WOLLO UNIVERSITY

KOMBOLCHA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

COLLEGE OF INFORMATICS
DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEM

Computer maintenance and troubleshooting individual assignment

Name id
Belachew Direba………WOUR 0583/11

Computer maintenance and troubleshooting assignment Page 1

 Discuss About Computer Monitor

 What is a Monitor?
A monitor is an electronic output device that is also known as a video display terminal (VDT) or a video
display unit (VDU). It is used to display images, text, video, and graphics information generated by a
connected computer via a computer's video card. Although it is almost like a TV, its resolution is much
higher than a TV. The first computer monitor was introduced on 1 March 1973, which was part of the
Xerox Alto computer system.

A computer monitor is an electronic device that shows pictures for computers. Monitors often look
similar to televisions. Monitors are made with better parts which give a higher display resolution and
picture sharpness than a television.

Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display Unit (VDU), are the main output device of a computer. It
forms images from tiny dots, known as pixels that make an arrangement in a form of a rectangular form.
The sharpness of the image depends upon the number of pixels.

 What are the types of monitor?

1. Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Monitors

It is a technology used in early monitors. It uses a beam of electrons to create an image on the screen. It
comprises the guns that fire a beam of electrons inside the screen. The electron beams repeatedly hit
the surface of the screen. These guns are responsible for generating RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) colors,
and more other colors can be generated with the help of combining these three colors. Today's Flat
Panel Monitors replace the CRT monitors.

2. Flat Panel Monitors

These types of monitors are lightweight and take less space. They consume less power as compared to
CRT monitors. These monitors are more effective as they do not provide harmful radiation. These
monitors are more expensive than CRTs. The flat-panel monitors are used in PDA, notebook computers,
and cellular phones. These monitors are available in various sizes like 15", 17", 18" & 19" and more. The
display of a flat-panel monitor is made with the help of two plates of glass. These plates contain a
substance, which is activated in many ways.

Computer maintenance and troubleshooting assignment Page 2

 Flat-panel monitor screens use two types of technologies, which are given below:

 Liquid Crystal Display

 LCD (Liquid crystal display) screen contains a substance known as liquid crystal. The particles of this
substance are aligned in a way that the light located backside on the screens, which allow to generate an
image or block. Liquid crystal display offers a clear picture as compared to CRT display and emits less
radiation. Furthermore, it consumes less power and takes less space than a CRT display.

 Gas Plasma Display

This display uses gas plasma technology, which uses a layer of gas between 2 plates of glass. When
voltage is applied, the gas releases ultraviolet light. By this ultraviolet light, the pixels on the screen glow
and form an image. These displays are available in different sizes of up to 150 inches. Although it offers
effective colors as compared to the LCD monitor, it is more expensive. That's why it is less used.

3. Touch Screen Monitors

These monitors are also known as an input device. It enables users to interact with the computer by
using a finger or stylus instead of using a mouse or keyboard. When users touch the screen by their
finger, it occurs an event and forwards it to the controller for processing. These types of screens include
pictures or words that help users to interact with the computer. It takes input from the users by
touching menus or icons presented on the screen.

There are different types of touch screen monitors; three common types are given below:

 Resistive Touch Screen: Generally, this screen includes a thin electrically conductive and
resistive layer of metal. When the touch is pressed, a change in the electrical current occurs that
is sent to the controller. Nowadays, these screens are widely in use. These monitors are more
reliable as they cannot be affected by liquids or dust.

Computer maintenance and troubleshooting assignment Page 3

  Surface Wave Touch Screens: These monitors process the input through ultrasonic waves.
When a user touches the screen, the wave is processed and absorbed by the computer. It is less
reliable as they can be damaged by water or dust.
 Capacitive Touch Screen: This screen includes a cover with an electrically-charged material.
This material continuously flows the current over the screen. It is mainly used by the finger
rather than a stylus. These monitors contain better clarity and do not damage by dust.
Nowadays, capacitive touch screen is mostly used in smart phones.

4. LED Monitors
It is a flat screen computer monitor, which stands for light-emitting diode display. It is lightweight in
terms of weight and has a short depth. As the source of light, it uses a panel of LEDs. Nowadays, a wide
number of electronic devices, both large and small devices such as laptop screens, mobile phones, TVs,
computer monitors, tablets, and more, use LED displays.

It is believed that James P. Mitchell invented the first LED display. On 18 March 1978, the first
prototype of an LED display was published to the market at the SEF (Science and Engineering Fair) in
Iowa. On 8 May 1978, it was shown again in Anaheim California, at the SEF. This prototype received
awards from NASA and General Motors.

Advantages of LED Monitor:

 It includes a broader dimming range.

 It is a more reliable monitor.
 It is often less expensive.
 It consumes less power (20 watts), and run on a lower temperature.

Computer maintenance and troubleshooting assignment Page 4

  It has a more dynamic contrast ratio.

5. OLED Monitors
It is a new flat light-emitting display technology, which is more efficient, brighter, thinner, and better
refresh rates feature and contrast as compared to the LCD display. It is made up of locating a series of
organic thin films between two conductors. These displays do not need a backlight as they are emissive
displays. Furthermore, it provides better image quality ever and used in tablets and high-end smart
phones.

Nowadays, it is widely used in laptops, TVs, mobile phones, digital cameras, tablets, VR headsets. The
demand for mobile phone vendors, more than 500 million AMOLED screens were produced in 2018. The
Samsung display is the main producer of the AMOLED screen. For example, Apple is using AMOLED
OLED panel made by SDC in its 2018 iPhone XS - a 5.8" 1125x2436. Additionally, iPhone X is also using
the same AMOLED display.

6. DLP Monitors
DLP stands for Digital Light Processing, developed by Texas Instruments. It is a technology, which is
used for presentations by projecting images from a monitor onto a big screen. Before developing the
DLP, most of the computer projection systems produced faded and blurry images as they were based on
LCD technology. DLP technology utilizes a digital micro mirror device, which is a tiny mirror housed on a
special kind of microchip. Furthermore, it offers better quality pictures that can also be visible in a lit
room normally.

7. TFT Monitors
It is a type of LCD flat panel display, which stands for a thin-film transistor. In TFT monitors, all pixels are
controlled with the help of one to four transistors. The high-quality flat-panel LCDs use these transistors.
Although the TFT-based monitors provide better resolution of all the flat-panel techniques, these are

Computer maintenance and troubleshooting assignment Page 5

highly expensive. The LCDs, which use thin-film transistor (TFT) technology, are known as active-matrix
displays. The active-matrix displays offer higher quality as compared to older passive-matrix displays.

8. Plasma Screen Monitors

A plasma screen is a thin, flat-panel, and capable of hanging on a wall like LCD and LED televisions. It is a
brighter screen as compared to LCD displays and thinner

than CRT displays. It can be used to either display modes of digital computer input or analog video
signals, and sometimes, it is marketed as 'thin-panel' displays. Plasma displays have wide viewing angles,
high contrast ratios, and high refresh rates, which is used to reduce a blur video. Additionally, it provides
better quality pictures as it supports high resolutions of up to 1920 x 1080.

The plasma screen also includes some disadvantages such as the chance of screen burn-in, consumes
more power, loss of brightness with time, can be heavier in weight.

 Use of Computer Monitor

Main motive to uses of computer monitor is for displaying output in pictorial form that is more
readable and understandable to users. We have to use various matrices for measure the performance
of computer monitors like as Luminance, Gamut, Aspect ratio, Display resolution, Dot pitch, Refresh
rate, Response time, and more

 Parts of Monitor
There are various internal parts of computer monitor screen, and every part has own special
functionalities such as

LCD Screen

Computer maintenance and troubleshooting assignment Page 6

Mostly, computer monitor screen are liquid crystal displays which are constructed by thin film
transistors.

Layered Glass
LCD computer monitor screen is made of various layers of glass, which manipulates this light while
displaying on the computer monitor screen.

Laptop Stands

Thin plastic display stands have to use for LCD displays, main motive to design for that computer
monitor screen is to decrease the physical boundation for placing on the desk.

Power Connector

These connectors are used for connecting one component to other components.

Interface Board

Interface board has to use for entire control over all functionality of computer screen monitor.

Reflectors and Light Sources 

While using of them, have been projected light beam on the computer monitor screen.

Amplifier Circuit 

Amplifier circuit helps to amplify the all video signals which are reached on the computer screen.

CRT (cathode-ray tube)

CRT has to use three major components are the electron gun, phosphor viewing surface, and finally glass
envelope.

 What are the characteristics of a monitor?

Spatial resolution, screen size, bit depth, dot pitch and luminance are characteristics of monitors which
may affect image quality. The spatial resolution of a monitor is most often expressed in terms of the size
of the pixel matrix.

 How to Take Care of Your Computer Monitor

Your computer’s monitor displays images on its screen, such as the Microsoft Windows7 desktop or a
document in a software program. Because you’ll be looking at the monitor every time you use your
computer, you need to take care of it to maintain its longevity:

Use a surge protector

 Never plug your display directly into wall current. Instead, be sure to use a good-quality surge
protector. Damage caused by an electrical spike ordinarily isn’t covered by manufacturer warranties.

Computer maintenance and troubleshooting assignment Page 7

 Keep the air vents open

Never cover the air vents on the top or sides of a monitor. Doing so may result in a dangerous buildup of
heat that can damage components or shorten their lives. Periodically, use a new paintbrush or the brush
attachment of a vacuum cleaner to remove accumulated dust on the monitor’s ventilation holes.

Leave your monitor on

The most dangerous moment in an electronic component’s life is when power is first applied, and the
component goes from cold and uncharged to warm and full of electricity. Avoid turning your monitor on
and off more than necessary.

Check the connections

Make sure that the cable between the monitor and the video card is firmly attached at each end and not
crimped or pinched. If you need to make adjustments and your monitor has a removable cable, unplug it
and then replug it into the receptacle on the monitor. This step could reset a loose connection and
remove corrosion on any of the connectors.

If that doesn’t work, unplug and reconnect the monitor cable at the computer end. You may have to use
a screwdriver or thumbscrew to unlock the connection before you can unplug it. Use these locking
screws when you replug the cable.

Klutz proof your monitor

 Be sure that the monitor is safely installed on a sturdy desk, with its cable properly out of tripping range
of passersby. And, of course, don’t place cups of coffee or soda anywhere in the vicinity.

Computer maintenance and troubleshooting assignment Page 8