Any help? My laptop screen keeps flickering.

[blixenwraith]

it keeps glitching every couple of seconds, its done this for I dont know how long. Has anyone ever had a problem where there screen flickers or however you want to describe it?

[Kuyuk]

throw it from a balcony, and buy a desktop.

[radamanthys]

it keeps glitching every couple of seconds, its done this for I dont know how long. Has anyone ever had a problem where there screen flickers or however you want to describe it?

Update your drivers. Always good policy, regardless.

That said, it's probably a bad power inverter or ccfl tube (bulb).

(Inverter is an easy thing to replace, couple of screws and a couple of plugs. The ccfl is one of the most difficult replacements- you have to solder a new one in. Satisfying, but intense.)

[Asrial]

Could be the video card too.

[zhelas]

Silly question: Is it still under warranty?

Does it eventually stop? When you tilt your screen does it eventually stop? As mentioned above, updating the drivers is a good place to start. I would then Update the BIOS.

What type of laptop do you have? Have you looked up your model # to see if it is a known issue with that brand and model #?

It is possible that the ribbon cable connecting the lcd monitor of your laptop to the motherboard may have come loose.

If none of those work, it can get more expensive to have it get repaired.

[Delias]

My screen only flickers when I open my porn folder, but in all fairness I'm probably causing the card some distress with thousands upon thousands of thumbnails images. I assume this is just the price I pay for having such a great collection.

[zhelas]

Could be the video card too.

Could be. But one would hope that it isn't that problem on a laptop since they are built into the motherboard.

One way to test: Most folks who have laptops still have in a closet somewhere, their old CRT Monitors or flat panel monitors, with the power cables and video cable. Plug the video cable to the monitor port on the laptop, plug in the external monitor to a wall outlet. If the screen doesn't flicker on the external monitor then it is most likely not the video card.

The video drivers and Bios may need to be up dated. Or the cables connecting the laptop LCD monitor may be loose. Or where it connects on the motherboard may be bad or the lcd monitor may be bad.

If it is a hardware issue and the laptop is still under Warranty. This becomes easy to get fixed.

[Asile]

How old is your laptop? Mine (HP Pavillion) is now...something like 7 years old, and has been somewhat abused. So we attribute my screen flickering to the poor thing just coming to the end of its life.

If yours is newer.. go with the previous posts.

[Asha]

Turn off laptop, remove battery, unplug from mains, hold power button down for 30 seconds. Set it up and turn it on again.
There is a high chance your problem is caused by static build up.

If that doesn't help your problem could be wire connections being weak. Send it back.

[Stanley Burrell]

Yeeo, did you mess around with the refresh rate or any display setting? Too tired to explain just about anything right now. You can also lower the refresh rate below the set thresholds and just make your monitor (if your monitor, separately, has the capacity to do so) really bright.

You need to find out if it's software or hardware-related.

[Stanley Burrell]

Oh yeah: See if you can find a two separate monitors; one that's as old as crap, to the point where you need a USB converter -- Then a more state-of-the-art monitor (especially if your laptop, although I doubt it, has an HD port) and try overclocking the shit out of your display settings and see if you get the same flickering garbage on either of them.

[4a6c1]

http://stevemccutchen.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/office-space-printer.jpg

[Keller]

Update your drivers.

Is there a way to auto-update drivers? Like, can I download a program that detects the hardware I have and then allows me to periodically scan the interwebz for new drivers?

I just don't have the time to do that manually.

[Asrial]

Yeah, there's programs like this out there.

However, I can see that leading to more harm than good.

Honestly, in most situations, you really only need to update drivers if you start experiencing issues.

Sometimes updating drivers CAUSES issues.

You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

[Jace Solo]

Mine literally went out yesterday. All the way out...black screen. I turned it on today and it worked so I didn't think much of it past that...then I woke up form the nap, pulled it out of sleep, screen flickered a bit then went out again.

How's that sound?

[Asrial]

It really sounds like hardware failure.

Display adapter is overheating/failing, the cable running from the LCD to the main body is damaged/pinched, the LCD is failing, the inverter is failing.

Hook up an external monitor to the laptop. If the monitor works fine.. you can rule out the display adapter. If the monitor has the same issues.. the display adapter is the problem.

The only way to test the other components is to start dismantling the laptop. I'd start with replacing the inverter. It's fairly simple to do and cheap to get the part for.

[Jace Solo]

I did the take out battery, unplug, hold power and let sit...it seems fine for now. Gonna probably take it in anyway because I wanna beat the warrentee

[zhelas]

...... I wanna beat the warrentee

heck yes if it cost nothing to get it fixed why not.

[Asrial]

Is it an HP by chance? A lot of them, with the nVidia chipset, have design issues.

[Jace Solo]

Ya, it's an HP with NVidia.
Haven't had the slightest hint of an issue yet. The main thing that would suck about getting it worked on would be to be without it for 2 weeks.

[Asrial]

The problem with the HP design is they put the display adapter right next to the processor AND used sub-standard material for the connection.

What happens is over use, the connection flexes (heat expands / cold contracts) and starts screwing with the display.

Not saying this is what's going on.. just that I've had 1 customer definitely with this issue and 2 other customers that might be in the beginning stages of it (one had their motherboard replaced under warranty).

The 'recommended fix' from HP is a motherboard BIOS update that turns the exhaust fan on 100%.

I'd also get the display drivers directly from nVidia's website and update those too.

However, yeah, get that in under warranty and see if they'll replace the motherboard. I'd immediately update the BIOS when you get it back.