Viewsonic LCD: should i throw out or repair?

[misc9999]

Hi Experts,

I bought a Viewsonic LCD two years ago. Recently, I have been having problems with the ballast where if I turned it off and back on, the screen would not come back. So I left the monitor on all the time. This morning a whitish/greyish color scrolled onto the screen and then went to black. Now when I try to turn it off and on it goes to the whitish/greyish screen for ten seconds and then blanks off.

Is it worth repairing or should I just buy a new monitor?

Thanks,

Misc.

[ronallandottk]

Hmmm.

When it turns whitish or grayish is the desktop still visible?

If your monitor turns dark then it's probably just the backlight going bad, but you probably already know that. A backlight can be replaced for a reasonable price if you bring it to a shop which specializes in that, and there are quite a few around if you know where to look. Most other shops would recommend you replace the entire LCD panel itself, which can be a bit pricey.

If you can't see anything else on your desktop except the grayish/whitish tinge, then your LCD panel or the supporting electronics may have given up. If that's the case you may be better off just buying a newer monitor. You can opt to replace the panel, but for a little more you could probably buy a new one.

I would suggest you check with Viewsonic first. Some models come with a three year warranty, yours may be eligible, possibly saving you from the cost and expense of a repair or a new monitor.

Viewsonic monitors are fine, but some people swear by Dells and Samsungs. I haven't had much experience with Dell branded monitors, but Samsung tend to be quite durable...I've used different Samsung LCDs aged 3, 4, and 6 years, and they're still going strong.