My CRT monitor makes a high pitched squeal and it’s very annoying. Do you think it’s dying or is there something I can do about it?

(If you can come round to my place you might be able to fix it for me?)

(Originally posted February 2006)

Bob Gardner, , Australia

It’s quite possible that your monitor is on its last legs. I wouldn’t be too hasty about replacing it yet though. Instead I’d suggest you check the refresh rate it's set to use, to see if it’s too high for your monitor.

Whilst a noisy monitor such as you describe can possibly be suffering from faulty or ‘blown’ components, it can just as easily be suffering from a simple problem such as an unshielded electrical appliance nearby (speakers, perhaps) or from user applied settings which are more than it can handle comfortably.

Check Display Properties, Settings, Advanced, Monitor. There’ll be an entry there for ‘Refresh rate’ and you should ensure that it’s not set too high. If your PC has been used for 3D games at any time it’s quite likely that someone has altered the refresh rate setting. Higher refresh rate settings give less ‘flicker’, of course, and 3D gamers like to set it as high as they can.

Trouble is, amongst the specifications for just about any CRT monitor you’ll find two sets of figures for Refresh Rate. One is the manufacturer’s ‘recommended’ settings and the other is the rated ‘maximum’ setting. Although many people assume that running components at ‘maximum’ settings is okay, the reality is that manufacturer ‘recommended’ settings is where the appliance runs comfortably, and the rated ‘maximum’ setting marks the point beyond which it’s likely to fail.

Pushing your monitor to its limits like that can make it screech and squeal a bit, so you should check this first before you go heading for the repair shop with it.

Also see What's that high-pitched squeal from my monitor?



Cheers,

Terry O'Shanassy