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Troubleshooting Displays and Monitors

What is screen burn-in? Should I be concerned about it?

In the past, leaving a monitor on for hours and hours would burn the image into the phosphor on the inside of the glass tube. Because the phosphor's phosphorescence had literally been worn out, this image would remain permanently "engraved" into your monitor's display.

Fortunately, modern technology has made this problem virtually non-existant. Today's monitors would have to be left on for years before they began to exhibit significant signs of burn-in. If you're still concerned though, feel free to turn the brightness down or install one of those nifty screen savers.

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One area on my monitor's display is out of focus. Everything else looks fine -- what's causing this?

If one one area on the display is out of focus, or if you see some odd color spotches, then you might need to degauss the monitor.

Why degauss? The powerful magnetic field created be the electron guns in the monitor may gradually magnetize the monitor's casing. Over time, the monitor's electron gun will literally be thrown out of line by its own magnetized case. This will cause blurring and possibly some color spotches. Degaussing will cancel out any and all magnetic fields, thus returning your monitor back to its normal condition.

Look for a degaussing button on the back of your monitor or check your manual for instructions on how to degauss your display. If none of these are available, you can check to see if it degausses automatically by turning it on and off rapidly a couple of times. If the screen comes back on with rapid, waving bands of light and color them stop immediately followed by an audible click, then you've been degaussed.

If you're still having problems figuring out how to deguass the machine, then take it to any television service shop. They'll do it for you.

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The display on my monitor jitters back and forth. How do I get it to stop?

The most common cause of a jiggling display is electrical interference. Anything from a clock radio to an external hard drive to overhead florescent lights can cause this disruption. To remedy it, simply remove your monitor away from any such electrical devices, or vice-versa.

Another possible cause could be a fluctuating electrical current coming from the wall socket. To test this, simply take your monitor/computer to another location and turn it on. If the jittering no longer exists, then you've found your problem. I recommend buying a power conditioner that will turn the rough current coming from the power company into smooth current that won't give your monitor such fits. These are available from most computer dealers.

If the monitor still continues to jitter, then you may have a more serious problem. In addition to electrical interference and fluctuating electrical currents, a bad power supply or failing solder joints on the monitor's motherboard may also cause such jitters. If this is the case, then take your monitor to a local repair shop or technician.