BellaOnline Forums Computers PC Advice Problems with PC

I was wondering if anyone has experienced this, or could give me an idea what might be the problem?

I keep getting black horizontal lines - like some kind of electrical interference on my screen. It's like a series of black lines forming a 'shimmering' band about three inches in width. It comes and goes, but this morning it stayed there. I rebooted a few minutes ago, but it is still there.

Any ideas on what it might be?

With thanks,

Kerryanne.

Hi Kerryanne,

This could be caused by several issues including:

• Bad monitor
• Bad video card
• Interference

Bad Monitor
The easiest way to test this is to swap out another monitor (if you have one) to see if a different monitor produces the same result. If it does then you know the monitor is fine.

Bad Video Card
This is harder to test as swapping a video out is not a fast as switching a monitor. Basically you would need to get a new video card that is compatible with your system and swap the cards to see if this fixes the problem.

Interference
Some basic things to check around your monitor that can be causing interference:

• Fans
• Fluorescent light (located close to the computer)
• Wireless phones
• Cordless phones
• Printers

One way to test interference is to turn off everything else in the room and see if you still have the problem. If you don't then power things back on one at a time to see which appliance is causing the issue.

This is a tough problem because it involves hardware which can be difficult swap-out or test. If the computer is still under warranty you can call the manufacturer and have them help with the problem - with a possible free replacement!

Let me know how this works out.

Thanks for your help Allison. I have just read your response because my monitor got worse so that I was unable to see the screen for black lines.

I called a computer tech, and he said it was the old monitor - which was 9 years old. It also went very dark.

I now have a new one and things are going well. (I am amazed at how clear everything is now!)

Thanks so much for your help.

Kerryanne.