monitor ghosting? It could be a 1 minute fix…

Could it be that simple? My 2nd monitor was ‘ghosting’ – or showing a dark shadow to the right of my image, it left me blinking and thinking I had dirty glasses… and yes… the suggested fix was so simple, that I couldn’t believe it would work…. so did it work? What was the solution?

Well first, what exactly is ‘ghosting’?Image wth ghosting on an lcd monitor

Monitor ghosting or image ghosting when you see a shadow or a remnant of the image in addition to the original image.  The screen will look like it is ‘out of focus’ – or perhaps your eyes feel ‘fuzzy’ – either way, the image on the screen is not sharp, and it leaves you feeling either your eyes, or the monitor are ‘malfunctioning’.

Here is a picture of ‘ghosting’ on the right side

So I googled various ghosting searches and the results were many and varied – from altering refresh rate, to checking drivers and more. All of which looked like a lot of work… so I kept reading.

One solution was so simple… you might have cables interfering with each other… hmm.. could it be?

It was… I moved the monitor cable and separated it from the USB cable running to the USB hub… VOILA – ghosting gone. The monitor image was now sharp as can be… if you have ghosting on your monitor – try moving your cables while watching the screen If you see the image ‘shift’ when you move the cable, then you probably have interference and can fix it by simply separating your cables!!!

Seriously – it will take you 3-4 times as long to read this post, as it will try this trick and to move your cables… try it now!


If you move your cables and don’t get rid of your video ghosting problems – you could consider some shielded monitor cables.  This type of monitor cable typically has more protection from electromagnetic interference.  Cables included with your monitor likely have little to no shielding, but a premium shielded monitor should have much more protection.


In summary – steps to fix monitor ghosting on your system:

  1. Move your monitor cables – check if you have interference from either another monitor cable, USB or another cable in the vicinity of your monitor cable.
  2. Replace cheap unshielded monitor cables with affordable shielded monitor cables.
  3. Update your graphics drivers with the latest available from your graphics card or graphics chipset manufacturer.

Reposted with Permission from ‘A Social Animal

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