| All this video card and monitor business sounds fairly complicated although, if it's all running right, it's no big deal. Only when something goes wrong in the process do you need to get involved. So what can go wrong? Here's a short list: Your cables might be disconnected. If the cable from the video card to your monitor isn't firmly connected, all sorts of strange images can show up onscreen. Or, sometimes, absolutely nothing at all shows up. Cable problems are like that. So if you have a video problem, you should always check your connections, including the power cable. And while you're at it, make sure that you don't have any bent pins on your cable plugs. Your monitor might need adjusting. Most monitors have the same type of picture controls as your TV set contrast, brightness, and even vertical and horizontal hold on some models. Some monitors let you adjust the size and position of the display image itself. If your display doesn't look right, adjust it. tip  | To keep your monitor in tip-top shape, avoid dusty areas and strong magnetic fields. You should also use a soft, static-free cloth (or special "screen cleaner" wet pads) to clean your monitor screen at least once a week. |
You might have a bad monitor/card combination. Believe it or not, some newer video cards don't work with some older monitors. In particular, you can't use a higher-resolution card with a lower-resolution monitor. Check with your dealer to make sure that you have the right monitor/card combination. Your video card might be inserted improperly. The video card is just like any other expansion card in your computer. If the video card isn't seated in its slot properly, it won't work right. Your video card might be set up incorrectly. Some video cards use either separate software programs or switches on the card itself to adapt to a particular monitor and system. If the card's switches are set wrong, the display might not work at all. Check your card's switch settings against those recommended in the card's documentation. Your drivers might be set up incorrectly. If you've loaded the wrong video driver for your video card, you could get gibberish on your screen. If Windows doesn't recognize your video card, it will run a generic video driver which will display the lowest possible resolution. It's also possible that Windows will recognize the wrong video card, mistaking your card for another card and causing all sorts of havoc. As is the case when installing any new device, you should always double-check your driver setup. You might need a new video driver. Check with the manufacturer of your video card to make sure that you have the latest version of their video driver. Older drivers might not work with newer versions of Windows. Your monitor might be on the fritz. If your TV can go on the fritz, your PC monitor can go on the fritz, too. If you get lots of lines onscreen, or smoke out the back of the monitor, or if nothing at all happens, suspect the worst. Your video card might be bad. Enough said.
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