My Widescreen Monitor Now Thinks It's Square(ish)

Flint · 09-14-2010, 10:11 PM

Am I reading this right: you used to be able to display at this resolution, and now you can't? I would do a full hardware check. Is the video card overheating, under-powered, not well-seated? Edit: If your video comes directly off the motherboard (no "video card") please ignore this whole post.

shut down PC and remove power cord to the PC's power supply
open up the case, maybe take it outside and spray out the dust bunnies with some canned air
an air compressor works even better...but: DON'T SPIN THE FANS (you'll wear the bearings out) . . . DO NOT USE A VACUUM CLEANER
find the video card and make sure the fans/heatsinks aren't gunked up with dust and fibers
unsecure any latches or anything holding it in place and remove it, then put it back in (checking that it is "well seated")
if power is pulled from the power supply (as opposed to directly off the motherboard) make sure the right things are plugged in
take your clean PC back inside and plug everything back...sometimes an unplug/replug, unseat/reseat "magically" fixes mystery problems

xoxoxoBruce · 09-14-2010, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

[*]an air compressor works even better...but: DON'T SPIN THE FANS (you'll wear the bearings out)

Really? I don't know much about computers, but quite a bit about bearings, and I'm curious how you came up with that?

Flint · 09-15-2010, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

an air compressor works even better...but: DON'T SPIN THE FANS (you'll wear the bearings out)

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Really? I don't know much about computers, but quite a bit about bearings, and I'm curious how you came up with that?

My reasoning was that: in order to move the amount of air that a PC fan is designed to move, it moves at the RPM it is designed to operate at. It is designed to spin at that RPM for a reasonable lifetime (number of revolutions). If you accelerate the RPM of the device x1000 by blowing an air compressor directly into the fan, it stands to reason that you are exceeding the RPM it is designed to operate at, as well as "adding years to its life" by burning through a bazillion of the revolutions the manufacturer designed it to complete before failure.

Therefore, if using an air compressor to blow out a PC, stick a pencil or something in the fan to hold it in place so you don't wear out the device unnecessarily. Maybe you can use a more correct mechanical terminology to describe why that is.

xoxoxoBruce · 09-15-2010, 11:12 AM

I think your concerns are unfounded, but your method can't hurt anything, as long as the fan gets cleaned.

09-14-2010, 10:11 PM	#1
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	Am I reading this right: you used to be able to display at this resolution, and now you can't? I would do a full hardware check. Is the video card overheating, under-powered, not well-seated? Edit: If your video comes directly off the motherboard (no "video card") please ignore this whole post. shut down PC and remove power cord to the PC's power supply open up the case, maybe take it outside and spray out the dust bunnies with some canned air an air compressor works even better...but: DON'T SPIN THE FANS (you'll wear the bearings out) . . . DO NOT USE A VACUUM CLEANER find the video card and make sure the fans/heatsinks aren't gunked up with dust and fibers unsecure any latches or anything holding it in place and remove it, then put it back in (checking that it is "well seated") if power is pulled from the power supply (as opposed to directly off the motherboard) make sure the right things are plugged in take your clean PC back inside and plug everything back...sometimes an unplug/replug, unseat/reseat "magically" fixes mystery problems __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

09-15-2010, 11:12 AM	#4
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	I think your concerns are unfounded, but your method can't hurt anything, as long as the fan gets cleaned. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

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