What is up with my monitor??

[Pixelated]

Sometimes it flickers so badly it's almost headache-inducing to look at it, especially if I'm trying to watch a video.

Today, when I left for work, it was exactly like that. I'm home now, and the picture is as steady as a rock.

The computer has been running all day (I leave a 'white noise' video running while I'm gone. Don't ask why; I'm sure the cats don't care ... )

So it has gone from a mess to a perfect picture in the space of about six hours ...with nobody doing anything to it. (Unless my cats have some skills that I'm not aware of ... )

Aaand once I started "doing stuff" on my computer ... reading CS posts while listening to a video ... the flickering started up again. The damn thing seems to be annoyed at being bothered.

[csquared]

First guess might be something overheating. While your gone, system is running low power. Start using it, and things hear up.

Check to see if your fans are all running and free of dust.

[Pixelated]

Thank you; I'll do that.

[Arcus]

This can be caused by a loose video cable, a failing video cable, a failing/overheating video card, and a failing internal power supply in the monitor itself.

[Mikkel]

I'm embarrassed to tell how many google searches and days I wasted because my computer turned off every time I did stand up. I checked every setting and everything, except the power cord behind the couch. It was loose in the socket and every time I stood up, the computer lost power.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I'm embarrassed to tell how many google searches and days I wasted because my computer turned off every time I did stand up. I checked every setting and everything, except the power cord behind the couch. It was loose in the socket and every time I stood up, the computer lost power.

Really old advice: "When all else fails, make sure it is plugged in."

[Buzzard]

On the happy side of things, heat issues can be pretty easy to deal with, if that happens to be the case. It's usually just dust and fuzz that can block airflow. Get rid of that, and things have an actual chance to cool themselves down under load.

...just don't use a vacuum cleaner. They end up generating a lot of static electrical charge, which is a REALLY BAD THING around delicate electronics. Shop air compressors aren't exactly a good thing either, as they're going to end up with pressures that can do really unhappy things to your parts. Use the cans of 'electronics duster' that just blow a clean blast of gas. (fairly cheap and available most places that have an electronics/computer department)

Depending on how dust-choked things are, you may want to take the case outside before giving it the blow-out.

The computer case will likely be easy to open, as they're generally MADE to be opened by the user. (As opposed to a VCR or DVD, where the customer is never expected to see the inside of) Turn off, unplug, and see if there's some glaring dust problem.

[Pixelated]

Thank you all; I will do a good cleaning-out (NOT with the vacuum!) of various parts of my monitor and computer and whatnot.

However, I have recently made a fascinating discovery ... the flickering stops if when I shut down 11 or 12 of the 15 or so windows I have open ...

[csquared]

That, to me, is more evidence of overheating. The higher the demand on the CPU, the hotter it will get.