Screen problem

[Carlo]

Dear All,

Yesterday for the first time i encountered a new problem on my d8b monitor. While changing from one session to another one, the screen goes black for 1 second then returns back. After a while, when using the mouse and trying to do some compressing and EQ'ing, the screen started flickering and then it comes back to normal. I removed the big cable power connector and restarted the d8b but the problem persisted. Could it be a Video card problem, dirty connectors?

Regards

Carlo

[arjepsen]

My first suspicion would be related to the montor.
Check that the vga cable from the cpu unit to the screen is conecctd securely on both ends (detach and reattach it)
Another problem could be the monitor itself. How old is it? Ive had monitors that needed some old caps changed, and then they were fine again.

[LewisAlexander2018]

It's possible, only possible that if there's no signal from the card to monitor that the GPU (Graphics card) may, only may, have failed. I doubt it, but GPU's sometimes do that, especially if a capacitor or two might have bulged / leaked. depends on the card installed. Most likely though, check the cables are positively inserted and locked, reset your display, etc. Is the monitor in question a recent, modern display? if so, either one of two things are at play. 1: the display isn't detecting VGA directly and as such might need setting up to do so, or the refresh rate generated is too low for the display. don't forget, this machine's nearly 20 years old now. I hope this helps, if not, sorry, tried my best.

lew

[Carlo]

Hi Guys

Thanks for your feedback but ive been using this LCD Viewsonic monitor for the past 5 years however i replaced the monitor with another Viewsonic monitor of my second d8b and also a new VGA cable and the problem persisted. I have also re-seated the VGA card and the problem seemed to have been solved but only for 24 hrs. Today the problem cropped up again after 2 hrs of work.

Im suspecting its the VGA card. Is it possible to change the PCI slot to another one? Will it work?

Regards

Carlo

[LewisAlexander2018]

Hi Guys

Thanks for your feedback but ive been using this LCD Viewsonic monitor for the past 5 years however i replaced the monitor with another Viewsonic monitor of my second d8b and also a new VGA cable and the problem persisted. I have also re-seated the VGA card and the problem seemed to have been solved but only for 24 hrs. Today the problem cropped up again after 2 hrs of work.

Im suspecting its the VGA card. Is it possible to change the PCI slot to another one? Will it work?

Regards

Carlo

Well, the logic board is a rather standard config, as the GPU is PCI based, try it in another port. if it fails, it's the GPU. have a look on the card if there are any caps bulging or leaking, if so, the card's screwed. I think I'm right that the card is an ATI Rage 128 8mb card, it's been a long time since I've used one, sadly never owned one, but have done some service / maintenance on a client's unit so I'm a little rusty. The GPU would definitely be the cause here. should be details of the card somewhere on the card, if so, ebay job.

good luck sir

lew

[Carlo]

Thanks Lew
For some reason its not the ATI RAGE...have a look at the pics please.

[Carlo]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tfsrgkktjtx5egs/GPU2.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9qv5xwkl2mop6n1/GPU1.jpg?dl=0

i dont know how to attached images. Ive sent the dropbox link

[LewisAlexander2018]

I need someone to look at these for me as I'm blind, but from what I remember, it's a form of an ATI PCI graphics card. If you could get hold of a PCI ATI Rage Pro or similar, try it, if not, god knows, but it's looking like the GPU is failing, have you tried moving the PCI card yet? also just out of chance, have you cleaned the inside of the D8B computer unit with compressed air, etc? it's possible that with all the years of dust, etc the PCI slots might have a bit of crap in them. did this with a G3 beige tower I took on and by heck it needed a full service, worth it though at the time.

[Carlo]

Hi Lew,

Thanks for your input. I really appreciate. I have moved pci slot and till now the screen played no jokes on me...its working fine but this is the exact behavior of yesterday. It worked fine for 5hrs then today it started with the problem after 2hrs of usage. I will clean the slots as you have said if the problem crops up again and in the meantime its worth finding an ATI Rage pro.

Thanks buddy

Carlo

[LewisAlexander2018]

one thing to try would be this and this is what I do with certain boards. isoproponal cleaner and cue tip cleaners on the contact strip and carefully clean the board. there maybe debris / gunk / corrosion on the board, remember that GPU's 20 years old plus. blow out the PCI channels with compressed air carefully and an ANTI-Static brush. if you deal with amazon or ebay, have a look for antistatic cleaning brushes for sensitive equipment, these work wonders, even with motorised faders, etc. a good service kit for consoles like this would be a bottle of isopropenol cleaner, cloths (ideally antistatic), paper towel for the case, etc. DeOxit for pots and inputs, Antistatic brushes and either compressed air or one of those mini air blowers (not an air compressor as oil and water would come through the air line). If the console isn't maintained well, it can fail, that's console and computer / PSU. even the fans, etc.

lew