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View Full Version : Viewsonic N2230W sudden "overbrightness" issue



volsfan0911
12-26-2008, 03:16 PM
Monitor freaked out suddenly without reason and became very slow on response and so bright that I could barely see anything. I rebooted PC and check video cable connection. It has an auto brightness setting which I'd left it on for months without any issues. I've plugged another monitor in and the resolution and brightness are normal so I think I can rule out a video card failure from my box. Could this be a case of the ambient light sensor failing on the viewsonic? It looks like the monitor is being "overdriven" for lack of a better phrase although that may be the wrong technical term. Appreciate any assistance. I looked for some way to reset the monitor back to default settings in the manual without success. I can't read any of the OSD's anyway so wouldn't be able to see how to reset at this point. Thanks!

The Wise Monkey
12-26-2008, 04:43 PM
Try downloading and installing the monitor driver from Viewsonic:

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/lcd-tvs/n2230w.htm

The only other thing I can suggest would be to just try pressing each button in turn to see what happens. :D

volsfan0911
12-26-2008, 04:54 PM
Wise - appreciate the suggestions. I'll try the driver re-install when we get back tonight. I'd gladly go through the headaches of pressing each button if I could only see what I'm adjusting on the menu. Otherwise, pardon the pun :p, but it would be analagous to the room full of monkeys eventually cranking out a Shakespearean play..............

zburns
12-26-2008, 05:26 PM
If you put another monitor in and it seemed to work, that does not sound like driver problem. The ambient sensor should be limited in "how" bright it will make the screen; if the brightness is "completely unreasonable" to you, it (brightness level) is probably way out of its normal range, meaning a "repair" problem.

Can you see the OSD's at all to make use of them? Are you really saying the screen is so bright that the OSD is not viewable at all? You cannot make sense of any of the OSD settings? EDIT AT 10 PM EST Can you not see the OSD because it is too bright or the OSD against the background lacks contrast? END OF EDIT

Also, you should be able from the front monitor controls to get the monitor on a "non auto" operation and have manual control of brightness. Does your manual clearly tell you how to use the front panel controls or not. If you know all there is to know about the front panel controls, you should be able to get it out of "auto" and onto manual brightness. The controls and what they do should be intuitive if you study them long enough (my samsung experience). The manual, or OSD instructions, or a "human" on the phone at Viewsonic should be able to tell how to get brightness to manual.

It is important that you are sure of how to use the controls and get it off auto-brightness. If you absolutely know you have done this, and nothing changes as you manually try to lower brightness, then it is either a "component failure" or maybe driver software! (I would definitely try new driver software even tho it does not seem to make sense).

You should be able to call Viewsonic for help, the sensor is made by RCA. The backlight is flurorescent and has to have some type of auto dimmer built in that can be defeated for manual use.

I was doing an EDIT and just thought of this! I have Vista 32 bit. In the last week or two, occassionally get a "googled page" to appear like it is in "fog" -- not overwhelmingly bright but hard to see because of a "coating of fog"; any chance this is what you are seeing. Contrast gets really bad, hard to see stuff and slow reaction. I reboot and it goes away. Sounds close but not entirely to your description.

Sorry for the length; I am not doing a good job of being "clear" and brief! 10 pm EDIT CONT If your monitor has the "ambient sensor" and your second monitor that worked "okay" does not have the ambient sensor, that could be the driver, maybe; it is worth trying a new driver. When you say you cannot read anything, ex the OSD, you could try masking out a lot of the screen but the OSD area and see if that helps.

zburns
12-26-2008, 11:07 PM
Midnight edit to the above post.I am puzzled by your saying the "screen is so bright you cannot read or see anything". When I run my Samsung up to 100 % brightness, the glare is awful and I cannot stand it long but I can still see everything. This is why I bring up the possibility you are seeing a contrast change as well as brightness; also why I point out my recent Vista software problem with "fog" over a particular "googled page" and I think there is either no response or it is slow once the "fog" is there.