Monitor Seemingly Randomly Going Black for a Second or Two

[Geophyte1]

I have two identical monitors, only use one at a time, and both of them are acting the same so I'm thinking it is the computer which is my W541. I have been using these monitors off and on for over a year on the W541 but just in the last month I see the screen go black for just a very brief time and then return. Nothing else seems to be affected. I've never had a video problem of this nature before so I'm wondering if this is a symptom of the video card having a problem?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[rkawakami]

Are the external monitors connected directly to the laptop, or are they going through a KVM switch? I ask, as for me, I have an old 16" Sharp (SXGA) that's hooked up to a NTI ST-2U KVM and ever since, it flashes off and on for a second at what seems like totally random times.

If no on the KVM and you're plugging in the monitor into the laptop, what port (VGA or DisplayPort) are you using?

[RRHODY]

I had a similar problem with a new monitor and called the monitor's tech support. The answer they gave me was "that behavior usually means the cable." After using three different cables with no change, I changed the DP to HDMI adapter that I was using to to connect the monitor; and the problem went away.

[Geophyte1]

rkawakami

I plug a monitor directly into the VGA port. There are two monitors but I only use one at a time and the second monitor just sits completely separated from the computing environment.

Thanks.


RRHODY

Interesting. Both monitors are 6 year old 26.5" Samsung:)

I'll try another cable. Good thought.

No HDMI on my W541 but I'll look at using the mini port.

thanks

[i2000s]

I had a similar problem with a new monitor and called the monitor's tech support. The answer they gave me was "that behavior usually means the cable." After using three different cables with no change, I changed the DP to HDMI adapter that I was using to to connect the monitor; and the problem went away.

To me, this is a cable problem on my monitor...

[Geophyte1]

FYI. I did change the cable and the problem went away:)