a pop, and powercords 1€ ea.

do you have stores like those here at finland?

I don't know about Hazel, but when you live alone a little "bubble and chatter" is appreciated every now and then.

As much as I hate to admit it being a lifelong repair guy, there are a few valid reasons behind planned-obsolescence these days. I don't at all subscribe to the brainwashing that new==improved, but where technology is involved the turnaround time for fairly major breaktroughs is a huge issue and often even depends on fairly low tech developments that affect the Supply and Demand equation.

In the area of display monitors one of the more expensive to produce items is the very high quality glass required as a faceplate. These are manufactured in large sheets called "Mother glass" that can then be subdivided into commonly usable sizes. Usable sizes has grown by leaps and bounds and one reason is that the cost of preparing large glass is the same as for smaller sizes, so given availability of machinery that can "forge" larger Mothers, the cost of larger panels grows progressively smaller than smaller sizes. This is why it is possible these days to buy a 65 inch, high resolution, high refresh rate HDR monitor/TV for under $400, a few just over 200.

My mother bought one of the early panel HDTVs around the year 2003, a 24 inch cheapest you could buy at the time for $740 !!! Not only was it expensive it was also very heavy, had huge bezels measured in whole number inches, accepted only 3 types of connections, had only 720 Interlaced resolution and by today's standards minimal contrast and clarity among other faults. Additionally the soft power switch or the power supply failed in just 4 years. Compare this to even the cheapo Vizio 32inch 1080p monitor/tv I bought in 2017 for roughly $175 that still works great for the money today.

I mentioned in another thread that a $200+ graphics card I bought at roughly the same time was eclipsed totally by a $40 card just 5 years later.

The point of all that to this thread is I wouldn't bother to repair that Dell narrow view 19" monitor today. A vastly superior and far easier on the eyes 24 inch, brand name wide-screen monitor with vastly improved specs on every level, even a few that didn't even exist 10 years ago, can be had for a little over $100, which has to be close to what it would cost to repair that old 19" Dell. Even if fixed income required I save up for 6 months to justify a $120 hole in my budget, I would do that without hesitation. What value can one place on their vision?

Here's just a random example - Asus 24 inch Display

Hi Hazel,

I get my kit second hand from a broker in Somerset (UK) called IJT They seem to source kit from corporations when they do an IT refresh about every three years or so.

So far I've got my HP Z400 workstation, my wife's HP Compaq 8200 All-in-one PC and my second HP 1955 monitor plus their own brand of printer ink refills for my HP Photosmart 5520. I've been very happy with all the purchases so far. The All-in-one PC and monitor were very well packed using air bags to prevent shipping damage to the screens.

One caveat is that I do get a Sales brochure at least four times a year and the occasional infrequent phone call where they push their inks and toner cartridges, etc, but I don't really mind that.

I notice from their website that their stocks of monitors is a bit limited just now probably because of Covid and lockdowns.

If you don't mind second hand, it might be an idea?

My

Play Bonny!

I tend to buy pre used monitors too, because I can't get the size(s) I prefer these days.

Mine come from firms that buy up ex commercial stock, when they upgrade, sometimes you can get unopened/unused items, & the sizes that I use only cost a few ££££s, (£15 upwards delivered for some 15" XGA monitors).

My present monitor, a 19" SXGA (Grade A), cost £25.99 delivered, last July, (& it has built in speakers too).

(Previously I bought a Grade A 15" XGA with speakers for £17.99 delivered, February last year.)

Between buying these 2 old monitors, I bought a modern 24", but I hardly ever use it - it's just too big!

The answer to Cynwulf is that, yes, Emerson provided a good answer. But to make use of it, I would need to:
a) be able to understand the internals of the monitor
b) be good with my hands (I am in fact so clumsy as to be virtually dyspraxic)
c) have the right tools for the job.

Unfortunately none of these conditions apply. However I will have a look at the site suggested by Soadyheid.

Actually I hate buying stuff online because I don't feel safe doing it. I don't want my card details stored on servers all over the internet, where they can be skimmed by spyware and sold to crooks. Also I don't know how you tell a genuine site from one that just takes your money and doesn't provide the goods, and I won't buy from Amazon on principle. But a recommended site is a different matter.

In the mean time I have discovered that if I switch the thing on and off a few times, the screensaver comes up eventually. At least it did this morning and I am using it now. The first time it does come up, the pattern is faint and quickly fades away again (does that tell anybody anything?), but on a later try it brightens and stabilises. And once it is on, it stays on and I can boot the computer.

I also managed to find and download a manual. Of course there's a troubleshooting section in it but it's pretty useless. Under "Power light is on but screen is dark", all they can suggest is to unplug the monitor from the computer, switch it on, and if the screensaver then appears, the problem is with the computer. Well, I knew that already! It was the first thing I tried when the problem surfaced. They don't of course have any suggestions as to what to do if the screensaver doesn't appear or only appears sometimes.

If this had happened as little as five years ago, I would just have cut the hassle and bought a new screen. There were plenty of shops then where you could buy a monitor for very little. Now it's all gone online. But for the time being, I can nurse it along and replace it with one of my smaller screens where necessary. When Computer Exchange reopens (which I hope it will soon), I'll see if they have anything.

You seem to have only seen Emerson's post as advice to fix it yourself. You could interpret it as a definitive answer that the monitor has reached the end of its life.

From what you have said and based on the age of the monitor (look for the DOM usually on a label on the rear), it's one of the usual three: backlight, inverter board or PSU. In my experience with inverter board failure, the display comes on briefly then goes off, backlight failure usually means that when held at a certain angle or when shining a light on the screen you would see something, so based on what you've said I would go with PSU failure.

I haven't looked into your specific model beyond a quick search, but it looks like a circa 2010 4:3 monitor. I'm throwing most of these in to WEEE waste these days, as even if they seem to be working, the question is - how long for?

When LCD monitors "wear out", it's usually one of two things that fail:

• the backlight circuitry (mentioned by Turbocapitalist in post #6)
• the internal PSU (mentioned by Emerson in post #10)

If the backlight fails, it will still be possible to see a faint ghost of a picture if you shine a bright light on the screen. A PSU failure means the entire unit will appear dead.

In both cases, the actual component that tends to fail is the electrolytic capacitor. These perform a vital filtering function in all power regulating circuits, and especially in switched-mode power supplies (SMPSs), which represent by far the most common type of PSU in use today.

As electrolytic capacitors tend to degrade gradually over time, some equipment will go through a phase where it may power on after repeated attempts, before failing completely.

Low-voltage capacitors are extremely cheap, and replacing them is usually quite easy. Unfortunately, it seems that repairing things has gone completely out of fashion.

This is the symptom of a failing capacitor, most likely in the power supply or backlight inverter. Operation becomes more and more erratic as the ripple increases and voltage falls out of tolerance.

The capacitor is cheap, but the labor to replace it is not. I suggest buying a new monitor if you are not skilled in electronics repair.
Ed

When inverter goes bad then usually a MOSFET is blown, it won't come back and work again as happened to Hazel. Same goes for power supply, when capacitors dry up and bulge then it usually keeps working until turned off, and once it cools down it will never work again.
When CCFL lights age then it will be exactly as described, sometimes it won't light up until one day it will stay dark.

So now I have a firm diagnosis, which is what I mainly wanted. And clearly I need to buy a new monitor for the long term. I don't want to have to go back to 14" when I'm used to 19". Non-essential shops are opening in the UK now, thanks to vaccination. I went past Computer Exchange this morning and they're not shuttered up any more but still aren't open to foot traffic. I'll check their site; maybe they do click and collect.

istr there used to be a computer shop in Wealdstone too.

i wish we lived in a same country, ive got extra monitor which is like 24" inches. and it is in a kitchen floor collecting dust. i would be happy to get rid of it.

Ha Ha! One day there will be 3D scanners like there are 3D printers now and you will be able to scan something like that and transmit it over the internet and have it reconstituted on the other side. Here in the UK, you sell it to Computer Exchange. Don't they have anything like that in Finland?

I just went to their site and saw more or less what I wanted, a generic unbranded 21" screen for a ridiculously low price, and I was going to buy it when I suddenly got cold feet. They didn't say how it connects; I need svga for my computer and cables but I gather most modern screens use hdmi. That's another reason why I don't like online shopping. In a shop, you just ask, "How does it connect? I need svga."

You often have to research the model number at the manufacturer's site. If you need SVGA then you might require an adapter but that would most likely mean an online purchase.