I'm Having Monitor Issues... :(

[killalldude]

Hey guys. So basically this is what's happening at startup:

 

Startup

 

This weird 'fade away black out whatever you call it' has been happening for about a month now. I didn't really care about it because all it did was add a few extra seconds to startup... But now the same thing happens when I play Sims 3!! :mad:

 

Sims 3

 

I can hear the sound, but the screen is just black! I've tried updating my graphics card drivers and did a virus scan, none of these solved my problem. I played TBOGT and this doesn't happen. I don't know if it's a problem with the monitor or the video card, or possibly something else :eek:

 

Any help would be appreciated, I miss my Sims... :cry:

[Revan174]

Hmm... who makes your monitor and how old is it?

 

I had an <5 year old Samsung LCD flatscreen that did a similar fading-to-black thing a lot, but not in any specific game (it ended up going permanently black and being completely broken for no reason, turned out it was just a common fault in that monitor)

 

Have you seen if any other people have reported this problem, such as on the monitor company's support forums? It might be a common issue with that specific model, like my old one.

 

That's all I really know.

[killalldude]

As a matter of fact it is a Samsung, and on the back it says it was manufactured in December 2008. I just tried it on my parents computer and the same thing happens at startup, right after the manufacturer logo screen. I suppose this confirms that it's a problem with the monitor itself.

[Ryzza5]

What happens if you press Alt+Enter (play in a window instead of full screen)?

[killalldude]

It works fine in windowed mode... but when I go full-screen the problem still occurs.

[Ryzza5]

I've heard of this problem before with that game imparticular - have you Googled it already?

[killalldude]

Lol nope, I had no idea what to search for :o

[Ryzza5]

Try disabling crossfire

Sims 3 hard-locks my PC - Steam Users' Forums

[killalldude]

I looked into that, but I don't run crossfire so that doesn't really apply to me. However, I did open CCC and ran TS3, and for some reason it worked! Then I closed the Sims, closed CCC, and restarted the Sims and now it works. However I still have that random "fade out" at startup.

[Ryzza5]

It must be a graphics card/driver issue

[killalldude]

I've updated my graphics card drivers (I used drivers from ATI, as I have an ATI card) and nothing's changed. I also connected this monitor to my parents computer and it did that same "fade" thing right after the manufacturer splash screen.

[ScoobSTi]

It must be a graphics card/driver issue

 

He said he tried the monitor on his parents' computer and the same problem occurred. So it might be the monitor? If you got an old monitor (hell, even a CRT) lying around, try it and if the problem shows again it's probably the graphics card.

[Ryzza5]

It takes two to tango ;)

 

The monitor probably doesn't like some instruction coming from the graphics card, which fortunately you've been able to disable in the Catalyst control panel for now when playing the sims. I'd start saving for a new screen just in case it does die, though :)