Weird thing with displays on start up

karavite

karavite

Registered
Hi, this morning I started my DP 1 GHz with a Radeon 8500 and dual displays and the weirdest thing happened - the second display started up with a non-normal looking grey background and the main display was black - I turned the power off then back on an the main monitor and it showed the desktop in a way out of whack resolution and the screen slowly expanded then went black again. I could repeat this a few times. I checked the connection on the cables and I restarted the machine and the same thing happened, but this time the main screen stayed up after I turned off then on the monitor, but the resolution appeared to be off, so I opened system prefs for displays, switched the resolution around a few times, then back to my normal setting and now appears to be okay.

Or is it?

Both my monitors are Hitachi VGAs - no problems ever. The card and computer are less than a year old.
 
Before you open the case, you could trash the monitor preference file if you use OS 9.
In OS X run disk Utility and verify then repair permissions. That just might correct things.
 
Thanks everybody! Everything is hunky dorry (spelling?) after one morning of weirdness. I didn't install anything lately and I will repair permissions for fun (never hurst does it!). I think DeltaMac is on to this - it did look like a monitor with a bad cable or loose connection, but it was both monitors, so the card idea makes sense. It was really really humid that day too.
 
Okay, today it was fine for a week, but did the same thing today, but this time it is accompanied by loud, and I mean LOUD popping sounds that eminate from both monitors! I'm wondering if humidity and the video card could some how be a part of this - it rained like heck last night (I'm in CT and we got some of Isabell rain here) and my office windows were open (no water, just humid air). It was also very humid the first day it did this - I think it may be related.

Any help or advice please (beside's getting Apple Care - I just called and ordered it - I had 7 days until it was one year on this machine!).
 
Dory, I believe.

I think I may have experienced something similar to what you are going through right now (well, besides the popping—might want someone to investigate your monitors). Last year, I often hung out in the yearbook teacher's room because I worked on some of the graphics for it, mostly the cover. Well, he has a Quicksilver G4 with a 17" Apple Studio Display flat screen monitor, which replaced the last computer he used, a 400 or 500 Mhz G4 with a 17" Apple Studio Display CRT. The older computer sits on a table by his desk, and I often used it when he didn't have anything for me to work on.

Well, the monitor had a weird habit of making the screen size change. I mean that, even though the resolution stayed the same, the actual dimensions of the picture would shift, moving and resizing a little bit often. It was fairly annoying, and I'm not sure how he'd go about fixing it.

I'm not sure about your monitors popping. They might have gotten a little moist when you left the windows open; I believe Apple recommends you keep your computer (and undoubtedly your other hardware) in a cool, dry place to avoid electrical problems.

I wonder if flat screens would solve your problems. A 17" flat screen would have almost the same screen size as a 19" CRT.
 
Hi Arden,

Yea, I'm keeping the windows closed from now on! Weird as it may sound, it may have been moisture in both monitors - I can't see how a card with a short would make monitors "pop." I got hung up on the idea that if both monitors did this, it must be the card, but that seems less likely. I think what I really need is a cinema display! Maybe two! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top