Member Avatar for kitkat

Hi all,

I had may HP laptop for about a year now when my display started showing vertical coloured lines and finally went blank. I took it to HP and they changed the display.
It worked fine for about 2 months and now after about 10 minutes on the screen starts to flicker.
What I mean is that the screen will go blank (black) and on again so fast that it looks like it flickers. Sometimes this will be a bit slower so that I very quickly see it go black and back on again. Like, it doesn't refresh fast enough. The refresh rate is 60Hertz which is the only option I get at 1440x900 pixels (17" screen) 32 bit.

Do you think it's a hardware problem again or could it be a virus? (although I have checked and I'm clean)

Thanx for any thoughts!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by felixopiyo

Dani AI

Generated

Quick summary and what to focus on next

described vertical coloured lines that led to a panel replacement, then a recurring flicker after the machine warms up. That pattern — a new screen failing again after a short time — usually points away from malware and toward an intermittent hardware fault (something that shows up only after thermal or mechanical stress). Several members here have suggested hardware fixes (notably ) and pointed to repair resources, so concentrate on isolating hardware vs software before spending on parts.

Practical isolation steps not covered above

  • See whether the flicker appears before the OS loads (press the BIOS/UEFI key on boot or use a bootable Linux USB). If it flickers there, the problem is hardware. If it only happens once the OS and drivers load, try Safe Mode or roll back/update the graphics driver.
  • Watch for a consistent time-to-failure (you said ~10 minutes). That strongly suggests a heat- or load-related component fault — thermal expansion can open a cracked solder joint or make a frayed wire lose contact.
  • Check power behavior: does the flicker change when running on battery only, AC only, or with the charger unplugged? Inconsistent power can aggravate an already-weak component.

Physical inspection and safe next steps

  • If comfortable opening the lid, power down, remove battery/AC and ground yourself before touching connectors. Look for pinched/frayed wiring around the hinges, loose connector pins, or missing screws that let the screen harness move. Do not force connectors; take short video of the flicker at different lid angles to show a repair shop — that is very persuasive evidence.

When to call a pro
If the machine is still under any service plan push for a thorough diagnostic rather than a straight panel swap. If out of warranty, get a detailed quote (connector, inverter/board, or motherboard-level repair can vary widely). Document everything and avoid guessing parts — repeated panel replacements with no root cause fixed usually means the fault is elsewhere (cable routing, connector, or motherboard).

Member Avatar for JC711

My Toshiba laptop did that when I bumped it and when I adjusted the screen by tilting it. Then it went totally black. I read up on it and watched Youtube videos and then fixed it. This is how I did it: TEST 1) Run a PCMI cable with alot of pins to in the plug to an external monitor. If the display works there then the mother board and hardrive are probably OK and is sending a images out to the monitor screen.
TEST 2) Put a poweful flash light on the face of it and see if you can see a computer page or you desktop icons. If you can then it has to do with either you backlight, power inverter, or LCD screen plug wires(I all it the Medusa or Octopus wire since it is one piece). All three of these parts have to do with the lighting but only one of them may be bad.
TEST 3) Upon booting up does the screen turn reddish or pinkish at first and then get clearer in a few minutes. If so it is a broken or burned out backlight which is as long and skinny as the metal in a fireworks sparkler and is located in the bottom of the LCD screen.

If not the backlight then it is the power inverter just under the LCD screen which starts the backlight up each time. It is as long as your thumb and is just less than 1/4" thick and has a plugin spot on each end. This is the most likely culprit.

If this is not it then the LCD screen cable the runs from the LDC screen, to the power inverter, to the base or bottom part of the computer through the left hinge. So this cable has at least three plug heads. I bought all three parts on ebay for about $40.00 each.

I did not need the backlight because the power inverted fixed it. However the plugs are so tiny, my eyes so dim, and my tools so large that I smashed the plugs at the end of the inverter so had to get a new cable to. So it worked only shortly after the inveter installation because I gave the plug one extra push for good measure which broke it. Overall I think the wires are wimpy around the plugs and just get bent and broken when they wiggle too much. A company in town would do the repair labor for $100 but my son did it for $50. Everything works now. I ended up replacing both the inverter and the LCD cable but not the backlight.

Member Avatar for JC711

Correction: Not a PCMI cable but a VGA cable.

Member Avatar for navidhameed

hi i have sony vaio cgnsc23g and having same problem screen flickering at bottom what can i do 4 this plz help me

Member Avatar for JC711

navidhameed:

If the screen is not reddish or pink colored at first when you first turn your computer on, then the back light is ok. Also shine a powerful flashlight into your screen from 1" away. If you can see displays on your screen where the flashlight shines while your computer is on then this also proves that your backlight is ok. Another thing you just proved is that your backlight INVERTOR or LCD CABLE is going bad. You will have to replace either your backlight INVERTOR or your LCD CABLE. This cable also has another name and has 3 or 4 plug-tip ends on it. The fattest plug is on the end of the cable the goes into the keyboard side of the laptop. Since you don't know which one you need I would buy them both at the same time from eBay. If you only buy one and it turns out to be the wrong one then you will be waiting much longer for 2nd part to arrive in the mail.

The invertor is very easy to replace because you only have to pull off the bezel edge of the LCD screen and the 4 to 6 tiny screws that hold it down. My screen snapped off as I pried it apart with a thin flat screw driver and butter knife. The cable is a harder job which requires dimanteling the keyboard side of the computer as well as the screen side. Also unplug your computer and take your battery out before you start. Be gentle with the plugs and don't bend the wires too much behind the back of the plugs because they break off easily.

You can still use your computer while you waite for your parts to arrive if you have a VGA cable connected to an LCD computer screen or an LCD TV Set which has VGA cable connections.

Member Avatar for Sandesh Joshi

I am having the same problem with my HP pavillion DV4 1411 purchased one year back and my warranty period has expired. Thinking it to be a software problem caused by a virus, I tried the syste restore through the disks prepared earlier... But the second disk refused to work, probably due to scratches. I then installed a pirated version of Windows 7.

So i have two problems now. First, the flickering has not reduced one bit. Second, and more importantly, I have lost the original Vista software and the driver for fingerprint reader... I am not a techno person... Please help me with the solutions. How will the flickering vanish and how will I be able get my original software from HP if that is possible... Please please help me guys....

Member Avatar for benmar

your LCD screen has a problem just goto repair shop to replace your LCD screen...

Member Avatar for felixopiyo

Wow i juz like these. After reading this threads av gotten an insight coz a collegue just approached me having the same issue.Kuddos!!

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