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Thursday, June 23, 2011

How to Fix colored vertical lines on LCD display?

If your LCD monitor is displaying vertical lines whether they be green, blue,
black, red, yellow, etc then the following info is for you.

When it comes to vertical lines being displayed on the LCD screen it could mean two things; either the monitor itself is faulty or the video card is faulty. In the case that the video card is faulty it could be due to old/outdated/incorrect drivers being installed. For each of these options it's best to have your monitor's or laptop's user manual handy.


Adjusting the resolution
The first thing you'll need to try is adjusting the screen resolution. If you're
unsure on how to do this or want more info ,
To find out more about optimal screen resolutions click the link:--http://schematicsdiagram.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-resize-desktop-background.html
Try setting the resolution lower. If you're using a 4:3(square LCD panel) then your optimal resolutions are: 800x600, 1024x768, 1152x864, 1280x960, 1280x1024, 1400x1050, 1440x1024, 1600x1200. There are some other higher 4:3 resolutions but 4:3 ratio monitors that can support these resolutions are rare.
If you're using a 16:9 or 16:10(wide-screen LCD panel) then your optimal
resolutions are: 1024x640, 1152x720, 1280x720, 1280x720, 7280x800, 1366x768, 1440x900, 1600x900, 1680x1050, 1920x1080, 1920x1200, 2048x1152, 2048x1280, 2560x1440, 2560x1600. There are higher resolutions but they need faster graphics cards and larger LCD panels.

Start at a lower resolution and work your way up until the vertical lines appear. This will help you to find the most stable resolution for your setup. If they are still present even at a lower resolution then we will now try to adjust the refresh rate.

Changing the refresh rate
The next thing we're going to do is try a different refresh rate. Normally the
LCD panel manufacturer specifies the optimal refresh rate for the panel, this information should be printed on the packaging and displayed in the monitor's user manual.
To find out more about refresh rates click the link below:-- http://schematicsdiagram.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-set-monitors-refresh-rate.html

If you've ever used a CRT monitor, you know that fine-tuning your refresh rate is essential. The refresh rate of a display is measured in Hertz (abbreviated Hz) and specifies the number of times per second that a display is illuminated. Setting the refresh rate to 60 Hz - a common default value - tells the monitor to redraw itself 60 times per second. For most people, that setting on a CRT monitor is too slow, resulting in an annoying flicker that can cause headaches, eyestrain, and fatigue. Bumping the refresh rate to a higher number can reduce that flicker, as long as the monitor itself can handle the faster rate. If you're using an LCD monitor then a safe refresh rate lies in the 60Hz-75Hz range. A greater refresh rate when it comes to LCD's means greater performance.

If changing the refresh rate doesn't affect the vertical lines then it may be time to update those video drivers. If you have a graphics card installed in your system then you can go to the various websites to get the latest drivers for them:

If you have an Nvidia card: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
If you have a ATI/AMD Radeon card: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx

If you aren't using a graphics card and are using onboard graphics or have a laptop then you will need to go to the Pc's motherboard manufacturer's website or laptop manufacturer's download support website. A quick Google search can help you there.

Once you have downloaded and installed the appropriate drivers restart your system and see if the vertical lines are gone. If they are then well done!!! If not then we'll need to diagnose this problem on a physical level.

Try resetting the monitor to factory settings
Most monitors have an on-screen menu that you can use to reset the settings to default. You will have to follow the monitor's user manual procedure to do this.

Check the cabling (For Pc's not applicable to laptops)
Unplug the video cable between the computer and the monitor and check the ends for bent or broken pins. If any pins are damaged, replace the cable. Otherwise make sure the cable is securely connected at both ends namely the computer's graphics card or onboard graphics, and the monitor.

If the monitor has more than one type of connection available such as VGA, DVI, or HDMI, try a different type of connection.

Test out the monitor on another PC
If possible, connect the monitor to another computer. If the lines appear when the monitor is connected to the second computer, the monitor might be damaged or defective. If the lines disappear when the monitor is connected to another computer, connect the monitor to the original computer and check the step again where we updated the video drivers.

Test out another monitor on the system
If you can, try out another monitor on the PC. If there are no lines on the second monitor then it is indeed the first monitor that is faulty. If there are lines on the second monitor then review the section where we updated video drivers.

Where to from here?
If updating the drivers does not correct the problem, the graphics adapter might be damaged. Typically, video cards are damaged by too much heat caused by an accumulation of dust around fan areas. Cleaning the components inside the computer, especially the graphics card area, might correct this problem. You could also swop out the graphics card for one that you know works and see if the problem changes. Faulty or corrupt memory RAM modules can also cause vertical lines and interference; you'd better give these a clean. External intereference can be caused by magnets, check to see if there are maybe magnets nearby your PC (This only affects CRT monitors).

If the mouse cursor shows up fine when you put it on the vertical line, then it's you're video card. green lines are artifacts caused by VRAM or GPU overheating. Try using compressed air to clean your video card to the best of your ability. If by any chance you are using an integrated video solution, clean the northbridge heatsink.

If all these tweaks and troubleshooters fail to change the situation then it may be the fact that your monitor has reached the end of its life span. If it's still in warranty then have it sent back, if not then it may be time to upgrade.

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