How do I stop MONITOR FLICKERING?

Well if the OS is windows it may be the refresh rate needs to be changed. Go to Control Panel > Display > Settings click on the "Advanced" button and then select the monitor tab and then play aroung with the refresh frequency setting.


The Crazy One

Sorry, I should have put the OS specs in the original question.  I am using Win95 and I don't seem to have access to the refresh rate in the Display>Setting>Advanced>Monitor section.  Is it somewhere else in Win95?

It might be but unfortunately I am running Win 2000 so we will need to wait until another Expert wonders into this Q that knows more about Win95 than I do. I suspect either your monitor doesn't support changing the rate or you may need to update the driver for your monitor and/or your video card.

1. right click on the desktop and select properties.
2. click on the settings tab and click on the advance button below.
3. click on the adapter tab on top, and you will see a drop down menu below there.
4. Certain monitor setting alllow multiple selection while some only allow to choice which is adapter default and optimal. Select optimal
5. BTW i owuld suggest that you change the monitor type to plug and play monitor to allow windows detect the correct configuratino for your monitor. you can do that by clicking the monitor tab from the windows that you click on the adapter tab.

REgards

hi crazyone :)

Whether this option is present or not depends on your DISPLAY ADAPTER DRIVER and the MONITOR INF file.  Try changing to a different display and see if choices appear.

Also is the monitor close to any devices that are magnetized such as speakers, computer, fans, TV, etc.. Sometimes even having these devices plugged into the same outlet can cause problems with the monitor. Usually when a monitor is affected by a magnetic device you don't get flickering but rather the monitor screen will be somewhat distorted. However I experienced a flickering problem with table fan being to close the monitor.

bikechina is your monitor next to someone elses monitor if it is I suggest that you move your pc to somewhere else seeing that another monitor creates a disturbance which is not good for your monitor. If that is not the problem I suggest you do what kahlean said but with 1 exception do not change your refresh rates that are shown there to optimal it may already be on optimal so change it to the highest refresh rates that is shown there if that doesnt help try and remove any electrical appliances away from your screen. Hope this hlps. Be Well!

If you set it to low res and low colour (like 256cols @ 640 x 480) does the flicker diminish or go away?  This would indicate a refresh rate problem, rather than interference.  You can try setting the refresh higher at your normal resolution, but it may be that the monitor is just on the way out.

Try downloading HzTool - it's a utility which allows you to edit the refresh rate options in Display, and gives you a much larger range than normal.

http://hem.passagen.se/doxx

Be careful about setting the refresh too high - this can damage the monitor.  Try fiddling with the settings at 640 x 480 first - you should be able to go to about 80 or 85 safely, although if you monitor is more than a few years old I'd stick to 65.

Better yet, look up the docs for you monitor and see what the maximum refresh rate is for each resolution (the max refresh decreases as resolution increases).

If memory serves me well, which it usually doesn't, When installing a default monitor, i think you can select the display size and refresh rate for the monitor you are installing from a drop-down listbox. It's been quite along time since I've played around on 95 so I'm not 100% on this.

It has a subtle but annoying flicker.  Has it always had this or is it recent.  Degausssing may help.  Maybe it is dying.

Perhaps a better appreciation of Kubler-Ross' studies on Death and Dying would help here.

ehrrngtn is right: You cannot access the display refresh rate when using a default monitor type.

What you need to do is find the correct driver for your monitor, load that, and then you will or should be able to alter the refresh rate if it doesnt correct itself.
Also make sure you use the latest drivers for your display adaptor.  If you post the monitor model, manufacturer as well as your adaptor info, we may be able to help you find the correct driver for it.

Thanks for all your help.

I tried to post a detailed message about everything I have tried, but got an error.  Maybe it was too long.

HzTool crashed my machine a few times, so I decided not to use it.  The monitor is fairly new, and there are no other monitors or equipment nearby.

I have an IMAGIC 525i monitor.  It did not come with drivers.

"The monitor is fairly new".  This could be, however age really means nothing with electronics.  In fact they are known to either suffer early on or way down the road.  Personally, I have had "brand new" monitors arrive DOA.  Usually, they won't power up at all.  Perhaps you have wiring issues?  Have you checked the outlets you are plugged into?

About my prior comment.  I had to read Kubler-Ross for a course I took in High School on Death and Dying.  Your initial post reminded me of that.  As well as the next door neighbor is having his funeral today.

I do not have Chinese character support.  If you do check here:  It is nothing but jibberish on my screen without it but if you have it I only hope it is of use.

www.bjglx.com/king8/_private/xsq.htm - 82k

Are these only available in China?  The name seems univeral enough, but all websites seem to have chinese characters which my system does not support.  I could do windows update, but that won't teach me Chinese.

I found my display adapter driver today.  It is a Lynx64 and uses IGA1680.drv.  It also had some nifty tools with it, including a Refresh Rate checker.  This usually comes up at about 59.3 Hz.  There is also an item to set the refresh rate and resolution at 800X600 and at 60, 72 or 75 Hz.  When I tried the test button at 75 Hz it worked fine with no flicker.  But when the system shut down to put the settings into effect, it crashed and burned (with exception faults at startup).  The only way I could get it up reliably was to return it to 60 hz.  

Do you know of any other ways to increase the refresh rate?

Thanks again.

Sincerely,

Peter Snow Cao     BikeChina Adventures  Chengdu, Sichuan, China  
Http://www.BikeChina.com/ 

I neglected to answer the other two comments.  Yes, pbessman, I think this monitor is only available in China.  And the web page link supplied is just a catalog showing model numbers and prices.

Peter

I think you're on the right track here.  But from what you've said about HzTool and now this I'm thinking maybe you have some driver problems.

What I'd do is set the adapter and the monitor to Standard VGA.

Then boot in Safe Mode, go to Device Manager, and delete all the entries under the Adapter and Monitor headings.  There may well be several copies - get them all.

Then reboot in normal mode, and reinstall the correct driver for the video card.

Try adjusting the refresh rate after the fresh install, either with the driver options or with HzTool.

Oh, you might also want to check the web to see if you have the most recent version of your video driver.

>>When I tried the test button at 75 Hz it worked fine with no flicker.

I might be afraid it has something to do with your monitor driver. even though your display adapter can goes up to that refresh rate but your monitor cant. So set set yuotr monitor type to plug and play and let windows detect it.

Regards

Try the adaptor at optimal setting instead of default.
Then accept the default setting for the monitor.
Also try setting the adaptor to default , and the monitor to optimal.

One or the other should give you the result your looking for without any crashes.
The big thing is that you have the correct drivers for both devices.  Be careful when manually selecting refresh rates for the monitor.  It can cause damage.
If your happy with the results using defaults or, optimal settings whichever way works..  dont mess with it.

I have been playing around with almost every combination I can, and the end result is that my machine will not accept a refresh rate higher than 60 Hz.  

I checked the web for updates on the Lynx64 display adapter and it comes up (not surprisingly because it came with the machine when I bought it in 1995) obsolete.  So it appears that I must upgrade the video card before I can modify the refresh rate  to something slight higher and much less irritating.  

Does this sound like a reasonable solution?

Peter

http://ftp.uic.nnov.ru/drivers/video/igs/iga1680/
This is one of the links I came up with when searching for your driver.

http://www.computing.net/windows95/wwwboard/messages/361.html

Heres a little bit of reading as far as the card goes.

>>So it appears that I must upgrade the
video card before I can modify the refresh rate

Not necessary, older monitor cant go up with higher refrersh rate as it is constrain by the monitor. check your monitor and display adapter manual for the refresh rate option available

REgards

>> the end result is that my machine will not accept a refresh rate higher than 60 Hz.  

Not too surprising with a card that old.  Yes, it does sound like the video card is the bottleneck here, and replacing it is probably your only option.

If you are happy with the card you have there is no point shelling out $900 for a GeForce 3.  Try hunting around swap meets - you can probably pick up a Voodoo2 or something for about $10.

If you want a new card the GeForce MX is great value - from what I've seen it's not much more expensive than crappy 8mb cards, and often cheaper than the inferior TNT2m64.

Unfortunately, I seem to have gotten myself into a pickle I can't get out of.  I have just spent the last 3 hours trying to get my setting back the way they were when I started, to no avail.

When I install the display adapter, Spider Graphics Lynx64 (which I know is correct because I have taken it out of the machine to look at it), Windows tells me that is not correct and prompts me to run the new device wizard and then installs InteGraphics Systems IGA1680.drv.  My monitor did not come with a disk, and the documentation doesn't tell me what kind it is (i.e., VGA, Super VGA, etc.)  Before I started this process, I had my system set up with 800X600 High color.  Now I have 640X480 16-bit (ugh!).

Can you help me put it back the way it was?

I have tried going to the Device Manager and deleting the display adapter and the monitor, but what comes back is just the plain vanilia 640X480 16-bit, with no options to increase the resolution or the color.

Thanks again for your help.

Peter

Thank you d_hall and everyone else who contributed.  I got the system restored, but still had that annoying flicker, so I went and bought a used S3 Vision 968 PCI video card for $15.  Problem solved.  

I wish I could give you all points, but since I can't, please accept my heartfelt appreciation for all of your contributions.  This is an extremely valuable service you are providing!

Sincerely,

Peter Snow Cao
http://www.bikechina.com

Peter,

if you would like to award points to several experts, post a zero-point question in the Customer Service area (https://www.experts-exchange.com/jsp/qList.jsp?ta=commspt) asking the admin staff to share your 200 pts between us.  
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Glad to be of assistance,

:  ) Dave

Points reduced to 50 and refunded back to you.  Now you can make seperate questions for the experts in this topic area.

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