Unexplainable Monitor Activities

[Khaotik55]

...or at least I can't explain them.

Anyways, I've been having weird stuff happen to my 19" Envision monitor.
(1280x1024 5:4)

It will randomly pop open the menu and start turning down the brightness out of nowhere. (Without me pressing the button.)

This happened last year and went away after a couple of days like nothing.
I didn't do anything to fix it what so ever, and now it's starting to do it again.

All of the buttons function properly when it's not changing settings by itself, and none of the buttons are pressed down or damaged.

It will happen randomly too, from 5 seconds in between brightness changes, all the way to 5 minutes. What the hell could this be? It's like my monitor is possessed.

 

[H2SO4]

It's very probably possessed by bad hardware. The surface of the buttons may look intact but their microswitch mechanisms (behind) may not be. It may not even be the buttons themselves but the circuitry which they attach to.

In any case, it's not a software issue. Very few monitor drivers have the capability to pop open and control those OSD monitor menus. Unless yours just happens to be in the "very few" category, there is absolutely no theoretical way for that to be caused by anything inside your Windows installation - it's pure hardware.

If the monitor is no longer under warranty and you're reasonably handy with a screwdriver, try opening it up and jiggling the front button assembly around just a little... reseat the connectors (if any)... that sort of thing.

 

[Khaotik55]

It's very probably possessed by bad hardware. The surface of the buttons may look intact but their microswitch mechanisms (behind) may not be. It may not even be the buttons themselves but the circuitry which they attach to.

In any case, it's not a software issue. Very few monitor drivers have the capability to pop open and control those OSD monitor menus. Unless yours just happens to be in the "very few" category, there is absolutely no theoretical way for that to be caused by anything inside your Windows installation - it's pure hardware.

If the monitor is no longer under warranty and you're reasonably handy with a screwdriver, try opening it up and jiggling the front button assembly around just a little... reseat the connectors (if any)... that sort of thing.

Ok I'll try it a bit later.

But I'll add one more thing, the buttons are also not sensitive, I can put some pressure on it and it won't detect it being pressed unless I actually hear the click, so it's not a case of sensitive button. But like you said it may be whats "behind" the button that's causing the problem.

 

[H2SO4]

Ok I'll try it a bit later.

But I'll add one more thing, the buttons are also not sensitive, I can put some pressure on it and it won't detect it being pressed unless I actually hear the click, so it's not a case of sensitive button. But like you said it may be whats "behind" the button that's causing the problem.

Another thought - try disconnecting the monitor from the PC and leaving it switched on. If it happens again, even once, obviously there's no link to anything outside the monitor's own hardware.

(On the other hand, if it doesn't happen while disconnected from the PC, that doesn't necessarily prove it's not a hardware defect.)

 

[Digerati]

I think you've been looking for an excuse to get a nice widescreen!!

I am not aware of any monitors that allow software control of the monitors OSD - but that does not mean there are not any, I just don't know of any because monitors have been Plug 'n' Play for many years, relying on the graphics card. Did you install any software? You might go to Device Manager and uninstall any specific drivers if present, then reboot to start with the OS's generic PnP driver, then wait and see what happens.

When this happens, can you press or wiggle a button and make it stop?

Under normal circumstances, does it normally take just one button press to get to the brightness setting? That is, if you wanted to adjust the brightness, do you have to work your way through menu options to get to brightness? Or is there a brightness button? It would really be weird if the brightness adjustment was several layers deep in the menu, but still popping up out of the blue.

And is it ONLY brightness, or other settings too (wondering if the "Auto Adjust" feature is not what you are really seeing - one button push)?

I agree with H2SO4 with a slight modification and that is to see if it does this with another computer, since leaving it disconnected will likely put it to sleep with no signal.

Do you smoke around your computer? While the buttons may "feel" right, smoke particles blown (exhaled) at the display may have coated the switch contacts, then, like smoke residue does, started collecting dust. If you are comfortable opening up the monitor case, you might try blasting the switch contacts with electrical contact cleaner available at Radio Shack or some home improvement stores. Do not use water or other solvents not intended for electronics. If not comfortable, you might take it to a shop.

Also, switches, unless sealed, get dirty just sitting there, and often just working them cleans them off. I might suggest turning off the monitor and start pressing all the buttons a bunch of times.

 

[Khaotik55]

I think you've been looking for an excuse to get a nice widescreen!!
-Good idea.

Did you install any software?
-No

When this happens, can you press or wiggle a button and make it stop?
-I have 5 buttons, 1-Menu 2-Left 3-Right 4-Select 5-Power

What it does is it's pressing button 2 by itself, at random times, and random durations, from .5 of a second long, a second long, and sometimes even 10 seconds long. If I press any other button it will halt it until I let up.

Under normal circumstances, does it normally take just one button press to get to the brightness setting?
-Yeah, if you press 2(left) it opens up brightness directly(and lowers it if you hold)

And is it ONLY brightness, or other settings too?
-It's whatever menu I'm on, it goes left. (2 is being held randomly by itself)
So if it pops up by itself, and I go to the main menu, it will start scrolling as if I'm holding down button 2.

Do you smoke around your computer?
-No, gross habit. :sarc:

 

[Digerati]

Well, that leaves trying it on another computer. I think the problem is in the monitor. Have you scanned for malware just to be safe?

 

[Khaotik55]

Well, that leaves trying it on another computer. I think the problem is in the monitor. Have you scanned for malware just to be safe?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm clean as far as viruses or anything of the sort.

Now that I have the time, I'm going to try it on another computer then take it apart and clean it real good... or something...

UPDATE:

Well it had the same problem on another PC so it's definitively the monitor. So I proceeded to take it apart like any other monitor I've taken apart expecting it to disassemble quite easily. However the bezel refused to come off with all of the screws out so I just punched it extremely hard out of frustration and not caring anymore, and it seemed to have fixed the issue. A little bit of knuckle skin later.

(I was kinda hoping it would break though... I want a 25.5 Widescreen.)

 

[Digerati]

Ah, the ol' try a bigger hammer routine. Well, I am glad it worked - hope it stays fixed. That said, don't let that stop you from getting a new monitor, you can always go dual monitors. Once you do, you will wonder how you ever lived with just one!

 

[H2SO4]

Ah, the ol' try a bigger hammer routine. Well, I am glad it worked - hope it stays fixed. That said, don't let that stop you from getting a new monitor, you can always go dual monitors. Once you do, you will wonder how you ever lived with just one!

You're being saluted by my 6 megapixels worth of screen

Seriously, even lone monitors in the 24" class now feel like I'm peeping through the mail slot in the door.

Huge monitors and lots of 'em 4TW!

 

[Khaotik55]

Ah, the ol' try a bigger hammer routine. Well, I am glad it worked - hope it stays fixed. That said, don't let that stop you from getting a new monitor, you can always go dual monitors. Once you do, you will wonder how you ever lived with just one!

You're being saluted by my 6 megapixels worth of screen

Seriously, even lone monitors in the 24" class now feel like I'm peeping through the mail slot in the door.

Huge monitors and lots of 'em 4TW!

Well I use my 19, and a smaller 17 right beside it. Also it didn't totally fix my problem, but it sure helped, now it just ghosts-out on me like 3 times a day instead of roughly ~200.