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I've been using my PC with a 22" HKC monitor for over a year now. Earlier today I returned to my PC and began using it, when the screen suddenly turned black and started displaying an "OUT OF RANGE" message in the middle of the screen.

As you can imagine this is rather irritating. I did manage to get the resolution down to a lower level (with keyboard shortcuts), this fixed the problem - however every time I switch on my PC Windows 7 automatically resets the resolution to the native 1920 x 1080 - hence the problem starts again.

The monitor is connected via VGA. I've got an ATI card, I tried updating my drivers to fix the problem (using a second monitor @ 1024 x 768).

The picture is fine up until the login screen; that is to say, the BIOS and Windows 7 Startup screens are both visible. (I might add that, checking the monitor's menu, neither of these use 1920 x 1080)

One possibility could be that the screen has just packed in (I've heard HKC monitors are bad quality), another could be that the EDID has become corrupted.

I'm really not sure what it is or what to do, any help would be appreciated. I've been googling all over the place but answers are mixed.

Update: Plugging the monitor into another PC worked with no problems. That means it must be something to do with my graphics card (ATI 5770, for the record), or my graphics drivers. I'm going to update the drivers; is there anything else I should know?

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3 Answers 3

Hold F8 as you start your computer and select Enable low-resolution video (640x480). This will start the system normally, but with the resolution and refresh rate reset to safe values. From there, you can test different resolution values and find the one that works best for you.

From http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/advanced-startup-options-including-safe-mode:

Enable low-resolution video (640x480)


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VGA transmits the images as a series of pulses on the different pins. If the cable or the socket is failing, the signal could become degraded so that the monitor cannot decode the pulses anymore. You should try another cable and see if it works or not.

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You should be able to set a default resolution for windows 7. It's weird that it resets the resolution to native when you turn on your computer. Maybe you should have a look at that.

Also test different frequencies as a too high frequency can trigger an out-of-range message as well!

If all that doesn't help, test the monitor on another computer and see whether it's the monitor or the graphic card! From there on you can approach further solutions like trying to repair it, trying to re-install drivers (or windows in the worst case).

Finally the last obvious solution would be to try to send the monitor/graphic card (depending on how the last 'test' turned out) to the manufacturer. Propably the best when you are still under warranty.

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Setting the default resolution didn't work - it keeps resetting the resolution to native. I've got no way of getting to a usable resolution other than Safe Mode, i'm afraid. I'm going to test the monitor on another computer tomorrow - if 1080p doesn't work then, the monitor's getting sent back. Too weird for me. –  toneo Oct 20 '11 at 22:33
In fact - scratch that - I have managed to get it into 1499 by 1050, so at least I can see things now. Selecting 1920 by 1080 at 60Hz blanks the screen and I have to use keyboard shortcuts to get back. –  toneo Oct 20 '11 at 22:40

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