Color On Monitor

[caribvoice]

Over the last few days the brightness on my monitor has dimmed and the color is all skewed. Most colors (whether documents, websites, photos whatever) appear to be eithyer shades of blue or orange. Thus I'm unable to tell what actual colors of files etc are.
Any help to redress this problem would be highly appreciated.

 

[Cheryl]

Welcome to the forum.

First, what model monitor do you have? What OS version are you running?

Have you checked to make sure the cables are snugly in the monitor port of the computer?

 

[nixgeek]

I don't know if this might help, but your monitor (if it's relatively new) should have an option for "degaussing." This option basically demagnetizes the monitor which can happen from time to time. I've tried this on some monitors that had all the colors a bit screwy and it fixed it instantly. Of course, it wasn't a cure-all. It's also possible that one of the color guns inside your monitor has failed. I had this happen to an Apple MultiScan Color 15" monitor. Everything was a nice cyan color for a while and then with time everything became green. As annoying as it was, it did give the screen a nice, Matrix-y effect...

If you have another computer with a monitor that will work, try swapping the monitors and hook them up to both machines. If the monitor shows the same problem on the other computer or if the other computer's monitor (which is working OK) also works on the Mac that had the monitor problem, then you know it's the monitor.

 

[TommyWillB]

If this is a CRT make sure you move and speakers or big magnets away from it...

Also make sure all of the cables are connected tightly and none of the pins are bent... VGA results in what you describe if all the pins are not making contact.

 

[caribvoice]

Thanks for the responses guys. Its a Mac G4 and using OS X. I checked all the ports/cables and everything's snug, no bent pins. I don't know if MACs have the degausssing option but will check.
Any additional suggestions in the light of the new info I posted will be appreciated. Anyone knows whether Apple can offer help over the phone? If so how do I contact them?

 

[Cheryl]

There are several G4 models. Which one do you have? To check this, go to the Apple Menu>About this Mac. The window that opens will tell you the processor speed, the amount of memory installed and exactly what OS version you are running. This information will help us.

What kind of monitor do you have - CRT or LCD? Apple model or Sony or other brand?

 

[nixgeek]

Well, the Mac itself won't have the option (unless it's an iMac G3/eMac), but the monitor should unless it's a really old monitor. For the record, I can tell you that some of the monitors that came with some old Dells (Optiplex GX1, P3 450 MHz) at my schools have the degauss option on the monitor's menu system (usually accessed from the buttons on the monitor itself). These computers are about 5-6 years old. Some monitors even older than that have had the option as well, so yours might have it also.

 

[TommyWillB]

Most monitors defauss themselves when they power on... So the easiest thing to do is to turn it off and back on...

 

[texanpenguin]

Or, calibrate the screen to account for the new wacky colour in the Displays section of System Preferences.

 

[caribvoice]

Turning off the monitor and then turning it off did not work, but thanks Tommy.

Cheryl the Memory is 128MB, Processor: 400 MHz Power PC G4 AGP graphics) (version 2.9). It's running OS 10.2.8. Let me know if you have any additional advice.

Meanwhile I'll try the calibration thing and see what happens.

Thanks everybody.

 

[Cheryl]

Do you have the correct monitor selected under Display (in System Preferences)?

If calibration does not work, it could be that the monitor is going down hill.

 

[nixgeek]

This has worked for me on older systems: zap the PRAM.

To zap that PRAM you need to hold down Apple-Option-P-R at the same time right after you hear the startup chime. Hold it down after you hear a couple of chimes and then let it go. Zapping the PRAM resets any hardware settings that were modified. However, depending on the OS, you might have to reset some things like the date and time and a few other little things, but nothing major. Doing this should also reset the monitor settings to something like 640x480 or something that will allow the monitor to display a screen.

 

[caribvoice]

Thanks everyone for the help. Neither calibration nor zapping the PRAM worked so it seems almost certain that either the video card or the monitor is messed up. Guess I'll have to get a technician.