[SOLVED] Black screen except one thin bar across the middle..

brooksie · 08-12-2008, 02:08 AM

Sorry,

This could be very vague but i was using my home pc last night as normal, nothing major running bar firefox and maybe msn etc and went away for a while and came back to find nothing on my monitor except a very thin (maybe 2mm) line across the screen.

It looks like the entire desktop has been compressed into this thin line as after turning it off and tried to reboot the same line has appeared, but seems like the PC is still running as you can see as it boots up the line changing from the boot screens to get to the bright blue log on screen before i had to shut it down again.

I had noticed in the past few days the very top of the desktop becoming distorted like something was trying to push the top down but nothing as dramatic as this!

I was just wondering if you think this sounds like just my monitor has failed (it is pretty old!) or maybe the graphics card? Although i need to get a new PC i really can't afford it just yet!

Sorry for the rambling and vague topic!

**vladimirb** · 08-12-2008, 05:06 AM

Hello brooksie...
Would be nice to tell us your system specifications...
But either it is graphic card or monitor...
I am assuming it is display monitor...
If you can borrow graphic card from a friend and test it on your monitor or take your monitor to friends house and test it on his PC...
Check cables also...
Did this happened before or it is the first time you are experiencing this kind of problem???

brooksie · 08-12-2008, 06:18 AM

Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply. Apologies for being so vague unfortunately without access to the PC the only specs i could have given you were that it is a dell pc running XP SP1,

fortunately it would appear it is the monitor as i managed to quickly borrow a monitor and although mine worked initially it quickly returned to it's previous state.

Problem identified, now just need to find a good deal.

Thanks for your help

Regards, Joe

**vladimirb** · 08-12-2008, 06:22 AM

I am glad you have solved your problem but it is a shame you now must look for a new one...
Anyway, if you ever need help, visit us ^-^

08-12-2008, 02:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
brooksie Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 29 OS: XP	[SOLVED] Black screen except one thin bar across the middle.. Sorry, This could be very vague but i was using my home pc last night as normal, nothing major running bar firefox and maybe msn etc and went away for a while and came back to find nothing on my monitor except a very thin (maybe 2mm) line across the screen. It looks like the entire desktop has been compressed into this thin line as after turning it off and tried to reboot the same line has appeared, but seems like the PC is still running as you can see as it boots up the line changing from the boot screens to get to the bright blue log on screen before i had to shut it down again. I had noticed in the past few days the very top of the desktop becoming distorted like something was trying to push the top down but nothing as dramatic as this! I was just wondering if you think this sounds like just my monitor has failed (it is pretty old!) or maybe the graphics card? Although i need to get a new PC i really can't afford it just yet! Sorry for the rambling and vague topic!

08-12-2008, 05:06 AM	#2 (permalink)
vladimirb Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Banja Luka, Serb Republic Posts: 3,679 OS: xp pro sp3, Server 2003, Windows 7 Professional x64bit My System	Re: Black screen except one thin bar across the middle.. Hello brooksie... Would be nice to tell us your system specifications... But either it is graphic card or monitor... I am assuming it is display monitor... If you can borrow graphic card from a friend and test it on your monitor or take your monitor to friends house and test it on his PC... Check cables also... Did this happened before or it is the first time you are experiencing this kind of problem??? __________________ MCP - MCSA Cisco SMB Account Manager

08-12-2008, 06:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
brooksie Registered User Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 29 OS: XP	Re: Black screen except one thin bar across the middle.. Hi, Thanks for the quick reply. Apologies for being so vague unfortunately without access to the PC the only specs i could have given you were that it is a dell pc running XP SP1, fortunately it would appear it is the monitor as i managed to quickly borrow a monitor and although mine worked initially it quickly returned to it's previous state. Problem identified, now just need to find a good deal. Thanks for your help Regards, Joe

08-12-2008, 06:22 AM	#4 (permalink)
vladimirb Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Banja Luka, Serb Republic Posts: 3,679 OS: xp pro sp3, Server 2003, Windows 7 Professional x64bit My System	Re: Black screen except one thin bar across the middle.. I am glad you have solved your problem but it is a shame you now must look for a new one... Anyway, if you ever need help, visit us ^-^ __________________ MCP - MCSA Cisco SMB Account Manager