Re: Safely swap monitors?



jakdedert wrote:
>
> "Choreboy" <choreboyREMOVE@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:42CDDAFF.AC1C4CA5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Neighbors have a computer that won't work after a lightning strike.
> > With the video cable connected, the monitor stays black and in the
> > standby mode. There are howls from the speakers, like feedback. With
> > the cable disconnected, the monitor will briefly show a notice that it's
> > not connected. There are no howls from the speakers although the mic
> > cable remains connected.
> >
> > With the power off, I checked the pins of the monitor cable to see that
> > the grounding pins were grounded and the signal pins were not. One
> > grounding pin is open, so it seems certain that the monitor is damaged.
> >
> > The next step would be to try another monitor to see if there's other
> > damage to the system. In case the computer's video card is damaged, can
> > a monitor be damaged by plugging in to it?
>
> 'Probably' not, but why not try plugging their monitor into your computer?
> That's extremely unlikely to cause any damage. Then, I'd take *everything*
> out of the neighbor's computer, except the vid card...unplug memory, all
> drives including floppy...just leave in the CPU and vid card.
>
> See if it boots up and asks for memory. If so, install that. Keep
> going--adding one device at a time--until you find a problem device...skip
> that one on the next go-round, until you've ID'd any and all such.
>
> Rinse, lather, repeat.....
>
> jak

Why is a monitor less likely to damage a computer? If the monitor
proves bad, as indicated by the open on a pin that should be grounded,
won't I still have to connect a good monitor to the neighbors' computer?

What might be wrong with a computer's video card that would damage a
monitor? I could check the video outputs with a scope. Would that
assure me that it was safe to plug in my monitor?

I thought I'd connect a good monitor and see if the computer worked.
What's the point of disconnecting everything in the computer without
first knowing that anything is wrong?
.

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