Monitor entering power save mode

[anothergunnut]

I'm having a problem with my monitor entering the power save mode while I am still working; I stop for a second and it enters power save mode. It's really frustrating! Of course, it's not consistent; some times it enters power save mode and other times it doesn't.

The computer is a three year old Dell Studio running Windows 7 and the monitor is a Dell ST2010. I have the monitor hooked up using the HDMI connection. When I first got the computer, I couldn't figure out how to get the monitor to work with VGA so I just used the HDMI connection.

I have checked the windows power saving feature and it is set to reasonable idle times. I tried to swap monitors from a different computer but wasn't succesful. My other monitor is VGA only and I couldn't get it to work at all with the original computer (as previously noted, I couldn't get the original monitor to work with VGA). I tried to hook the questionable monitor to my other computer using the HDMI connection but I couldn't get it to work. I tried rebooting the computer with the questionable monitor connected via HDMI hoping that it would auto detect the digital signal but it didn't work.

I am not sure if I have a software problem, a problem with my monitor, or possible with my graphics card. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[dchang0]

You're gonna have to borrow another HDMI monitor or computer for diagnosis.

The most likely culprits are:

HDMI cable failing. Common with cheaper HDMI cables as the contacts corrode over time.

Monitor going bad. Was common when there was a spate of faulty Chinese knock-off capacitors installed in tons of computer equipment by nearly all manufacturers. I have seen many monitors fail slowly recently as these capacitors are finally blowing up.


I've only rarely seen a video card in a computer go bad. They do, but not as often as the two above.

[anothergunnut]

I replaced the HDMI cable since I had one on hand but, unfortunately, that didn't make a difference. How come I can't get my VGA monitor to work on the computer that I've been using HDMI on? Is there a setting I need to change?

[dchang0]

Okay, so you ruled out the HDMI cable (but not the HDMI monitor).

There are three alternate reasons why your VGA output may not work on the computer (assuming it's got a VGA port to attach to).

1) The VGA port is on the built-in, integrated video included on the motherboard and is being overridden by an added-on "daughter" video card that has HDMI on it.

2) If both the VGA port and HDMI are supplied by the same card, either the motherboard or a daughtercard, then a BIOS or firmware setting is disabling the VGA in favor of the HDMI

3) Your VGA port or the VGA cable you are using is broken (very unlikely).

#1 above is the most likely. Ironically, you can often fix #1 by changing a BIOS setting, as in #2. But if you do have an add-on video card, it is often easiest and most conclusive to simply pull it out of the system so that the motherboard's VGA port is absolutely the only video-out device on the system.

[anothergunnut]

Ended up replacing the monitor. This seems to have fixed the problem although it was an intermittent problem so time will tell.

[anothergunnut]

Spoke too soon as the problem still exists. Might be time for a new computer...