Hmmmm... No there is no death or injuries involved, so its not so bad... But it is! I had hard time sleeping last night, so i woke up around 5am and hopped on my computer. Went back to sleep about an hour later. When i woke up again later, and eventually back at my desk, i moved my mouse, and the screen showed for a second then my old samsung 2493hm died on me. It happenned to me a fee years ago when my monitor was still under warranty. Samsung sent me a rebuilt unit. And it did the same thing again. I read many stories about it and it is some bad caps. I was able to get my first one to work by heating the back with an hair dryer.. To heat the bad cap when it was cold. I heated the damn thing for more than an hour and it did nOt worked this time... But the worse is... After resetting my computer a few times in order to have it show the bios screen and make sure the display signal is really there, i noticed that my computer wasnt booting anymore. My g27 wasnt calibrating and my plugged iphone would nO longer show connected and charge. So i will probably have to replace the mainboard which involves cpu and ram since i prolly wont be able to get a mobo that support my current cpu/ram... I could barely afford the new mOnitor... So this whole blow uP is really unfortunate. Typing this on my iPhone is a pain.. Sigh, i already miss rFactor! Any suggestion for a good lcd at around 200$? I was looking at the asus Vh236h but its only a 1920x1080 monitor, i enjoy 1920x1200 better... There was also an asus 3d monitor around 240$, but it is passive 3d and seems to do 1920x5xx in 3d and seems to require an additional software at 50$ to make it work, Tridef 3d i think it was... Any thoughts?
My son had the same issue with another monitor. He opened it up and found the blown caps. Ordered them online and installed them himself. The monitor is still working today...~ 2 years ago. Might wanna look into that.....ALOT cheaper.
If your system is not booting up now, then I would suggest that the issue isn't your monitor at all. I would start by looking into the power supply to make sure you are getting the power that you need. From there I would remove everything that is not required in order to get to the bios screen to be sure that you can get the system past the POST portion of a boot sequence. What this means is disconnect all drives and remove any ram that is not required for boot up as well as all devices connected to the system such as your wheel, you phone cable etc... Most systems can boot with a single stick of ram. If you can get to the BIOS screen, make sure your system date and time is correct and then save and exit. If you still have a drive connected let it try and boot and see what happens, but you should not have had a drive connected for those last steps. If you did not have one connected, then connect only the drive needed to boot the system, nothing more. See what happens. If the system boots to Windows, shut it down normally and put one thing back in the system and see what happens. Continue until you have all your items connected to the system again. Chances are you will find an item that prevents the system from going past POST fairly quickly and that will be the likely issue that you are having. Make sure that if you have more than a single stick of ram that you try each one individually and not adding them in all at once. Good luck.
Sounds to me like your system might be overheating or something, turns off, then you leave it to cool (thinking you're doing something to the monitor during this time) and it's cool enough to run when you then try it...
That is unfortunate. I don't like having to spend money on broken components but..... Had knee surgery last Friday. It was supposed to be relatively simple and I could start moving it about a short time after surgery. When all was said and done, I was told they repaired my knee instead of taking pieces out. I'm in a full left leg brace and on crutches. I'm not to put weight on it for a full six weeks. I'm a two footed driver in sim racing. Guess I'll have to use only my right. My big problem is that I have to elevate my leg nearly all the time do to swelling and pain when put low. It sure makes for some awkward positions that are impossible to pull off with my computer desk. I'm a bit scared as I'm supposed to get my right knee worked on after the left one is strong enough to hold me up. I'm missing rFactor2 a ton! Thank goodness Arma3 is expanding as I don't need legs for that. That monitor you mentioned in your post is exactly what I have. I love it and it gets the job done. Can't wait to upgrade to 3d someday though. Good luck and hope you get back to rFactor quickly.
I`d certainly try out Gearjammer`s suggestions, it certainly can`t hurt. Whatever it is, I hope you get things sorted up as soon as possible.
Check the power supply as mentioned, I would say that is the solution. Have had this happen to me twice and both times I needed to replace the power supply.
I would have tried this with my first (bought) Samsung 2493HM. The replacement unit they sent me was already part broken. The brightness of the screen doesn't work, and is set to max. So the screen was really bright, hurting the eyes in the dark. As a result of running such kind of brightness all the time, there are some ghosts in the screen, and color are washed a bit. So repairing the screen isn't really wanted Thank you very much for all this info (and taking the time to write it all)! I forgot to mention however that I've been a computer tech for more than 10 years, I pretty much stopped working in the field when I built this computer, about 4-5 years ago. I must say, I haven't kept up to date much with the latest parts and stuff, but the basis is still there and valid. Plus my computer is all hardware I know well. You were partly right tho! The screen is really broken tho, but this much I knew from start, since my first 2493HM did exactly the same... and a quick search on google for Samsung 2493HM blinking blue lights reveals a whole bunch of people with the exact same problem, it's pretty widespread. The odd thing about my computer not POSTing anymore yesterday was related to memory. I first removed my drives, then removed the memory from the computer, and tried booting it with 1 stick on the 3 I have left (had 4 to start with, 1 died a year or two ago), and it worked. Then I tried booting with 2 sticks, it worked, then added the third one, and it failed to POST. Removed the third stick, and it booted again, plugged it again to be sure, and still fails to POST. So down to 2GB RAM, that was unacceptable. I thought about my previous part I still had somewhere in my apartment, so I pulled up my previous memory (the one I was running was some Corsair Dominator DDR2 @ 1066, had 4GB of this to start with, but now have 2 GB left working). So I had some lower performance 800mhz ddr2 lying around, so I put 3 sticks on 4 in (since anyway I'm still using 32bit windows, I'll upgrade the day I get myself 8+ gb or so RAM), and it turned on. However, I had plenty of crashes, and couldn't even do 1 full lap in rF2 without it blue screening. I ran a memory test, and it failed. So I removed 2 sticks, let 1 in, and re-tested, and this one was fine. Then tested the 2nd one, tested fine alone, and the third, also the same. So I have a bad slot or so it seems. I then put back all 3, and managed to find the broken slot, and now the remaining 3GB sits in 3 working slots (for now) and all is fine! Regarding the monitor, I forgot my parent brought my old 19in 2nd generation LCD, when they upgraded it about a year ago. So until I settle on what new monitor I'll get, I can use that... lost the stand, so it's sitting low on my best, held back by the broken 24in behind it! What a setup! But still better than an iPhone! This could have been a problem, as it was getting rather hot this summer, but we got a used air conditioner not so long ago, because the room my computer was in (bedroom) was getting like an oven! But in the case of my monitor, heat was keeping it alive. Since a bad cap usually works better when hot than cold. So the AC made my screen goes bye bye faster. But it will save the rest of my computer from now on. But there is something I thought... the memory failing, and I had a weird crash a couple days after I installed the AC, and I didnt really assumed it could have been related to it, but I had windows telling me about some disk problems, and it found out a few bad sectors and repaired them. So, what I'm thinking is, when the AC starts, the light in my room dim a little. I didn't noticed my screen dimming, or computer crashing at the same time, so I first thought that my computer wasn't in the same breaker as the A/C, and would be fine, but my girlfriend told me all the lights in the apartment are also dimming. So, to be safe, I'll have to buy an UPS, and until then, I turned off the AC when my computer is running. I hope your surgery goes well, and you recover fully. I know that feeling all too well, as I've been hit by a car (while being on foot) a little more than 10 years ago, and I had the same as well. Couldn't put my foot down at all, or it would hurt like crazy. At the time, I wasn't playing sim or even driving, had my first car as a result of this tho So it helped big time go thru this! Unfortunately for me, I never recovered fully, I'm left with a metal thing inside my tibia, and two screws, which I can feel by touching my leg... so standing for long period of time end up hurting a bit... or running... I can run a bit, but not for too long. Lucky for me tho, I never was really into sports... winter's cold also end up hurting as well, as the metal inside the bone is getting cold and I can feel it very well then. Thanks! It is partly sorted out now, at least, I can use my computer and play some rF2 while I settle on which screen will replace my broken one. I went to two stores around my area yesterday, Future Shop and Staples, for those who knows them (think it's only in Canada?), and they carry very little screens in store. I was like, hey, are you a brick and mortar store or an online store! Most of the models you see on their website is avaiable only online. They had about 10 or so models in stock, 1-2 for each price range... so around 200$ there wasn't much to choose from, and nothing really tempting. No Asus VH236H either... This could have been a problem too, but it was already replaced a year or little more ago... when I upgraded my trusty old geforce 8800 gts (which was still working!!), to the gtx580. I bought a very nice modular thermaltake 700w. So, my original question still stands still tho, I must choose a new LCD... But, here are my observations now: First, I always felt there was some gimmickery involved with RAM and speed. I bought the best ram I could buy back then (the corsair dominator 1066mhz) and even tho I didn't directly compared it to slower sticks, I thought I had better performance with them... But after swapping in the 800mhz sticks in, and playing with my computer all night yesterday, I see no changes at all, no performance drops... even the windows experience scores for the memory operations is the same as it was... a 7.2. rF2 is unaffected as well.. I remember testing some memory in the past, and even tho benchmark like Sandra tells you some sticks are faster, finding the real world benefits seems harder tho. Also, regarding the LCD I now use, my old 19in, 2nd generation LCD or so... really bad viewing angles, probably slow as heck as well, but after playing rF2 the whole nights yesterday, I can safely say that I wasn't playing worse, nor better. Just the same. I couldnt feel more input lag, and except for it being smaller, I couldnt tell much difference. So... is it really worth spending the extra to get some better parts... I wonder. I have also read yesterday while trying to find some infos on the 120hz screen, that someone mentioned they could hardly tells the difference from 60hz... I believe companies are exploiting the gamers a bit by tricking them into buying the absolute best, when there is very little benefit in doing so. Regarding the screen, I'm looking at the Asus VH236H, which seems a very solid 60hz monitor, and the ASUS VG23AH, which seems like an entry level 3d monitor that does passive 3d (like I said, I haven't followed much to that kind of stuff, so I really dunno and never seen what a 3d monitor looks like, passive or active) Any suggestions? Or models from other brands with about the same price range (200-250$) with similar or better specs? By the way, thanks all that took time to reply to me! Much appreciated!
As far as the ram is concerned, there is very little evidence that suggests that your system will run any faster unless you are overclocking, and then only in so much as it allows for higher bus speeds without failing. On the monitor side, I would only get 120Hz monitors if you were planning on utilizing the 3D aspect of it. If you don't use it, there is no real advantage to the higher refresh rates. There are disadvantages to the 120Hz monitors though that you wont' see mentioned a lot. One being that your output from your system should optimally stay at or above 120Fps in order to keep the 3D looking right. skipped frames and slow frame transfers can really mess up what you see in 3D and break the effect. Another disadvantage is the cost which you are already familiar. If you want better imagery, then consider monitors with higher screen resolutions instead of 120Hz refresh rates.
I thought at some part of preclair's post that AC stood for Assetto Corsa . I was imagining myself starting rf2 and that the lights of the house dimmed in the same way as ehat happens when you start a car engine causing the battery output voltage to go down for some seconds. That sounded realistic!
Man, watch you thread tittles you frighten me, i thought the worst, after read the first line i calm down. Good luck with your monitor.
I see... then I guess I'll wait to get a 3D monitor then. Since my current cpu wouldn't be able to push 120 fps at the resolutions and details I enjoy. My motherboard can accept at the most a Phenom IIX6 1090T, which would still be quite an upgrade from my modest Phenom X4 9650 (first gen phenom x4)... but as I cannot find one new in a shop... I will have to resort to ebay... so with shipping and customs.... I'm at a point where I should upgrade it all, but can't... now I know what many of my previous customers felt with their aging computers (at the time I was keeping it very up to date, changing parts every 3-6 months or so) I could get a Phenom x6 1090T along with some 8GB DDR2 (and install win7 64), and do away for a few more years... but will the mobo live long enough... But since I cannot afford a whole new comp, this is highly likely to end up happening.. I still have one question unanswered.. even tho I'm pretty sure of the answer, but I never had this happen to a customer before (or me, as it's the first air conditioner I have)... Should I get a UPS asap? I know a lot of customers in remote area had some shaky current, and their computer would end up blowing parts every now and then, before the current had too much spikes or not stable enough... so I guess the same is pretty much happening with my A/C... I dunno if everyone happen to have the lights dimmed when their A/C starts, but seems it happens for me...(one thing worth mentioning, it is not a 220V A/C, but a 110V one... so it plugs in the same wall plugs as the rest... not in the same outlet as the comp's power bar, but anyway, seems all the lights in the apartment are dimming, so it doesn't affect only the room it is in) Regarding the monitor... things seems to have changed since I last shopped my 2493HM... I found 0 monitors at 1920x1200 at the two stores I've been... have they become rare? I bought the 2493HM at the same store I went (not the same, but same franchise, Future Shop)... All there was, was some 1920x1080... althought I didn't checked the 27+ inch, as it was out of question... but anything from 20-24, was all 1080... You mentioned getting higher resolution monitors, and like I said, I haven't followed much on what's new... since I couldn't afford upgrading as much since I no longer work in the field... and in a computer store... Are there higher than 1920x1200 monitors at around 24in or lower? Should I settle for a 1920x1080 one? The main use for it is playing games, browing web, photoshop, and occasionally movies (so I don't mind having some black bars watching 1080 movies) I always thought having 120 more pixels was nice for games, desktop, and everything else... Any recommendation of a particular model? Are you familiar with the Asus VH236H? Hehe But now that you mention it... it would be nice tho, if you turn on the car's light before starting it, that the lights dims when you actually start the car in rF2! Would add to the realism Maybe they will do this when they better simulate the starter? Yeah I know, I'm sorry But, you know, computers somewhat grows on you, and you becomes relatively dependent on them! I know I'd have a rough time passing 1 week without! So when I woke up yesterday, I thought I would be without one for a while, specially after my computer stopped initializing my g27... I thought that the mobo was gone! That's why I mentioned in the first line right away that it wasn't THAT bad, but still! Have I been richer, and been able to replace whatever the day it breaks, then I probably wouldn't even posted, so the inability to replace broken parts added to the drama a bit!
Dont worry, when i broke my first HDD (some years ago) i thought it was the end of the world, after some years and some broken PC parts you get use to it, that the PC parts have a lifetime and can be broken.
As far as the monitor is concerned I don't really know for certain at what size the resolutions are capable of being higher than the standard HD or 1920 X 1200 that you have. I would like to think that the 2550's are available in 24" but like I said, I don't know. For your power issue with the A/C, this is a serious issue, especially if your system power supply and monitor don't have circuitry that will prevent damage for lower power situations. One of the first things you do when looking at a site to design a network is a power survey to find out how stable the power is. If the power is found to have to much fluctuation, as you do with that A/C then power conditioning is required for the servers and any system that uses that power. You ask about UPS devices and those would be good if you spent the money to purchase the right type for your situation. The typical UPS runs on normal power unless there is an interruption in which case it changes to the battery. This won't do you any good with what you have going on. You need a UPS that runs on constant battery power and only uses the normal current to keep the battery charged. This will ensure that your system and monitor don't get damaged from low power issues when your A/C turns on. Keep in mind that either system has the have enough power to be able to run your system and anything else plugged into them for at least 5 minutes. Pay attention to the wattage of your power supply, the power requirements of your monitor, printer, wheel and any other device that you want to protect. Unfortunately, those types of UPS devices are rather pricey and usually start at around $1500 US. As you can tell, this is likely not a good option for you. On the other hand, if you have experience working with household wiring, then you could see if there is an available slot on the houses main breaker panel for another breaker, and if so run a dedicated wire to either the A/C or the socket you have your computer stuff connected to. I would suggest a minimum of a 20 amp breaker in that situation.
I don't have a multimeter, but I could ask my father to bring his next time he comes around. That would tell me exactly what is happening with the current. Regarding the UPS, I didn't knew about the differences between the UPS... I sort of assumed they all ran on battery that is charged by the plugged in wire, except when out of electricity. I looked on the APC website, and found this model, which I could get in the 100-200$ range on eBay, APC RS 1000VA. You can read about it here: http://www.apc.com/products/resourc...ase_sku=BR1000G-JP&total_watts=200&tab=models The interesting bits were: -Battery-protected and surge-only outlets Reserves power capacity and run time for connected equipment that require UPS battery back-up while providing surge only protection for less critical equipment -Boost and Trim Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) Gives higher application availability by correcting low and high voltage conditions without using the battery (not available on all models). -Power conditioning Protects connected loads from surges, spikes, lightning, and other power disturbances. Do you think it would be appropriate? Hmm, sort of answered my own question... just noticed the ouput is 600w... is will be rather tight to plug in my tower/monitor/wheel/speakers. My comp power supply is 700w alone.. but prolly dont run at max capacity, but still... Regarding the wiring, I do not own an house, but rent an apartment, so I cannot do any mods to the wiring, but again, I never done something like this, so attempting it would be risky. My father could, but again, the breaker panel is in another room, and running the wire won't be so easy... unless we don't run it thru the walls/roof.... but I dunno how safe that might be. I forgot to mention tho, the A/C power wire isn't long enough to reach the closest wall plug, so I used an outdoor extension (you know, those big orange extension that can power on high voltage tools) to plug in the wall. I checked to see if the wire runs hot, but it doesn't... Could it haves something to do with the light dimming when it starts? The extension itself isn't the longest you can find, but I doubt you can find 3ft of these either... so it must be something like 12-20 ft or so... Any suggestions to deal with an A/C that the wire isn't long enough to reach the plug? Thank you much for your time by the way, I hope to make a wise decision on all this and be safe with the choice I make. The A/C was bought almost specially to cool down the room the computer is in, which happens to be our bedroom as well... so having to turn it off to run the comp is a bit of a bummer! But since yesterday, I religiously turn it off every time the comp is on... don't wanna risk some more!
If you don't own, but rent the apartment, perhaps talking to the landlord about the issues you are facing might get some positive results for you. The extension cord that you mention sounds like it would be fine. The largest concern when it comes to extension cords is that people often try and use the smallest cheapest ones out there and when they get hot they start fires. The issue you are having I am sure is just that the air conditioner is putting quite a load on the apartment wiring and electric and that is why the lights dim when it starts. You said you purchased it used if I am not mistaken, so there might even be some damage to the unit that you don't know about that is causing this. If you know anyone in the A/C business that you can talk to about the issue, see what they think about it. Most likely though it is just that you are pulling too much of a load when the compressor of the air conditioner starts. The UPS device that you linked is interesting, but I would have to do a bit of research on their technology in that in order determine how well it might work in your conditions. I am not familiar with what they say is built into that unit so don't know how it functions. Once I do some more reading on it I will let you know if it would be a suitable device to help protect your equipment.
