I have a monitor that Bzzzt... clicks off for a second gerrrt.... every once in a while and Bzzzt... flickers at the edges. It seems to do this Blink-blop.... only randomly and it doesn't happen every time I ...<><><>... use it. The cables seem okay and plugged in nice and snug. Any Ideas what's going on, because it's about as Bzzzt...annoying as reading this pos…

What kind of monitor (make & model)? Is it old? Any new hardware/ sofware?
What OS? Have you checked Control Panel > Display > Settings > Advanced > Monitor > Properties > Troubleshoot (XP)

Or the Device Manager?

Are there any "reset" buttons on the monitor itself?

Thanks for the reply,

It’s a 4 or 5 year old 15" CRT that I got for free from an elementary school. I've been using it now for 2 or 3 years on XP Home Ed. and its worked fine. The only thing I've done differently is I've moved my computer desk in the last month and I've been playing an old but new to me video game... a lot. (Lords of Might and Magic) However the flickering sometimes occurs even when I’m just tooling around in windows. I've adjusted the refresh rate to as low as I can tolerate, and that seemed to have helped for a little while. I'll check the brand and look for reset buttons when I get home.

Does it bzzzzt or flicker or blink-blop for a little while or just momentarily? If it does it for long enough, I would seriously recommend tapping the side, top and back of the monitor - if it suddenly sorts itself out as a response to one of your taps, then you know you have a loose or defective component inside the monitor and it's time to throw it out and buy another.

If it makes no difference, then it could be your graphics card that needs attention.

Another test for this would be to try a different monitor for a little while if you can borrow one from somewhere for a short period.

I was afraid someone might suggest smacking th monitor because I do that a lot and it doesn’t do anything… and I was worried because I don’t have a video card but P.O.S. motherboard mounted video. Could this mean my motherboard is about to a-splode?

I don't think there's enough evidence to condemn it just yet but it's a definite possibility. Have you tried re-installing the latest drivers for the on-board video?

Well I don't have "the internets" connection at home so I'm kind of hosed for new drivers. I might bring it to work some time and see what I can download.

Can drivers really affect a monitor so severly that it will start to flicker and pop? Also, when the monitor blinks out and then back on, does that mean it tottaly lost signal or that its lost power?

Shake the monitor in the air or run round the room with it, that should help

Why not just suggest him do the hammer throw?

Is there a smell of ozone or burning components? I know that Royal Monitors a few years ago had resisters in back that would burn up and cause a fire.

Blinkey is next to my 2nd floor window... I might run the Mircosoft Open Window Gravity Test. I bet it won't blink after that?