Samsung SyncMaster 172T LCD is more likely to blame, not iBook
Raven VII said:
All right, you now can see what machine I have below. And I've already stated in the original post that I have an external LCD. A Samsung 172T 17" LCD, about a year old.
Thanks for the clarification of equipment & North American Continental location (if you were from Hawaii, I think you'd have said so with pride), Raven VII, it really helps.
1. unlike my G3 iBook 700, which did have motherboard problems that Apple found by conducting normal diagnostics and fixed when I brought it in for a minor battery screw repair, (some of which could have been gleaned from my signature if a Mac person is a bit knowledgable)
2. you have a 900MHz G3, which is NOT part of the "motherboard" problem class, and
3. although this does not completely eliminate your motherboard as a source of your problems, it does tend to narrow the probabilities considerably (I think you can
stop worrying about you iBook as being the problem)
Regardless, since you do NOT complain that your iBook LCD is malfunctioning, regardless of whether it is 12 or 14, this would logically focus attention on the
connection between your iBook and the external monitor, or the Samsung LCD itself or its
external DC Adapter.
That the 172T SyncMaster is only "about a year old" is good news because of Samsung's
3-year contractual warranty, so you should still have plenty of warranty coverage left. Still, promptly contact the by eMail via samsung.com, 1-800-phone number, or by snail mail (so you have proof of the date of NOTICE) --
You may also want to contact the Retail Store (if any) you purchased the LCD monitor from, especially if you can
physically carry in the Samsung AND your iBook, which is happily both very portable and very Apple, and don't forget the CABLE you use to connect the two (please, God, let it be the cable or power supply) so you can duplicate your situation in their repair facility. If they are an Authorized SAMSUNG repair shop, they can take care of your problems right there.
Remember to take your Paperwork (Receipt) with you, which provides "proof of purchase" or registration, because that's the date from which your warranty runs.
If you bought an "extended" warranty from the Retailer (depending on the period) you will need to comply with the written NOTICE requirements in your contract, and the additional good news here is that they often agree to provide you with another monitor should yours need to be repaired, or simply as a replacement.
I am not familiar with SAMSUNG's support policies, but even if you contact some companies (from my own personal experience more than the last decade, IBM and NEC are prime example)
outside the warranty period, they react positively and may fix it anyway, so do NOT give up on contacting their customer SUPPORT people just because you think it will do not good. You may be pleasantly surprised...or not.
(Please, inform us on your experience with Customer Service & Support, and the kind of treatment and resolution you receive from SAMSUNG, so that the rest of us will have an idea of their Customer Service department's attitude and level of competency.)
As background, your Samsung 172T LCD (also known as the SyncMaster 172T) is an improved 2nd generation 17" monitor by the largest retail and OEM manufacturer of LCD's in the world and their product lines are all considered the best available, so you are starting off with a good purchase choice (outside of an Apple Cinema Display, of course
😉 ).*From a production standpoint, SAMSUNG has a worldwide reputation for doing everything right.* Your model likely first became available in early 2003 after a magnificient introduction by Samsung at COMDEX November 2002.
Here are some stats for your monitor:
17 a-Si TFT/PVA LCD (Active Matrix)
pixel pitch: 0.264mm
Anti-glare coating
Scanning Frequency --
Horizontal: 30-81kHz (analog) / 30-63kHz (digital)
Vertical: 56-75Hz
Response Time: 25ms (Typical)
Contrast Ratio: 500:1 (Typical)***
Compatibility: 1280 x 1024 (Native)
Brightness: 250 cd/m2
Dimensions (WxHxD): 15.2 x 15.6 x 8.5
Power--
Working*: 42W Max
Standby/Off: 5W
Weight: 10.3lbs
Warranty: 3 years parts and labor
***Although the contrast ration is only 500:1, reviews report that your Samsung model's brightness equals or surpasses other LCD monitors (like the excellent ViewSonic) boasting a 600:1 ratio, and far exceeds the flat-panel 17-inch Apple Studio Display which has only a 350:1 ratio.
More than the LCD monitor itself, I would first focus on the external DC Adapter as being a potential trouble maker:
and have it tested first. If the retailer simply lets you use another unit's DC Adapter and the problem goes away, you have quickly identified the problem.
🙂
The only real complaints I've been able to find about your LCD is that there have been some customer claims that the 172T "whined" when switching from analog to DVI. Which brings up a good point, are you attached to the iBook through the DVI converter or by some analog method?