Strange Things Keep Happening To Me

[Debbie]

It appears that I'm keeping this forum alive
I have a few days ago built a computer with the following hardware:

Asus P8P67 Pro MOBO
Intel i5 3.1 GHz Processor
8 GB RAM Corsair
Gainward GT 520 Graphics card
Pinnacle MovieBoard HD capture card

Problem:
If I am capturing and switch off the CRT monitor the capturing stops
I have 2 sockets in the video card. One is for VGA and the other for DVI.
Capturing stops if I have the monitor connected to the VGA socket. If I connect to the DVI socket via a VGA to DVI adapter there is no problem exept that the display in the BIOS settings screen is garbled. One option is to change socket according to need.
Why goes capturing behave this way I wonder.

[TransformX]

Only guessing here, but windows knows when you turn off your monitor, it even emits a sound when you do so (XP). Using the DVI-VGA converter probably kills this feature.
Could be this interrupt triggers something in the video capture software?

[VJ]

Debbie: Does the capture stop elegantly (as if someone pressed stop), or does it stop abrupt (as if the software crashes)?

TransformX: My windows has never made a sound when I switch off a monitor connected to it. But it is true that Windows knows what is connected. Still, I would guess that feature would keep working also through a DVI-VGA dongle: it just connects straight through. But maybe the videocard behaves differently? I have no other ideas either...

[TransformX]

Dongles jam stuff, just like all those switch (kvm) boxes ruin the PnP behaviour of some monitors. I've seen it here at work more than once.

[Debbie]

JV, When I switch the monitor off or unplug it off the mains power, the capturing stops without any crashing. Further more it starts capturing again as soon as the monitor is back on. It does not save the first part, it just forgets it. Removing the VGA plug from the video card does'nt cause any stopping.

[VJ]

That is really weird... I have no idea...

[Debbie]

That is really weird... I have no idea...

I tried another couple of monitors and it did'nt happen

[cjolley]

I tried another couple of monitors and it did'nt happen

I wonder if a signal the monitor is sending the computer makes the software think the whole computer is going to sleep. A not too successful attempt at power saving.
Is it an older monitor? New enough to be power saving aware, but not new enough to be good at it?

[Debbie]

It's a AOC CRT monitor Mod. F1770

[VJ]

It looks like we are all equally puzzled...

[degrub]

SOunds like a ground connection issue. When the power is witched off something is pulling down/up a voltage on the video card or breaking the ground path.. Disconnecting prevents the drain at the video card and the interrupt. Particularly if only for this monitor. Bet it has a bad board.

[Marshmallowman]

cool, while your at it maybe you can explain why one my computers turns on when I turn a desktop lamp on or off

It will only occurr if the computer has been booted into windows(XP) and shutdown.

Just booting into to bios screen and shutting down does not induce "lamp sensitivity"

bios settings
WOL disable , off after power losss etc....
All wiring is checked and ok, even have a new earth leakage installed,

[degrub]

does the lamp have a capacitive touch switch ?

i would guess that it is getting a bump to the reset line perhaps across the neutral or safety ground..

i've had a bad solid state ceiling fan controller leak enough current to trigger one of those lamps before. Seems that solid state capacitors have different issues than the old foil ones.

[Debbie]

SOunds like a ground connection issue........ Bet it has a bad board.

Can you please explain further.

[degrub]

Just looking at what was described - removal of power to the monitor circuits versus disconnect of the output cable - makes me think that a component in the monitor is discharging / not maintaining sufficient voltage and that is ( a little fuzzy here - don't remember of the signalling is + or - voltage or just differential) and one of the lines in the video signal output is being affected - to the point the driver or video card is interrupted. Since it appears to happen only with this program, i would suspect the driver is getting something it doesn't understand.

If the issue stays only with that monitor, i would suspect the monitor hardware. If it stays with the cable across multiple monitors, then the cable or video card/driver. If is stays with just the video card then either a card issue or a driver issue.

Without a scope, it's is just deduction from this end.