Input Signal Out of Range

[Jexsam]

Okay so

 

For the past few days I've been fighting my monitor.

 

Out of the blue, my resolution shrunk from 1920 x 1440 to 1600 x 1200.  When I attempt to set it back to the original resolution, the monitor displays the message "Input Signal Out of Range" before the computer reverts to 1600 x 1200 (which isn't unusual - I can't see to hit okay to keep the settings, so it reverts automatically).

 

My gut instinct was to update my vid card drivers.  This did nothing.

 

Sometimes, for reasons unknown to me and in ways I cannot reliably reproduce, the resolution will return to normal upon attempting to change them back.  Also sometimes, and similarly unreplicatable/unrepeatable, the resolution will be the normal 1920 x 1440 when I start the computer.

 

I have had issues with this monitor in the past, specifically with the screen going black.  However, this behavior has not been displayed in a few months - I only mention it here for the sake of being thorough.

 

I have also had issues with Skyrim, specifically with flashes of solid colors and odd patches of solid colors flashing quickly, which leads me to suspect my graphics card may be the culprit - I had a similar experience with Oblivion on an older computer when that card died.  These symptoms have not persisted over other games, however.

 

I have no spare components with which to perform tests such as replacing the monitor or graphics card to see if the problem persists on either/or.

 

Though unlikely, I am running a virus scan to see if it catches anything, and if it does, if that anything has something to do with this problem.

 

I am unsure how to proceed.  Only thing I can think to do is to use this as justification to buy a new, better graphics card and just gamble that it will fix this issue.  Is there something else I can do to narrow down the cause of the problem?

[bradleyh]

If possible, try using a TV as a monitor.

If a new Graphics Card does not fix the problem then You are still going to need a replacement Monitor.

[gregathit]

Out of range errors sound like a monitor issue.  The only other thing that "might" be happening is a bad cable.

 

It does not sound like a graphics card problem at all.  I could be wrong but it just doesn't fit.

[bjornk]

What if the refresh rate for that resolution is set (or reported) incorrectly? Could be an issue with the OS or graphics driver.

- I'd recommend trying your monitor with your current graphics card using a live Linux distribution as a first step and see if that makes any difference. If it does, you might have to completely uninstall your graphics drivers and re-install maybe an earlier version of the driver after making sure you've cleaned up every related file and registry entry.

- If your monitor has other types of inputs (DVI/HDMI/VGA/DP) you might want to try connecting your card through one of those.

- If there's a self-test type of thing in your monitor, disconnect the monitor and run the test after resetting monitor settings to factory defaults.