This is a very old PC, It has a 15 inch CRT monitor and no graphics card (inbuilt I think).

Since a few months, the monitor has been getting more and more blurry. I can read text all right, almost fine (except for big bold fonts, where the borders of the text appear blurry), and pics are almost fine too. Its just a general blurring of the monitor, the toolbars, text on the titlebars of windows etc.. Also certain icons seem distorted when they were fine before. This has been gradual over around 10 months and gets worse over time...

Where does the problem lie ? Is it the monitor or do I need a graphics card ? Or is it the cable from the PC to the monitor ? I'd appreciate help please, its a strain on the eyes.

most likely the monitor, my friends monitor is in the process of dying right now... try plugging it in to another source such as a laptop to confirm that it is the monitor.

Yeah, I'd also say it's the monitor. But explore your possibilities because one can never be too sure.

my sisters moniter was like that too. try refreshing the moniter until it becomes clear again, it works for me, i have to refresh the screen every time i change graphic source.

CRT? The tube's dying. You can try adjusting the focus, but it won't last much longer.

Yes, I agree with LLXX. I had a monitor that exhibited similar symptoms that progressively became worse until the monitor died. The monitor had been mine for ages, and I know that I spent a few tearful nights crying over my recent loss until I got over it and went to NE to buy my new 19" LCD.

Try to degauss the tube (not sure if you have that option in the monitor menu), but get another one, this won't last much longer.

Thank you for your help, mates.

yeah, it does seem to be the monitor. The repairman will take a look at it soon, I don't know if adjustment to compensate for it is possible or not. He seemed pretty sure too over the phone that the monitor was at fault. Its getting to be an eyesore. Normal text like this is fine, but bold and larger fonts seem distorted too in addition to being a bit blurry.The strange thing is, even though it has been a gradual thing, icons seemed pretty sharp till about a week ago. Then I reinstalled XP, and even icons became very blurry immediately. The difference was easily noticeable.

Thank you for your help, mates.

yeah, it does seem to be the monitor. The repairman will take a look at it soon, I don't know if adjustment to compensate for it is possible or not. He seemed pretty sure too over the phone that the monitor was at fault. Its getting to be an eyesore. Normal text like this is fine, but bold and larger fonts seem distorted too in addition to being a bit blurry.The strange thing is, even though it has been a gradual thing, icons seemed pretty sharp till about a week ago. Then I reinstalled XP, and even icons became very blurry immediately. The difference was easily noticeable.

That's just the result of running at the wrong resolution. Max for a 15-inch CRT is 800x600, although in many cases 640x480 will be much clearer.

Thank you for your help, mates.

yeah, it does seem to be the monitor. The repairman will take a look at it soon, I don't know if adjustment to compensate for it is possible or not. He seemed pretty sure too over the phone that the monitor was at fault. Its getting to be an eyesore. Normal text like this is fine, but bold and larger fonts seem distorted too in addition to being a bit blurry.The strange thing is, even though it has been a gradual thing, icons seemed pretty sharp till about a week ago. Then I reinstalled XP, and even icons became very blurry immediately. The difference was easily noticeable.

That's just the result of running at the wrong resolution. Max for a 15-inch CRT is 800x600, although in many cases 640x480 will be much clearer.

Well, I've been using it at 800*600 for a year and a half without any problems for the large part.