CRT monitor display area changes dynamically

[phisher]

 I have an odd problem wit my Sony E500 crt display. It works fine with a static desktop. However, when I start opening and closing windows, the entire screen image stretches and shrinks in sync
with what I do on my desktop.

I have tried two different PC and windows and linux and the problem is there. It must be a hardware problem with the CRT though I do not know if it is simple to fix.

Thanks

[Fed]

Can you give us a more graphical description of this?

[phisher]

Sure, except it is very odd to describe. Basically, I have windows xp running with several
windows open, say IE and Outlook. For example, I resize the IE window to be about 70% of
the CRT screen. Then I go to the tool bar and minimize the IE window. Next I restore the IE window to its former size. As the IE window is expanded, the entire desktop display expands and is magnified to exceed the physical size of the CRT. In about a second or two it settles back to
fill the CRT screen. Next, if I minimize the IE window the entire desktop shrinks and fills less than
the CRT screen. In a second or so it settles back to its normal size.

If I just move the IE window across the desktop everything works fine. This happens with any open
window, not just IE, of course.

[Fed]

A very good description considering the condition. [smiley=thumbup.gif]
Quite a bit of reading for you here.
http://www.sony-cp.com/en/products/archive/e500/
Notice the monitor driver at the bottom?
Download it & double click it to see what happens.
I downloaded the PDF User Manual, not a lot of help but it's worth gettting as it's only 3MBs.
Has it ever worked 'normally'?

[soybean]

Sounds to me like the problem may be a very poor performing video function in your computer hardware, not the monitor itself.  Are you using onboard video or a separate card?  How many video memory does your system/card have?  What are the other specs (processor, RAM, hard drive) of your system?

Also, how many processes do you have running after a fresh startup?  How many icons in your system tray/notification area, those programs running in the background?  Do you use any spyware detection/removal tools to clean your system?

[phisher]

Folks,

Some background. I bought this monitor about 5 years ago. I was brand new factory sealed etc...
I worked perfectly as far as I can tell. This problem syrfaced about 6 months ago and seems to be getting worse over time.

As I mentioned earlier, I tried two different PCs and 3 video cards. The last card is an nVidia 7800 GX card. Problem exists with all combinations. Interestingly, once powered up the monitor seems ok for about a half hour or so and then this behavior manifests.

It looks like the flyback transformer in the CRT unit is somehow coupling to the video signal over the monitor cable. As I say, with a static desktop, everything is fine and stable. It is only when windows are resizing or opening that I see this problem.

[GX1_Man]

On the other hand, 5 years for a monitor is a long time. none have a warranty over 3 years. I have had monitors last longer, but some have lasted less.