I have recently installed the Sony LCD SDM-HS73 monitor on my computer. I have had it for about a year but after my dad stopped using it because it was riddled with problems. I wanted to see if anyone had any information on what these problems were and how I could go about correcting them. It seems that every time that I change the resolution on the screen something goes wrong. Either the screen goes black and I have to unplug the power cable for a few seconds, or the screen begins to violently "slide" across the monitor. Also, sometimes when the monitor is turned off and turned back on, the screen turns bright red to amber to orange to blue and then finally goes black again. During that time I can't see what the computer it projecting onto the monitor, nor can I see the controls on the monitor itself. A persistent problem with the monitor is that the vertical center is incorrect, but I cannot change it. The first 1/2 inch of the top of the screen shows what should be the first 1/2 inch of the bottom of the screen. At the bottom of the screen it is cut off so I can barely see my tool bar. My drivers are all up-to-date and I have downloaded the diagnostic tool from the website, but to no avail.

Specs:
OS: XP Professional
Processor: AMD Athlon (xp) 3000+ 2.4 GHz
Memory: 1 GB RAM
Video Card: All-In-Wonder Radeon 9600 256MB

Sorry for the big post but I really need help

Please don't apologize for the "long" post. It is nice to have information instead of a one line telegraphic "HELP ME! " for a change.

You say that you have downloaded the diagnostic from the Sony website. I am not sure about the "to no avail" part, but suspect you have run the diagnostics they detected no problems? Or they gave you no new information, even while displaying the problems you already had observed? How thoroughly have you explored the use and capabilities of this diagnostic software? (My own experience with monitor diagnostics, limited, is that they rely on user feedback and don't provide much that familiarity with the monitor controls does not provide.)

If you have properly identified the monitor, and the drivers are up to date and properly installed, we can set those issues aside.

You have disconnected the HD15-HD15 video signal cable between the computer and the monitor, checked the pins alignment and cleaned them, and verified that the cable is the one that came with the monitor, right? If so, we can assume the computer - monitor cabling is OK.

Have you inspected and reseated your ATI card? That would be a good thing to do as well.

Have you checked to assure that the video frequency range specified on your computer is in the range specified for the monitor? (See the Operating Instructions and Setup Guide at http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/model-doc...pl?mdl=SDMHS73B for details if you do not have them.)

Does the OS (Start > Control Panel > Display > Settings > Display show the correct Monitor - Graphics Card relationship? This should be something like [Sony SDM-HS73 on Radeon 9600 xxx].

Have you uninstalled the monitor, and reinstalled it using the hardware install procedure or P-N-P? Problems can occur on first install which may be corrected by a reinstallation.

Some other possibilities:

Your dad apparently used this monitor on his machine. Were his problems identical to yours, or different? Knowing the answer could help evaluate the possibility that there is a problem with the interface between your computer setup and the monitor.

If the problems with the monitor are identical to those when your Dad was using it, the probability of a specific problem with the interface between your All-In-Wonder Radeon 9600 256MB and the monitor is reduced. Maybe not eliminated though.

If you wanted to be really sure about that, and your machine has an on board graphics chip, you could uninstall the ATI card and see if the same problems exist with the on board chip. You will need to do the software uninstall and installation of the on board graphic chip, and not just remove the ATI hardware. If the problems go away, or change, you'll have a new starting point for diagnostics.

Before making hardware changes, you make sure that the drivers for your ATI graphics board are current. If you can access ATI support, check to see if the board supports this monitor, or if there are known problems with it.

Hi, I am sorry to hear that you are having so much problem with you LCD. I also had some similar problem with mine but recently I found a great tech support site that help me deal we this problems. They also have free live support so you can get fast personal help.

Here is the page for Sony SDM-HS73P Support

Good luck

Gracy