LCD – For the Novice and the Expert

Monitor care (continued)

If cleaning the surface of the monitor seemed overwhelming, consider care for the most important item – the DVI or D-Sub cable. With any CRT or LCD monitor, the monitor cable must not be damaged even the slightest bit. Fortunately for LCDs, the cable is rarely integrated inside the housing of the monitor (so it can be replaced if need be), but proper care must be pursued in order to assure the best signal quality.

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Don’t plug something like this in.

The primary rule of monitor cables is this: make sure they are totally plugged in and screwed down when connected. A connector that is slightly askew will result in a poor signal and ultimately damage the monitor and cable. Ideally speaking, we should all completely unplug both the monitor and the computer before connecting the VGA connector.

However, since many of us get lazy and leave the computer on while switching cables, occasionally a spark will jump from the cable to the video card from time to time. This will usually damage the cable, if not immediately. The result? A poor image usually with some kind of ghosting or other signal interference (assuming your monitor’s signal processor) isn’t fried. Some people learn on the first try to disconnect everything completely before messing with monitor connectors.

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