Question: In the past two years, I have owned two IBM G50 monitors. In both, the picture tubes blew. The first time, IBM told me it was cheaper to buy a new monitor than to replace a picture tube. My one-year warranty had run out. The next monitor came to me from IBM as a replacement for the first one. The picture tube in the second G50 monitor blew within four months. I was later told it was an IBM preconditioned model with only a 90-day warranty. I was past the 90-day warranty, so they couldn't help me. My third monitor is not an IBM G50. It is a lower-end product with a one-year warranty. I am hoping it will last to the year 2000. Is there anything I can do to prevent this problem from happening again? This is a costly venture. A local computer vendor advised that if the "refresh rate" in the Windows 95 program is set too high, it can blow the monitor's picture tube? Is he correct?

Answer: If you set the refresh rate on your machine too high, it will blow up monitors. A tech I spoke to said he found that the G50 monitors were problematic. A trust company that used these monitors replaced thousands of them across the company.

Iin this situation though a good quality power bar might be the answer. A UPS (or Uninterruptable Power Source) would also be a good idea.

Don't expect to pay less than $40 CDN / $25 US for a good power bar. The manufacturer to look for is APC.

If you've had no problem with the power in your home before and have a decent power bar or UPS which cleans spikes and brownouts from a power source, then you may have just had horrible luck.

If your non-IBM-brand monitor suffers a similar fate, it might be time to get a good electrician in to have a look at the power supply in your house.

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