H233H stuck in test mode?

kf7vg
kf7vg Member Posts: 6 New User

I bought three H233H LCD monitors at the same time for our workstations at home a few years ago.  One of them sat unused for a couple of years when my daughter left the state so I decided to use it for testing PCs I was working on.

 

I was working on one the other day that seemed to have a display card problem because the H233H would start up normally and do all of it's self-tests but then would go into powersave mode telling me there was problems with the card or DVI cable. So I shut the monitor down, replaced the card, hooked it up to a different VGA-only monitor and all appeared OK.  Then I hooked it up to the H233H.

 

This time all of the lights on the front panel came on instead of going through the 'step-through' when it self tests.  Then the monitor started displaying full screens of single colors cycling through red, green, blue, and then black, and then started the colored-screen cycle all over again as if it's stuck in an infinite loop.  This happened with either the VGA or DVI cables connected and the computer powered up and of course the initial bootup text from the computer couldn't be displayed.

 

The only button that seemed to be working was the "Input" button because it would cause the monitor to attempt to sense a signal on all three ports, but then it would close that corner display and continue cycling through the colors.  None of the other buttons are functional, meaning there's no access to the configuration Menu and the OSD.

 

After disconnecting the video cable from the monitor, disconnecting the AC power cord for about 15 minutes and then powering it up without the video cable connected hoping that it would normalize, I discovered that it continued not to self-test and start cycling full screens of color.  I've seen display tests that cycle through the monitor's primary colors so that's why I was thinking it was stuck in some sort of test mode.

 

Has anyone seen this happen before?  

 

Is there a way to 'reset' the control processor in the monitor?  Is there a way to communicate with the control processor directly from one of the video ports like I've seen in a few other monitors?  

 

There is a power-on sequence mentioned in the service manual for another Acer monitor that will put the monitor in "Factory OSD mode".  Is this available in the H233H?

 

This was a spare monitor so I'm not in any rush to replace it.  But before I tear into it to see if there are any bulged or blown electrolytics in the power supply or other internal issues I may be able to handle, I'd like to know if there are any alternatives.

 

Anybody?  

Answers

  • -Justin
    -Justin Member Posts: 2,362 Skilled Specialist WiFi Icon

    kf7vg,

     

    I'm going to research this for you and see if I can't get you an answer.

  • kf7vg
    kf7vg Member Posts: 6 New User

    Thank you, Justin!

  • -Justin
    -Justin Member Posts: 2,362 Skilled Specialist WiFi Icon

    kf7vg,

     

    I think factory mode is entered by pressing the power button while holding the menu button.

    In order to get out of factory mode you press the menu key twice while it is on, then power off and back on.

     

    Could you please send me a PM with your serial number while I'm researching this so I can make sure the right steps are given? What I have given may work, if not I'll see what I can get from there with the serial number.

  • kf7vg
    kf7vg Member Posts: 6 New User

    Justin,

     

    Sorry I haven't responded in so long.

     

    Here's the information on the s/n plate:

    SNID:  ***

    DOM:  Feb 2009

    S/N:   ETLFS0W010****

    UPC:   884483448982

    ET.VH 3HP001

     

    Hope you can find some information on this monitor.

     

    Thanks again!

     

    [edited for privacy-please do not post personal or unique information such as but not limited to full names, email addresses, phone numbers, serial numbers, etc.]

  • -Justin
    -Justin Member Posts: 2,362 Skilled Specialist WiFi Icon

    kf7vg,

     

    I received your message and passed the information along. Here are a couple troubleshooting steps I can think of that might get it out of factory mode, in addition to what I already posted before:

     

    • Disconnect the video cable and reconnect.
    • Unplug power from the monitor for 15 minutes and plug power back in.
  • kf7vg
    kf7vg Member Posts: 6 New User

    Thanks, Justin!

     

    I'd already tried those methods and neither of them worked.  I'd even tried other desktops on all the ports to no avail.

     

    Hopefully someone will come up with the correct solution. 

  • -Justin
    -Justin Member Posts: 2,362 Skilled Specialist WiFi Icon

    kf7vg,

     

    Could you please PM me the following information, I would like to have this brought in as a one off to get the firmware flashed for you since none of the steps provided are working. I realize it is a bit out of warranty, no worries, I will have that taken care of since this is a one off situation. Smiley Happy

    • Contact name
    • Contact number
    • Email address
    • Shipping address

     

  • ldv
    ldv Member Posts: 1 New User
    Did this ever get resolved? I seem to be having the exact same issue. I've tried all the suggested solutions to no avail :-( 
    • In order to get out of factory mode you press the menu key twice while it is on, then power off and back on.
    • Disconnect the video cable and reconnect.
    • Unplug power from the monitor for 15 minutes and plug power back in.
  • Hyouka
    Hyouka Member Posts: 2 New User
    Might be slightly different than the original issue, but I was reviewing this thread and thought I would give my update.

    Had cycling colors on monitor when there was no source coming from HDMI or DP connection. Fix was turning on machine to get a connection; that let me use menu settings. Enable menu setting for Deep Sleep for both HDMI and DP.

    Seems the cycling colors was a weird result of not having a source input and not going to sleep. Might be a test mode but couldn't find documentation for any of that.

    Hope this can help someone.