Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but since it's the Help section, and I need help. here goes...I have a 19" CRT monitor that I've had for about 3-4 years now, and just tonight the bottom part of the screen has a purple haze to it. The taskbar at the bottom is now purple. I thought 1 of my kids had changed some colors, but when I move it to the top of the screen, it is blue, like it's supposed to be. I can move it over to my 15" crt and it looks fine, only on my 19". Is my monitor finally going out?

It looks like your monintor needs to be de gaussed (not sure that's how it's spelt) Check your menu options on your monitor for a symbol that looks like a U shaped magnet with a circle/cross through it. When a magnetic field is passed close to your monitor (possibly a large speaker magnet) It will misalign your CRT and cause the colors to be off. In the past, I've actually used a drill (not a cordless one) to degauss my monitor. Most TV repair shops have a "wand" thingy that will fix this problem as well.

Have you tried to deguass(sp?) it?

Funny we both posted simutaneously and niether of us knows how to spell it.

I don't know what happened, I turned it off, to unplug my 15" and hook up my PJ that I just got done building, ( YAY!) and now it's back to normal. I'll keep in mind what you guys said, and try that next time it happens. Thanks!

also watch for magnets near your monitor.

It's wierd, this has never happened before. I have 2 speaker monitors on each side and above my crt monitors. They have 8" woofers, built in amps, and I'm sure the magnet on the woofers is good size, but they've been there for years, and it hasn't happened before. I'm wondering if 1 of the kids brought something in here with them while they were on the computer today...

Hi there,

By any chance could the monitor have been picked up and dropped very slightly? If you drop a TV or a monitor and it's undamaged otherwise, you will almost always notice a discoloration on the part that hit. Normally degauss will do the trick as far as getting rid of it, but unfortunately most TVs don't have it, so I've had more than one friend drop his TV just a bit and then curse out the green blob that existed in the corner from then on

I've never tried the drill trick or checking about the idea of a magnetic wand to degauss, but it seems like it would make sense!

Take care,
Matt

I don't know the cause (likely something magnetic got near it), but it fixed itself when you turned if off/on becaue most (prob all) crt tv's and monitors do an auto-degauss whenever you turn it on. Some also have a button on the front/back or a selection in the setup menu to degauss it.

Could have just happened 'naturally' too. Happened with one of my TVs...just turned it on one day to find green distortion down the bottom of my screen. Went to pick up a degausing coil from local tv repair shop. They said that on rare occaisons a charge will build up at the edges of the screen/tube.

May I ask how much something like this costs? Did you rent/borrow it, or just purchase it outright?

Thanks!
Matt

My friend worked at the place so I'm not totally sure...seen them retail online (NEW) for $40-$60...on ebay (USED) for half that.

AKA poorly shielded speakers.

I don't think it was the speakers, They're Mackie 824's and have been in the same spot, above and on each side of the same monitor for over 2 years, and it's never happened before...unless the shielding goes bad? don't know....

If they're shielded it's done mechanically, so there's nothing to go bad on it. Newer monitors auto degauss periodically to prevent a charge from building up as previously mentioned. I once brought a 12" unshielded subwoofer within a foot of my monitor without thinking and it did look pretty cool, but then I thought better of it and put it back over on the other side of my room where it belonged. I degaussed and everything was fine except for a bit of a dark spot towards the bottom of the screen the stayed there for a couple days then faded away. Everything looks fine now. I wouldn't worry about your monitor. I've had my Samsung 955DF for almost 5 years now and it looks as good as ever.