Display looks strange

[Gilthanaz]

I just started my computer for the first time today, and the display seems all funky, i thought maybe it was just my contacts hating me but it actually is very poor quality compaired to usual..kinda fuzzy and hard to read, especailly letters. Changing the resolution does nothing. Note that i havent changed any video card or monitor settings. Could my monitor be going bad? Its control buttons on the front below the screen seem to have stopped working. It also kind of hurts my eyes to look at. How do you change the refresh rate, and could this be the problem, even though i havent messed with it?

[eagle1]

Yep... it's probably your monitor going bye bye!
If you don't have anything that can interfere with the monitor signals (like unshielded speakers, microwave ovens, blah blah blah) and different refresh rate settings don't do it, then try testing another monitor. That way you will know for sure!!

[Gilthanaz]

Yeah..stupid question, but I cant seem to find where I change the refresh rate, and also im getting fonts, icons, and other things changing size on me randomly without me changing settings, and things generally looking distorted.

[custompccases]

Running windows?

Right click on your desktop, go to properties, settings tab, advanced button on the lower right hand corner, monitor tab, then finally from the drop down pick your desired hz.

[Gilthanaz]

Yes custom, thats where i went to change it in the first place, but the option simply wasnt there, there is no dropdown menu under the monitor options. I thought i was going crazy or something because I couldnt find it, even though i changed it less than a month ago. Stranger things are happening now, animation is jittery and dragging and moving windows sometimes causes them to still show up in the old placement. Unplugging/resetting my monitor hasnt done anything. Im using win98 by the way.

[John Prophet]

"Right click on your desktop, go to properties, settings tab, advanced button on the lower right hand corner, monitor tab, "

it can be different depending on vid card etc...but usually its not "monitor"..usually its "adapter" tab. But not ALL of em show a refresh rate on the adapter tab...some do but its only a choice of "default" and "optimal" lol

some have a thing for "list all modes"..so you click that and itlist everything, lol....so youd probably want to set it around 70 hz and whatever color scheme you like.

SOME COMPS will ONLY show adapter refresh rate in SAFE MODE...so you have to go to safe mode to see/adjust it.

But if the monitor is losing strength (tube gettin weak etc) you may have to lower the settigns some...cuz higher refresh makes it work harder etc. I use 800x600, 16mil colors at around 70 or 72hz. I know most peeps like higher resolution and colors though.

[eagle1]

If you are not just getting blurry text or images but also animation problems, now it COULD be the video card!

Why don't you test some more (i.e. running games, etc.) to be sure is not the video card.
Also, if you have another monitor, then please connect it to the video card. If you keep getting the same problems on the other monitor then it has to be something with the vc.

Also, try updating the drivers.!