Monitor pin problem.

[Jeff]

So I'm setting up my mom's computer at our new place, and when I go to turn on the power, everything looks normal, except no video signal. I turn the system off, and unplug the VGA cable from the video card to check it out. Three pins are missing from the cable, which happened probably during the move, because they worked fine before. I'm wondering if I have to get her to buy a new monitor, or would a VGA adapter thing work? Probably a new monitor, because if you're missing pins, the computer needs all 15 pins for the video signal to be properly converted into machine code and put onto the monitor.

[NutWrench]

You might be able to salvage that monitor if you felt like a little project.

1) Get a male vga connector from a computer parts store.
2) Pry open the old vga connector plug. Make a careful note of which wires connect to which pins.
3) Clip or desolder the wires and remove the old connector.
4) Attach the wires to the new plug and make sure you solder the wires to the same pins as before.

[theRobot]

This is a Standard VGA 15 pin connector right?

If so... I'll have to disagree.. I've had a few monitors missing pins and they've worked fine.. one monitor in particular had only 6-7 actual pins...

[TerminX]

theRobot said:
This is a Standard VGA 15 pin connector right?

If so... I'll have to disagree.. I've had a few monitors missing pics and they've worked fine.. one monitor in particular had only 6-7 actual pins...


The 6-7 figure is highly exaggerated, but you're right about monitors being able to function without all of the pins.

A pinout of the standard VGA D-Sub connector can be found here (http://www.acl.co.uk/pinouts.htm). Obviously, pins 1-3, 6-8, 10, 13 and 14 will be required, though it would be bad to be missing the ID pins as well.

[theRobot]

Yeah, I suppose.. Looking at your link I guess it would have been 9 pins minimum instead of 6-7, seeing as it's possible to use a small converter back and forth. (see page)

[Jeff]

Looking at the diagram, pins 5, 7, and 12 are missing. One of them would be an ID pin, and the other ones are n/c and green ground.

I'm not going to chop off the thing and re-solder it. My motor functions have been greatly reduced.

[Phayzon]

I had a monitor w/ a few pins missing and about 2 bent over. It might still work, but after 3 years out in the shed in very cold/hot weather, it might not.

[Jeff]

They're not bent, they are missing. Fell off during the move.

[Crispy Critters]

Here's a quick fix, cut up a paper clip, and shove them into the holes for the monitor cable.

[Phayzon]

If you know that it works, theres only one way to find that out. You tryed didnt you?

[TerminX]

Crispy Critters said:
Here's a quick fix, cut up a paper clip, and shove them into the holes for the monitor cable.


On some video cards, it's possible for the little bits to go far enough into the holes to get stuck in there. A better idea is to use pins(as in the sharp kind) pushed into the plastic on the cable, so that the pin is making contact with what's left of the original gold pin.

[Crispy Critters]

Phayzon said:
If you know that it works, theres only one way to find that out. You tryed didnt you?



Yeah, I've done it a few times on various video cards. I have no idea how people can do this so often.