Cannot adjust brightness/contrast on AOC E2270Sw. (Probably M/B problem "H81M-VG4 R3.0")

[Ivan Ivanov]

Hi All

I bought a really cheap configuration for a relative of mine and encountered the following problem:
Despite my best efforts I cannot adjust brightness/contrast or any other parameter for that mater. (like H/V position H/V size... etc.)

Now, I'd like to distinguish myself from all those who get puzzled that the monitor doesn't have any buttons for such adjustments, don't read the manual to learn that there is an application dedicated for that job, and just don't know what to do. Those kinds of issues were virtually all I encountered while googling for a solution.

Here's what I did so far.

- I installed fresh Windows 7 and fully updated it.
- Installed all the latest drivers for all the hardware.
- Installed the "i-Menu" application which manages all the adjustments and and info about the monitor.

- At first the app couldn't even detect the monitor, reporting: "No PnP monitor detected" but after I installed the driver form the monitor's disc the app started detecting the monitor correctly.
When I launch it the app reprts "Detected LCD PnP monitor", and after loading is done it displays all the monitor's stats. (Model, native resolution etc.) But all the sliders are still inactive. I mean they slide but nothing happens as a result of that.

- I tested the monitor on my laptop (Installed the driver and i-Menu) and all worked fine. So I managed to reduce the brightness so it doesn't "pop" my eyes.

Initially I couldn't adjust the brightness through Intel's integrated GC but after some windows updates it started working. but it's not convenient at all and saturates the picture very quickly.

So my theory is that the mobo is so cheap it lacks some connections/hardware-functionality that the monitor's software needs in order to work. Well that doesn't explain why the monitor is detected correctly?!

Could be a software issue; I tried to install the latest i-Menu from the manufacturer's web site but the archive was broken... 🙁 I looked for other places to download it from but couldn't find any.

There is no better driver than that on the disc.

Both monitor and mobo have only D-Sub interface to connect through.

OK that's all, hope someone can help, Thanks in advance!

 

[Ivan Ivanov]

Now I can answer the question myself. It's a incompatibility in the i-Menu software. If it shows up it can't be fixed. I used a third party software that has the same functionality.

It's expected from such a cheap and crappy monitor to have buggy software. They just don't test it enough.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

My AOC Monitor has a full set of 5 screen configuration buttons along the bottom edge which brings up an OSD - - so no software required. i-Menu on mine is only an optional configuration method. I prefer to use the hardware buttons. I tried i-Menu & it's clunky to say the least so I uninstalled it. Fortunately for me I could simply revert to using the monitor set up buttons & OSD, much quicker to configure, more intuitive, no drama.

You unfortunately chose a monitor which doesn't have a full set of buttons, so i-Menu (or similar software) is no longer optional, it becomes a necessity unless you can live with the default settings.

Advise in future that you check full specs and buyer reviews in future before buying a monitor - - avoid those which don't have a full complement of hardware buttons for configuring the screen.

I wouldn't say all AOC monitors are "crappy", at least not mine anyway which was one of the more expensive models in their range. I'd be quite happy buying another in the same price range or even higher.