Repairing the cable depends on where and how it broke. Borken wire, wires that rubbed through the insulation and are shorting to each other or to the shield, broken connection at the circuit board in the monitor, broken connection at the PC connector end, etc.
Monitor cables have special requirements and you can not just string some wires together. You will need a new cable (or one scrapped off another Monitor).
Repairing one requires skills and knowledge of trouble shooting a damaged cable and some tools. The PC end connector is usually molded rubber which means cutting it off to inspect the end. Skill at soldering to replace a connection. If the break is in the middle finding it and splicing it is iff'y at best.
If you have an old VGA cable with connectors on both ends you can cut off the monitor side end strip the wires back and use that. The hard part will be figure out which wire goes to which pin on the old and new cables (there is no standard color coding on the wires). That will require an ohm meter and be complicated by the fact that the old cable has a problem already.
Your best bet is to ask a local shop what they want to replace the cable. Probably as much as a new 17 inch monitor costs. Burdened labor rates run $100-200 an hour and they will rob you blind on the cable (and probably use one cut off an old monitor). It's about a 30-60 minute job for someone who knows what they are doing and how the stupid case comes apart.
mlakrid said:
If you do, do NOT touch the Cathode of the monitor or you could wake up minus a finger or two, and thats a good prognosis.
Why is this bull**** still circulating?
Any TV or montior sold in the United States or the European Union in the last 30 years is required to have bleeder resistors across high voltage capacitors. They discharge to safe levels in 3-5 minutes.
This is an old wives tail spawned from vacuum tube TV sets in the 1960's.
Unplug the monitor, turn it on and wait 5 minutes. There is no risk of shock hazard. Do not plug in or work on the Monitor with the case open.
I've been working on TVs/Monitors since the 1960's (and yes back then my Dad and I put on a pair of 1/16 inch thick rubber gloves to work on the TV). Now by the time you figure out where all the hidden screws are to get the case apart the high voltage has been discharged as required by Government Safety regulations.