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September 12th, 2009 00:00

2408WFP bright pixel and occasional vertical line?

Hi guys,

I've been using my 2408WFP for about a year now, and it's had a stuck bright pixel for roughly 2 months now. It's not the most noticeable thing in the world (but certainly annoying), so I've been ignoring it for now.

Unfortunately, about a week ago, the monitor started displaying a random magenta vertical line about 2 inches from the bezel on the right side. It stayed for about 30 minutes or so, then mysteriously disappeared. Since then, it has reappeared about a dozen times, and it usually disappears after 15-20 minutes of use. The line is very disruptive when doing graphics work or watching movies, and it's something that I can't put up with.

I wanted to contact Dell's tech support to set up an RMA, but every form requires a service tag before I can proceed. I can't find a service tag anywhere on the monitor, and I don't seem to have one in the original invoice(s) (just an order number and purchase ID). After unfortunate past experiences with Dell's phone support (I received a call back after midnight once), I generally try to stick to email. What's my best option?

Finally, I've heard numerous reports of input lag issues on 2408WFPs, both here on these forums and elsewhere. I got lucky with my monitor - it doesn't seem to have horrible input lag (A00 firmware, so it's a small miracle). Has the input lag generally improved on newer revisions of the monitor, or can I expect a replacement to perform worse than my current one? A monitor with bad input lag is something that I simply will not tolerate.

Thank you.

1.3K Posts

September 12th, 2009 05:00

CurseTheSky,

This is information about monitor replacement. http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19263699/19447561.aspx . You usually get a refurbished monitor for most products more than 21days old in the US. http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/policy/en/policy?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~section=018#total

This is a Dell tech support page.

September 12th, 2009 09:00

Thank you for the reply.

However, what do I use on the tech support page to get around being required to enter a service tag?

Thanks.

1.3K Posts

September 12th, 2009 12:00

You might have to call them.

Community Manager

 • 

54.9K Posts

September 12th, 2009 16:00

CurseTheSky,

If you only have a monitor order number, you should contact Customer Service. They will need the following information -
Name:
Email Address:
Shipping address:
Phone number:
Monitor Order number:
Computer Service Tag number if monitor was purchased bundled:
Monitor 20 digit PPID number found on the back on a label or on the slider card on the left rear:
Operating system:
Video card:
Video card ports tested:
Reason:

September 16th, 2009 19:00

I own a Dell 2408WFP monitor that I purchased about 1 1/2 years ago and during the past two weeks my monitor has developed a one-pixel wide vertical magenta line about 2 inches from the right side of the monitor.   The line disappears within minutes and would only occasionally  reappear after the computer was shut down and restarted.  Occasionally a second vertical blue line would appear beside the magenta but the blue line was much more infrequent and both lines disappeared after a few minutes.   Initially I thought the problem lay with the monitor but I thought in fairness the problem could also be with my graphics card, an MSI Nvidia GEForce 6600 GT 500 MB card.

I bought a less expensive graphics card, PNY Nvidia GEForce 6400GS, for $35 (net price of $19.95 after $15 rebate) for the purpose to perform a differential diagnosis to determine if the vertical line in the monitor is caused by my graphics card or monitor.  My new graphics card arrived today and I have installed it and fortunately both of the graphics cards, old and new, run with the same newest Nvidia driver version 6.14.11.9062.

It has only been a few hours but after shutting down and powering up my computer (owner-built desktop) multiple times, it appears that the problem may have been the graphics card as the vertical line is non-existent so far with the new graphics card  I'll give it a few more days, or a week or two, to see if the vertical monitor line stays away by using the new graphics card.  If everything holds I'll probably buy a new, higher-end graphics card to replace the older one that seems to be the cause of the vertical lines.   

Otherwise, the Dell 24" flat monitor, 2408WFP has been outstanding.

 

 

September 17th, 2009 07:00

I own a Dell 2408WFP monitor that I purchased about 1 1/2 years ago and during the past two weeks my monitor has developed a one-pixel wide vertical magenta line about 2 inches from the right side of the monitor.   The line disappears within minutes and would only occasionally  reappear after the computer was shut down and restarted.  Occasionally a second vertical blue line would appear beside the magenta but the blue line was much more infrequent and both lines disappeared after a few minutes.   Initially I thought the problem lay with the monitor but I thought in fairness the problem could also be with my graphics card, an MSI Nvidia GEForce 6600 GT 500 MB card.

I bought a less expensive graphics card, PNY Nvidia GEForce 6400GS, for $35 (net price of $19.95 after $15 rebate) for the purpose to perform a differential diagnosis to determine if the vertical line in the monitor is caused by my graphics card or monitor.  My new graphics card arrived today and I have installed it and fortunately both of the graphics cards, old and new, run with the same newest Nvidia driver version 6.14.11.9062.

It has only been a few hours but after shutting down and powering up my computer (owner-built desktop) multiple times, it appears that the problem may have been the graphics card as the vertical line is non-existent so far with the new graphics card  I'll give it a few more days, or a week or two, to see if the vertical monitor line stays away by using the new graphics card.  If everything holds I'll probably buy a new, higher-end graphics card to replace the older one that seems to be the cause of the vertical lines.   

Otherwise, the Dell 24" flat monitor, 2408WFP has been outstanding.

 

 

Oops!  I spoke too soon.  This morning after having the computer shut down overnight, I turned on my computer and the vertical line in my Dell 2408WFP monitor shows again.  Mind you, this is with a new graphics card installed, so it appears that the vertical line problem resides with the Dell monitor.  I was hoping to avoid the hassle of shipping the monitor back and I have concerns of receiving a refurbished monitor that may have not received the same care that I have taken with mine.

September 18th, 2009 13:00

Oops!  I spoke too soon.  This morning after having the computer shut down overnight, I turned on my computer and the vertical line in my Dell 2408WFP monitor shows again.  Mind you, this is with a new graphics card installed, so it appears that the vertical line problem resides with the Dell monitor.  I was hoping to avoid the hassle of shipping the monitor back and I have concerns of receiving a refurbished monitor that may have not received the same care that I have taken with mine.

Those are my concerns exactly. Most of all, I don't want to have to go through the hassle of shipping a monitor back several times due to stuck pixels, input lag, etc.

I realize it isn't Dell's fault that these monitors experience problems, however it would be nice if we received new-in-box units rather than refurbs.

And then there's always the fun of finding a temporary monitor in the mean time so I can still do work while the RMA is being processed. Ugh.

10 Posts

March 17th, 2010 09:00

Hi,

Exact same problem here :

1) 1 pixel vertical magenta line about 2 inches from the right side of my 2408WFP monitor, which a bought on September 2008.

2) The line appears when my computer wakes up after being on sleep mode. Same problem if I change computer.

3) Occasionally there are two lines, side by side.

4) They disappear after a while. 

I called Dell. I had to mess arround on the phone for an hour (they give me the "You're not at the right place, please call this number instead" three or four times). Finally I got someone to talk to. Fortunatly, when I bought the monitor, I bought an extended 4 years warranty. The guy over the phone knew about the problem (I didn't told him the line appears after the computer wakes up : he told me so himself : "So you've got a vertical line appearing when you start the computer or when it wakes up?"). 

I specifically asked to know if the remplacement monitor they're sending me is a new one or a refurb. They told me it's a new one. 

I'm just hoping the new one will be okay. I paid 800$CA for this monitor. Any major problem after only a year and a half of activity is unacceptable.

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