click photo to enlarge This is a very blurry photo of the circut board. Counting from the left, there are four circular copper-colored dots. The on/off switch is, I believe, the little rectangular doohickey to the right of the fourth dot. It may be connected to the fourth dot in some way.
Having gotten this far, it was discouraging to abandon the cause, but that's what I did. With nothing obvious to try, I just left the monitor in a corner, and went out to get a new one.
On the one hand, I was loathe to buy a new Dell monitor because of my bad experience with this one. However, I do really like the look of the Dell monitors. And I hoped that if I bought a Dell, I'd be able to afix it to the Dell swivel stand that came with my old one. I really like the swivel stand.
I found a relatively cheap Dell (about $220) at Best Buy. It's a widescreen 19-inch flatscreen monitor, and so far it is satisfactory.
I do not like widescreen monitors, and would have bought a regular monitor, but I couldn't find any other kind at Best Buy! I find widescreens are only an advantage when viewing tv shows or movies online, and for any other computer use they are disadvantageous, since you get less vertical real estate for viewing email, web pages, text files, and general coding purposes. Oh well, I can deal with it.
Meanwhile, I have to figure out what to do with my old monitor. I hate to junk it, since it's relatively new. In fact, it may have been still under warantee, but I couldn't find my papers for it (this is what happens when you move). I tried to find an authorized Dell repair shop in my area, but so far I can't even figure out how to find any authorized Dell repair shop. So my monitor is in limbo.
Do I really need to say the legal stuff again? Perhaps. Kids, if you try this at home, it's your own responsibility. If anything like mayhem, death, or broken fingernails result, it is not my fault!
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23 comments:
I have the same problem. I used your photos to get my monitor disassembled, (thanks!), and I think I have a fix, though it is a bit hacked together.
The last circular metal dot is the power switch, the rectangular doohickey next to it is the LED for the power light.
Here is my devised fix, (not tested yet):
1) Place a layer of thin rubber, (in my case I cut this from a black molex boot out of a Dell desktop), over the round power switch to protect it. Don't cover the LED.
2) Drill a hole in the front face plate of the monitor next to the power button hole, like the manual eject hole in a CDROM drive.
3) Remount the circuit board, being careful not to over tighten the area with the added rubber.
4) Reassemble the monitor.
Now the old powerbutton will still light up, but I will need to use an unbent paper clip to, (gently!), turn the monitor on and off when I need to. I will probably leave it on most of the time to prevent wearing out the power switch behind the hole.
I will see if I can take some photos of the process when I do it and let you know if it works.
Got it!!!
I installed a small piece of rubber in front of the switch, drilled a hole next to the power button, and reassembled the case.
Works just like ejecting a cd tray manually, except gentler.
As a side effect, the regular power button now works, mostly, sometimes. I am still glad I drilled the hole because I don't trust the functioning of the power button.
I took some pictures, so I will see what I can do to put together an adjunct to your post and stick it up somewhere.
Hi Jason,
Thanks for the input! Since it worked for you, I will give it a try as soon as I can get around to it.
If you do create a web page about your experience, I'd appreciate it if you post a link to it here...
buddhamouse
I am going to try to write something up. I will post a link here if I do.
Jason's solution is it!!! To simplify things, I did not use a rubber piece. I simply drilled a hole like he said and used a toothpick to power on or off. The hole needs to be right next to the power button. I used a 3/32" drill bit and you probably don't need to take the monitor apart to do this, but you should be very careful. Put a piece of tape on the bit about 1/8" from the tip so you know when to stop drilling and don't go too deep.
Most computers put the monitor to sleep after a few minutes, so if you do not mind seeing a yellow LED, then you don't have to use the new hole. I guess you can simply tape over the power button to not see the light.
The button that you see is directly over the LED not the "actual" power button. Very poor design by Dell, because what presses against the "board button" is a thin, extended piece of plastic from the power button you physically press. It breaks very easily from multiple uses.
BuddhaMouse helped me greatly with his photos. I almost broke the thing before searching the net, lol. I did recycle one other one with the same problem, oh well.
MARV-Dog,
I'm glad that my photos were helpful to you, that Jason's comments helped, and you were able to solve the problem! My defunct monitor is still sitting on a shelf but I plan to get around to attempting the suggested fix eventually...
buddhamouse
Hey guys, same problem here. I bought the monitor used for a good price and not I know why. At least it broke in the on position (not sure if it could break in "off").
Anyway, this was great and I am glad I stopped monkeying with the monitor and took some time to google. I haev concluded I have no business drilling holes in a flat panel, so I am going to just get power stip for the monitor. Not elegent, but functional.
-James
I discovered my power button stopped working in the off position. I pried the button off the faceplate and pressed the actual switch, which is not exactly behind the button. I turn it on and off with the power strip now. I'm glad I didn't disassemble it to do this but had a hunch this was the way to crack it. Thanks for the distructions.
hi all
i have the same monitor and the same problem with the on/off switch
so i have opened the monitor and i found a little piece of the on/off switch it's a very tiny piece so you must look very good to see it but i took the switch ot of the monitor and switch the monitor on and off by a pencil
i have token a picture of it but i don't no how to get a picture overhere
greetings dourkilt
Jason, you rock! You too BuddhaMouse. This is why I love the intarwebbies. My boss busted his power switch and gave the challenge to fix it. I was dubious until I found this post. Once I saw Jason's comment, I went for it and got it on the first try with a mini-leatherman and an ice-pick. Just to make sure that it stays on, I ripped off the power button completely. No no elegant, but effective.
thanks. i was able to take mine apart thanks to your post. mine did have plastic chip floating around in the btton. i would glue somthing in ther to press on the sercuit borad because that id the switch. the screws that mount the board is perfect. i left mine alone since its for testing pcs at work and I just unplugit when not using.
Great information...Mine just quit and I found this fix quickly and repaired my Dell 1907FPc monitor. I was able to disassemble and repair it using a piece of each reapir suggestion to fit my needs. It is back on and I will use my desk master power strip to turnt the monitor on and off freom now on. Thankls all...
Thanks to everyone who posted on this topic. I had the same problem with my monitor as everyone else described. I seperated the black frame around the the monitor as descriped in the posts. Once I got the tiny screws out of the circuit card I saw my problem. I broke the button off and reassembled minus the tiny screw next to the ribbon cable. I put a piece of black tape over the green light and now only turn my monitor on with a toothpick. This saved me from buying a new monitor. Thanks again
Thanks to everyone who posted on this topic. I had the same problem with my monitor as everyone else described. I seperated the black frame around the the monitor as descriped in the posts. Once I got the tiny screws out of the circuit card I saw my problem. I broke the button off and reassembled minus the tiny screw next to the ribbon cable. I put a piece of black tape over the green light and now only turn my monitor on with a toothpick. This saved me from buying a new monitor. Thanks again
I use a dual monitor setup and turn my left monitor to portrait orientation to get vertical real-estate. Great for coding and writing docs. Why didn't you replace the 25 cent power button?
I don't believe there was any way to simply replace a power button - as you can see from the comments of other users with the same issue. I never pursued it further, and wound up getting rid of the monitor. Too bad, but next time I might try fiddling with it more.
Many thanks for the pictures!
Excellent description of how to remove frame followed by suggestions to drill a hole and use a toothpick to engage the on/off switch. Thanks very much everyone. Saved a monitor that is otherwise OK. Much appreciated.
Got the same problem, and fixed it with the help of your comments. Many thanks everyone.
Like others, I just removed the power button and use a toothpick to flip the switch. No need to drill or take anything apart. Great information; thanks!!!
Thank you Buddhamouse for the tutorial, and thank you Jason for the fix. Works perfectly!
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