So, I was watching a movie on YouTube when I first noticed scanning lines distorting the picture on the bottom 1" of my Acer computer monitor. I figured it was embedded in the movie and thought no more about it until after the movie ended the scanning streaks didn't stop. Drat, I thought, now I'll need to buy a new monitor, but a second thought was that maybe I'd made a change that could be corrected, and I began troubleshooting, developing more theories, including the idea that maybe the problem was the display card and not the monitor. On the second day of wrestling with it I looked for helpful videos on YouTube and discovered that Acer scanning issues was a large topic, but many of them were produced by individuals who couldn't speak clear English and I got deeper into the weeds. Today was day three and I realized nothing I tried made any difference, and I hadn't learned anything. I'd even updated the display drivers. Maybe I could at least determine whether the trouble is in the computer or the monitor. But when I returned to the task I looked at the screen and it was a clear and pure as the day it was all new and fresh. The persistent scanning streaks were gone. The screen was normal as if it had fixed itself.
Maybe there are unseen spirits and an after-life.
Did you reseat the cables? I've had what I thought were glitchy monitors only to have the cable fall off the back at one point - reseating it and (gasp!), even attaching the screws fixed the problem.
In fact I did re-seat the VGA Monitor Cable but it didn't solve the scanning streaks, although I learned something else...
It so happens that the Acer Monitor has both VGA and HDMI inputs, so I wondered if switching might help, but I discovered that my HP8300 Mini-Tower does not have HDMI but does have "Display Port", for which I don't have the right cables.
I don't understand the scanning lines. Is the monitor an analog CRT like older computers used to be?
Answer: VGA is an analog video process, whereas HDMI & "Display Port" are digital.
The ACER Monitor is not CRT but is a flat screen computer monitor.
You might want to consider getting a Display Port to HDMI adapter (should be available on Amazon). If not, then you can definitely get a Display Port to DVI adapter, and then a DVI to HDMI adapter (I have both). You can probably get higher resolution and a better quality signal from the digital ports on your display card.
Days of struggle with screens and aspect ratios got resolved, much because of help from here at part15org, but as tends to happen, solving one problem opens the door to the next trouble.
All at once I found that I couldn't switch between my two computers using TightVNC, which has worked for years. My brain became foggy and I couldn't remember how it is supposed to work, so I took a blunt approach and uninstalled/reinstalled TightVNC. This went well at first, getting me back in touch with the other computer screen, but when I logged off I couldn't get back to the remote computer. I was back where I started.
For now I need to physically work from each computer until I get re-educated.
Things got a lot worse when my Acer Monitor started having half the screen get streaky every other second. So I took action.
I ordered a converter cable as recommended by Artisan Radio, Display Port to HDMI.
While I was on Amazon I noticed I could get a new monitor for a very fair price, so I ordered one.
The first step was to try the Display Port to HDMI Cable on the broken monitor, but that didn't fix it.
So I installed the New Monitor and BINGO, it works wonderfully!
By latest count that leaves me with three defective monitors which I will open up and inspect for bad solders and blown capacitors.
I may not be a millionaire but I have a haughty attitude.
Also it's worth saying that the Display Port provides more distinct video quality than the VGA Output.
It is a very happy life now with a perfectly functioning monitor with no streaking and picture distortion. So I opened the little manual that comes with the monitor and feel a little bit insecure for reasons I will now discuss:
Connecting Your Monitor to the Computer
1. Power off the monitor and unplug the power source of the PC.
2. Connect the VGA cable (and I assume this could be set to the alternative, which would be the HDMI cable, but it doesn't say that).
a.) Make sure the monitor and PC are powered off;
b.) Connect the VGA cable to the PC.
3. Connect one end of the power adapter into the DC port of the monitor.
4. Connect the power adapter of the PC and the monitor into a power outlet nearby.
By now I am very worried that if any of the above was done in the wrong order something bad could happen, although it doesn't say what might happen.
On the rear of the monitor are 5 buttons, one of which is the power button. Here is what the manual says about it:
Power on/off the monitor. It indicates power on if the light remains on. (I have a big problem here because there is no light on either the front, back, or edge of the monitor. It gets more puzzling...) It indicates stand-by/power-saving mode if the light flashes.
Besides the fact that there is no light, there is also no explanation of the "stand-by/power-saving mode" or when I would use it.
I am very jittery about this new monitor because I feel that the slightest wrong move will cause it to break down.
What is your advice about how I can wisely manage this new monitor?
I never worry about those things, and just plug/unplug stuff in as required. I suppose it's possible that you could get some static discharge or power surge through the cables, but I've never had any issues over decades. Just don't try to plug an HDMI cable into a displayport, or vice versa. They look approximately the same but I tried once (stopping before attempting to seat it, but pins must have touched). Nothing really bad happened (I was too lazy to get a flashlight to see them properly), but I did have to power off the computer to reset the display adapter.
The main thing is the monitor instructions say plug the power jack into the monitor first not plug the power supply into the wall first. I assume it's the brick style with a/c cord in one side and the power cable out the other side. By having it in the monitor first they want a load on the power supply and the desktop together, where if you turn on the computer then plug in the power and last plug the power into the monitor may not be good for the power supply or the monitor. Basically you use the power switches to turn the monitor on not have it in the on position and then give it power from the adaptor. I think I know why, there may be a momentary surge from the power supply if you don't do it that way.
Once it hooked up it stays like that so doesn't matter any more, even if you unplug the power supply from the wall.
Another question coming up...
I end the day by putting the computer in SLEEP MODE.
When I do this the monitor briefly says NO SIGNAL, then it goes black.
Should I also push the POWER button to completely turn the monitor off?
Or, what?
@carl-blare You can, but not necessary. If you shut the computer down or to sleep no signal goes to the monitor so it goes blank after telling you no signal from the computer and it is sort of asleep too. Just leave it.