well, the first part of this post will be a little bit of help intended for people who have recently bought a Samsung SyncMaster SA10 monitor and are struggling to get the thing to come on with a Windows 7 PC. and believe me, there are many. i am doing it in the wild hope that google or similar helps people looking for assistance, as i found precisely none on the internet.
the second part shall be for pure whine / your humour purposes, so please take it or leave it.
righty-ho, starting with the assistance. the Samsung SyncMaster SA10 monitor gets very good reviews, and presently you can get it for a rather good price here. the trick is that many PCs running Windows 7 simply do not like it in respect of plug and play - all you get is a black, powered off screen when you plug it in. eventually, i worked it out.
here is how you get your new Samsung SynchMaster SA10 or S19A10N to work :
plug in your old monitor and power up.
right click (assuming you have a right handed mouse setting) on the desktop and select "screen resolution".
on screen resolution select the lowest possible resolution, normally 800x600.
don't worry that your screen will looked messed up and be showing barely a quarter of the screen. just make sure you click "accept settings".
switch off PC, plug in your new Samsung SynchMaster SA10 or S19A10N, power up and voila! watch as your new monitor now comes on and self or auto adjusts to run fine.
yeah, it really is that simple. so simple you would have thought it easy enough to tell someone this up front. sadly, however, Samsung take a radically different approach to assisting clients.
firstly, when searching for help for a Samsung SynchMaster SA10 you do not find much at all. once you clock that Samsung prefer to call it the Samsung SynchMaster 19A10N, however, you get somewhere. i really do get fed up with this - Samsung are not the only guilty ones. they sell you a product with one particular name, but then refer to it as their "special name" alone on their side. just why is it so difficult to make something, pick a name for it and then stick to just using that name alone on a universal level?
right, here you go with a transcript of 1 (one) hour i spent having an online chat with someone in the USA to try and get this fixed. read if you wish, but if you want the highlights, it is only one hour into the conversation that i get the advice above that let me work out how to use it.
Chat start time Jan 20, 2012 4:43:06 PM EST
Chat end time Jan 20, 2012 5:53:32 PM EST
Duration (actual chatting time) 01:10:26
Operator Danny
Danny: Hi, thanks for reaching out to Samsung tech support. How can I help you today?
lee: Hi there
Danny: Hi, please go ahead with your query.
lee: i just bought a Samsung synchmaster SA 10 s19a 10n, running Win 7 home premium. i just get a blank screen. when i plug it in to an XP PC it works fine.
Danny: I see that you are not chatting from the U.S. Did you purchase the unit in the U.S?
lee: nope, down here in South Africa. the model code is ls19a 10ns/xa
lee: i think, at least - model number print is very small.
lee: is there some sort of setting in Win 7 i need to change? when i press the power on the monitor i just get the mouse logo for sleep mode, moved mouse, pressed keys, nothing.
Danny: I am sorry; we are trained on Samsung US Products only. I recommend you contact your local phone support number at: 0860 726786 Mon-Fri 08-00 AM-18:00 PM. Sat-Sun : 08:00AM to 17:00 PM Closed on Sundays.
lee: you know, this is the last time i buy Samsung! no help anywhere! Win 7 is Win 7 wherever you are in the world!!!
lee: it works on an XP machine but not Windows 7?
Danny: I understand your frustration and I truly apologize for the same.
lee: nothing on your site anywhere, except lots of people with the same problem. are you telling me you have never heard of this before?
Danny: I am sorry for the inconvenience caused to you.
Danny: We don't have any known issues with the monitor.
lee: except when you look on the page for it on your site and there are problems people have listed, no answers given?
Danny: All Samsung monitors are Plug and Play.
lee: except this one, which plugs in but does not play. why not? what are the power settings i need to adjust on Windows 7 to make it work or respond to a "wake up" from the keyboard or mouse?
Danny: The technical information and specifications of a monitor vary from country to country. Also, the voltage and the power requirement vary from place to place.
lee: you really don't want to help, do you? it has nothing to do with voltage, i have told you it works on an XP machine but not a Win 7 one. the web is full of people with the same problem and no answers. for some reason it does not respond to "wake up
lee: on Windows 7, why not and how do i change the settings in Win 7 so that it does please?
Danny: I am sorry for the inconvenience.
Danny: Would you mind holding a few minutes while I gather the required information for your request?
lee: yeah, sure, midnight here, have been battling since 6pm to get a flicker of life, why not
Danny: Thank you.
Danny: Thank you for holding.
Danny: I suggest you please try connecting the monitor to another windows 7 PC.
lee: how many pcs do you think i have? if you look around the web and your own site this is a recurring problem, are you seriously saying you have no idea what settings i need to change to?
Danny: I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you.
lee: are you saying just take it back to the store and get an LG, then?
Danny: We don't have information about any known issues with the monitor.
lee: oh yes you do - please go to your own site for this model and look at all the unanswered questions people have posted, some with the exact problem i have.
Danny: There are no settings on the monitor for any operating system, the monitor is plug and play.
lee: let me try again - plug it into a Windows 7 PC, nothing, plug it into a Windows XP PC, works perfectly, what settings need changing in Windows 7 to make it work. the driver i downloaded from your site for it makes no difference.
Danny: All Samsung monitors are Plug and Play and there is no need to install drivers. The same holds true for windows 7 operating systems as well.
lee: so why do you have drivers for download and how do i fix this?
Danny: I am sorry; we have reached the limit of our technical knowledge on this product. We recommend calling 0860 726786 Mon-Fri 08-00 AM-18:00 PM. Sat-Sun : 08:00AM to 17:00 PM . They are trained in this product, and will be able to assist you further
lee: i have reached the end of my patience with Samsung. back to the shop with this printed out to show that you will not help, then posting it everywhere i can as a warning to anyone thinking of your products. hopefully one day you will make things that you can work and assist with,
Danny: I understand your frustration and I truly apologize for the same.
lee: then why not help? how hard can it be to tell someone where and what they change in the power saving setting so that the monitor and pc are speaking to each other?
Danny: I am sorry, we don't have knowledge about the settings in your monitor. We are trained on the US products only.
lee: it's the same thing as you have in the US according to your website. the problem is settings in Windows 7, which is a universal, unless you'd care to tell me about a Windows 7 USA only edition?
lee: http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/monitors/LS19A10NS/ZA#-reviews?bvaction=writereview
lee: the "us" bit in the address is a bit of a giveaway.
Danny: Thank you for the information.
lee: great, a pleasure to give you your own information back. does it help you to help me, in the words of Cuba Gooding jnr?
lee: i guess not.....
Danny: Would you mind holding a few minutes while I gather the required information for your request?
lee: ok
Danny: Thank you.
Danny: Thank you for being on hold, it is taking more time than required for me to pull up the information, please be on hold for the next few minutes.
lee: sure, way past my bedtime anyway
Danny: I will be right with you.
Danny: I am sorry.
Danny: Thank you for holding.
Danny: Could you please let me know are you using different PC's for XP and Windows7?
lee: yes i am, 2 different PCs. sorry if that wasn't clear in the 3 or 4 times i said i plugged it into a different pc.
Danny: Thank you for the information.
Danny: Which connection cables you are using to connect both the PC's to monitor?
lee: the one that came with the monitor?
Danny: Are you using the same cable for both PC's?
lee: it's not the cable because when i disconnect that all of a sudden your monitor works to tell me no cable is connected.
Danny: Thank you for the information.
lee: yes, same cable. monitor and cable are fine, the problem, as i did mention in passing, is that your monitor does not like Win 7 in respect of thos power saving rubbish.
Danny: Thank you for the information.
Danny: Could you please let me know native resolution set on the windows 7 PC?
lee: where do i find that info?
Danny: Please click on the below link to set native resolution on your PC.
Danny: http://support-us.samsung.com/cyber/popup/iframe/pop_troubleshooting_fr.jsp?idx=152790&modelname=S19A10N&modelcode=&session_id=PZcljQvJPpG40pdVP2lJcTKLD4dwqpVQnNSGJyX0PLnt1vGpLyMm!1007829046!-1367578310!1327094949554
Danny: Are you able to access the link?
lee: resolution 1280x1024(reccomended). this of course is on my old working monitor
lee: i have spent some time changing that setting this evening, switching off, plugging in the Samsung, getting a blank screen every time.
Danny: resolution native resolution of the monitor is 1366x768. Could you please set the native resolution to 1366x768?
lee: it goes no higher than 1280x1024 so i cannot do that.
Danny: Please reduce the native resolution to 720p.
lee: lowest it goes is 800x600
Danny: Please set it 800X600 native resolution and let me know if the issue persists.
lee: and how do i do that? i do not have the samsung plugged in, hence me being able to see this?
lee: i need a solution i can try once this is done.
Danny: Thank you for the information.
lee: i really don't get this Thank you for the information thing, it's a touch condescending and patronizing. i have explained the issue, advised you that it apparently common with Samsung and Win 7 and yet you seem to just skip this.
lee: btw, as i mentioned earlier, tried all the different settings on resolution and a blank screen, so yes the problem persists.
lee: the issue, once again, is that the monitor and PC are not communicating in regards of the power save thing.
Danny: The device needs to be serviced. Please file an online service request so that your monitor will be serviced.
lee: you are kidding? i just bought it brand new today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lee: it also works perfectly on an XP machine, you seem to forget>
Danny: I recommend you contact your local phone support number at: 0860 726786 Mon-Fri 08-00 AM-18:00 PM. Sat-Sun : 08:00AM to 17:00 PM Closed on Sundays.
Danny: I could've helped you if I had enough information on it and do not want to give you any wrong information. I hope you can understand our limitations.
lee: i have given you every single scrap of information there is, please do not speak such nonsense. your limitation seems to be you sell a product that people complain about and you cannot tell anyone how to fix it.
lee: cheers, thanks for nothing.
well, there you have it. how peculiar that Samsung wish to sell to the world and yet only offer support and help (if it can be called that) to US clients on a facility that can be accessed around the world.
i must say i am very happy with the monitor now that it is up and running, and indeed shall cherish it as the very last Samsung item i ever purchase.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Lee.
ReplyDeleteI bought the same product from Incredible Connection and am having the same issue you had except that your fix didnt work and my monitor wont even work on an XP machine.
I see asking Samsung is a waste of time. Do you,or anyone else reading this, possibly know another fix for this...
Regards,
Shaun
Hi there
ReplyDeleteobviously first, sorry to hear that it's not worked for you.
assuming you have checked the obvious - power cable, power button under the Samsung logo, cable to the PC - it sounds like a possible "dud", especially as XP seems to self-adjust to the monitor where Windows 7 does not.
one other thing that you may have tried is do you have more than one video card? if you installed your own, don't forget there's a "default" one on the tower. try that one?
the best advice i can give is take it back to IC with all the cables you are using and get them to test it. it could well be a dud monitor.
Samsung and the monitor are two of the most customer unfriendly things i've experienced, but i have to say once working it is brilliant. hope you come right mate!