Hello Marc,

This is not permanent damage. Some ferrous metal parts of your monitor or
the cathode ray tube (CRT) became magentized. Most modern monitors have a
degausser. It is a device that demagnetizes all ferrous parts in and
around the CRT. You just push a button to activate it, it makes a strange
vibrating sound and "shakes" the picture, whereby everything is back to
normal. Your 14" probably does not have one of these and you will need to
borrow a degausser from a local computer or television shop. An external
degausser is nothing but a 10-12" spool of wire that creates a strong
magnetic field when plugged into a 50 or 60 Hz electric line (usually runs
on line voltage 120/240 VAC). You hold it away from the front of your
monitor, switch it on, slowly bring it close to the front of the monitor
(which should be turned on so you can see the results) where it begins to
cause the picture to vibrate and distort. You move the coil around in
front and on the sides of the monitor and then slowly withdraw it before
turning it off again. This effectively demagnetizes the metal in and
around the CRT.

If you are an electrician or have experience with building electrical
devices you can put one of these together very simply by coiling a large
length of wire (you have to calculate the resistance and balance it with a
bridge) and attach a switch and socket. If this doesn't immediately make
sense just forget it and look around for a degausser that you can borrow
or rent for half-an-hour.

Good luck,

Bruce

In <98110214363420.25799@web03>, on 11/02/98 at 02:36 PM,
   Marc Guise <[log in to unmask]> said:

>My young son was pointing to something on the screen while holding a
>magnet in his hand, which caused the display to distort and discolour.

--
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        Bruce Boschek - Institute of Medical Virology
        Justus-Liebig-University - Giessen, Germany
            Brought to you through IBM OS/2 Warp 4
                       and MR/2 ICE (Reg. #19501)
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