Samsung forum: Syncmaster turns itself off after 1 sec, need help

Ack, I don't even know if I have the manual now, and I can't find the invoice in my email. When I bought it, it was one of the first 1920x1080 monitors I'd seen. Most large monitors at the time (including the one that I was replacing) were 1920x1200.

I bought it in the U.S., so I really doubt it's foreign. I'll try to stop by my house over lunch break to see if I still have the manual. It's worked fine in this configuration for years, and I don't think the sync rate would suddenly be different one day.

Oh, to make this more interesting, I can't get any on screen menus to appear, even when I disconnect all cables. With all cables disconnected, all I can see is the top left rectangle, and it just appears very briefly. Honestly, the menu system on this monitor is horrible, so I'm not completely sure if it's going away on purpose, or if the monitor is unable to hold the picture.

One recent thing I had to fix was a machine where the user accepted drivers from Windows Update. They didn't know the trouble that can cause. They did not change the refresh rate.

So, things can change as Microsoft issues updates, your antivirus and of course MALWARE.

But there is nothing to say it's not the monitor. It could be that, the cable or a reset.

I dropped a hint I wanted the full model number before I went looking on samsung.com for a manual but let's try just 2233.

Hmm, 2233SW, 2233RZ, 2233BW and are there more? I wonder. Let's pick the first one.

Page 30 of http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/200905/20090526190001531/BN59-00950A-02Eng.pdf shows a RESET under SETUP on the menu.

Does not look like a horrible menu here.
Bob

Ok, I stopped at home, and didn't find a manual, but the backplate on the monitor says 2233SW, and shows a January 2009 date of manufacture.

As far as the menus go, while the monitor is on, pressing pressing any button on the side does nothing. I can't get any menu to come up.

When no cables are connected, and I turn the monitor on, it shows a rectangle in the center of the screen that says something like "check connection". It moves around the screen like a screensaver, but stays up for just a bit less than a second. As far as I can remember, my monitor has always done this, which I found extremely annoying when debugging issues.

The DVI cable that I have is only half-duplex, as is pretty common. I don't have a full-duplex DVI for testing, but I don't think this is the issue. It's really weird that this happens both for the desktop with DVI and the laptop with VGA.

Oh, and as far as the .pdf, I looked at it.

The menu that it shows on page 30 is something that I have never seen! The buttons on the right side of that menu line up with mine, but I have never seen that menu. Are you sure that is the 2233SW manual?

The top button is "Menu". If the monitor has been on for a while, and I hit that button, then I see "Test passed" in the top left corner. Other than that, it does nothing. Holding it for 5 seconds (as instructed in the manual) does not bring up the menu for resetting.

As I said before, I've never seen the menu in that manual, but I clearly have the 2233SW, which has its own page later in the manual. Maybe the on screen programming has always been broken, since I first got the monitor, which would explain my opinion that it had sucked.

The monitor seems to know if something is connected or not. If I disconnect the VGA cable from the laptop, it eventually (5-10 seconds later) realizes this, and flashes the "no cable" dialog box in the center of the screen. It's only up for half a second, though.

When I plug the VGA cable back into the laptop, the monitor shows the picture almost immediately, and it looks great. But, it lasts just one second, then goes back to black.

The laptop gives me 2 options for the refresh rate: 59 and 60. I've tried both, but had no luck.

I've also tried using a different outlet, just in case my power supply was giving lower than normal voltage. It made no difference.


Is there some other way that I can get to the reset feature?

But now it sounds like a bad monitor. The last test is that laptop and cable to some other display.

Bob

I just tried the laptop with an ancient 13" monitor that I have lying around. It worked fine.

I've known all along it was the Samsung monitor that was to blame. Is there anything I can do to fix it? It's definitely capable of showing a great picture (as it does for 1 second), but for some reason, it thinks that it can't and gives up.

You seem very experienced. So, it would surprise me if I'm the first person you've seen with this issue . I ordered a new monitor today, but am really hoping I can salvage this one. I prefer working with a 2 monitor setup, so I want to use this Syncmaster as my secondary.

If the neighbors knew I might get asked to fix something. I try to share as much as I can here but at this point it's for the shop or repair counter but the deal is this. Repairs cost as much as a new set!

It's a blessing and a curse for the industry.
Bob

uigrad,

I read over the thread here, and I'm sorry to hear about your monitor problems. It seems like you've tried everything, so let me just run over the things you tried, and if you can, just verify that you've tried each of them for me.

- Power cycling the monitor
- Power cycling the machine
- Alternative power cable on the monitor
- Alternative video cable
- Alternative video port (VGA or DVI)
- Alternative power source
- Alternative video source (another laptop or desktop)
- Alternative monitor on the same video port on the original laptop.

Like I said, I think you've tried all these just by the tenor of you conversation. So go ahead and contact us here by Facebook or Twitter, and we'll get back to you within the day to see if there's anything else we can do: http://forums.cnet.com/7723-13973_102-542437/service-issues-click-here-for-help/

-- HDTech

Online Brand Ambassador

- Click here to visit the Samsung forum
- Click here to visit the Samsung store on CNET

I've tried everything on that list except for changing the power cable on the monitor.

I'll give that a try sometime this week, but am not expecting it to make a difference. I've pretty much given up on it, and am just waiting for my newly purchased monitor to arrive.

uigrad,

Sorry to hear that nothing's worked. At this point, it sounds like hardware. Keep me in the loop. I'd like to know how the story ends.

-- HD Tech

Online Brand Ambassador

- Click here to visit the Samsung forum
- Click here to visit the Samsung store on CNET

ungrad - Were you able to fix your monitor? I have exact same problem with my Syncmaster 2333SW. Thanks in advance.

I have the same problem, for no reason - just didn't come on one morning. However, if I look very closely, I can see my screen image, very dark. I can't get the menu up (or it's also too dark).
It seems like it needs a full 'factory reset' or something to get back to square one.
Very annoying.