Member Avatar for c-3po

A Dell laptop running Windows 7 Proffessional that has been in use for more than 2 years shows horizontal lines on display seconds after turning on as shown in the video. Why?

What I did was stop using the accumulator for a few months. One day, I put the accumulator in while the laptop was previously powered by cable only. It functioned normally for up to 50 minutes, after which horizontal lines of white, black, pink and green colors suddenly appeared on display. it lasted for about 10 seconds and then screen was black. Caps Lock LED started flashing and Num Lock LED and some other LED turned on for the whole duration. It turned itself off in the end. The cable adapter was receiving power, it's LED was on.

After that, the laptop was turned on absent accumulator, powered by cable only. Screen was black, LEDs were flashing or turned on.

Now, whenever I turn on the laptop, I get the horizontal blue lines in the video.

I'm wondering what could be causing them. Could it be dust on the mainboard? Maybe a RAM board out of it's slot? Or a shortcircuit on the mainboard / video board?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by mugabo.alain.1

Dani AI

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Short practical checklist and explanations to narrow this down quickly (and safely).

Start with simple isolation tests you can do without opening the case. Attach an external monitor first: if the stripes appear on the external too, the GPU/motherboard is at fault; if the external is clean but the laptop panel shows lines, the problem is the panel, the display cable/connector, or the panel's controller. Note whether the artifact appears before Windows loads (BIOS/POST) — that points to hardware, not drivers (as hinted). Record the Caps Lock/Num Lock LED blink pattern and exact behavior when the screen goes black; that is useful for Dell diagnostic codes.

If you go inside, follow a safe order: fully power down, remove AC and battery, ground yourself. Visually inspect the display connector (LVDS/eDP) at the hinge and the cable for brittle insulation or pin damage; reseat it. Reseat RAM modules and try a single stick in different slots (faulty memory can sometimes cause weird graphics or POST failures). Run the vendor diagnostics from BIOS (Dell ePSA) if available and note any error IDs.

How to interpret results (fast guide): lines only on laptop screen = panel/cable/T-con board; lines on every output = GPU or motherboard power/VRAM problem; artifacts that worsen as the machine warms up = thermal or solder/joint issues. If the machine shows POST LED/beep codes, look up those codes for the exact model before swapping parts.

If you are not comfortable opening the laptop, take photos of the board, the display connector, and the LED blink pattern and include the service tag when asking for help. If you do open it, clean dust from fan/heatsink and check for swollen capacitors; otherwise consult a repair shop — replacing the panel or cable is often cheaper than replacing a logic board.

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Member Avatar for JorgeM

your video is set to private.

Member Avatar for c-3po

Thank you. It is now unlisted. I'm sorry about it.

Member Avatar for JorgeM

Do you only get these horizontal lines while within the windows environment? Do you see this while booting up? Try a different operating sysetm....download a bootable Linux OS so you can boot from a Linux CD and see if you experience the same problem.

If the issue is isolated to Windows then it is likely to be driver problem or the resolution you have assigned is too high for that display. If this is the case, just book into safe mode (hit f8 before windows loads) and change the display setting. Try this first before other options.

Member Avatar for c-3po

Laptop wasn't turned on many times, due to possibility of hardware failure which would worsen it, but the few times it was turned on, it malfunctioned during booting up. It also turns off itself, which I strongly believe always happens because hardware tells it to.

Installing a new OS will be an option later on, I do not yet have acces to laptop. Before this, though, I would take a look inside, which is almost sure to be safe.

Thank you!

Member Avatar for JorgeM

With regard to the other OS option I suggested...don't reinstall an OS on the laptop. You can download an ISO of a fully bootable OS from CD. This way, you can just pop the CD into the laptop and boot from the CD. No installation on the hard drive required.

The idea behind the bootable linux CD is just to rule out any issues with the current Windows installation.

Member Avatar for bnuppp

It's not your monitor, its your video card or internal video. You need to download the program for your video card that allows you to adjust things.

SNIP

Edited by happygeek because: spam deleted
Member Avatar for c-3po

Thank you all for help. It turned out to be the strong heat and the least efficient ventilation. It was solved with a cooler pad. :P

Member Avatar for mugabo.alain.1

I have the problem can you help me??

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