Video Problem With Dell Inspiron 5748

[Reverend Jim]

I have had this problem since I got the laptop last December. Video in full screen is erratic. In scenes where there is little motion there is no problem (or the problem exists but is not visible). The problem manifests as a horizontal "tear" about two inches down from the top. In order to capture the problem I had to record a video with a digital camera. I've attached a screen snap of a video frame. My guess is that I am seeing the top two inches of one frame and the rest of another frame. The three players (all current version) display the same problem. I've tried vlc media player, DivX player and Windows Media Player. All of my driver software is up to date. I built a Linux LiveCD on an external drive and boot to that. Try as I might, I could not get the problem to show up in Linux. I've also run a full slate of diagnostics. That plus the Linux success has convinced me it is not a hardware problem.

It doesn't matter if I am playing a low quality (320x240), medium (620x480) or high quality (1280x720) video.

Any suggestions on how to track this down would be appreciated.

[rproffitt]

Maybe there is more to the story. As it's that new, why not let Dell fix it?

There's also a bunch of folk that wipe the supplied OS and today it can be hard on folk to pencil out an install plan. Anyhow, good to read that Linux is fine but maybe there's more to the story.

[Reverend Jim]

Dell won't fix it because it is not a Dell hardware problem. If it's a problem with Windows then Dell can't fix it. If it is a problem with a video driver then, again, not Dell's problem, it's Intel's.

[rproffitt]

Sad to read the machine was defective new. Seems we are crash test dummies. The 5748 is a series so I can't check the usual. In the past I would dive into which Intel video was used and hit intel.com for that but here as you wrote you are screwed as all 3 parties have walked away.

I didn't read where you tried the old fashioned way of drivers but as the exact model is not here I can't offer more.

[Reverend Jim]

Intel®HDGraphics4400

[rproffitt]

Sorry but don't spare those details. It would be a shame to do any work and find this is one of those Celeron CPUs that may not be up to doing this on Windows. OK, scanning again, no version of the OS noted so here's what I do to install Intel's latest.

But first. There are many things that can dog such a system. Last month someone had turned on high visibility or such and "Windows Assistive Technology was swamping the PC.

OK, off to Intel's land. https://downloadcenter.intel.com/search?keyword=4th+Generation+Intel%C2%AE+Core%E2%84%A2+Processors+with+Intel%C2%AE+HD+Graphics+4400 has most of these. You can filter on what OS, etc.

I know you are a regular here, why not tell more about the machine? Full model number, story like "I installed Windows 7, hated 8?"

[Reverend Jim]

How sloppy of me.

Dell Inspiron 5748
Windows 7 Home Premium (all service packs and updates)
All drivers are current

I just found out that the Intel driver was modified by Dell so Intel won't help me. I guess I'll have to enter Dell Hell again and contact Dell support.

Never had any other version or OS installed. Never tried 8.x (except in a virtual machine and hated it). Windows 10 is looking not bad but no reason to change.

[Xlphos]

Hello,

Did this work in the past? perhaps uninstall the video drivers and try an earlier version/ roll back video drivers?

[Reverend Jim]

This has been a problem for months. I didn't notice it at first because I didn't do video for the first couple of weeks. I reported this as a problem to Dell when I noticed it but I got stuck in Dell Hell and finally said fuck it. Dell Hell consists of getting repeatedly forwarded to the US office (even though I connect to Dell.ca and follow the links from there) where I am told "we don't recognize your service tag. Did you buy the laptop from another country?" Following that, due to some medical issues, I let it slide until now.

I just heard from Intel and they suggest installing a non-customized driver from them. Unfortunately, the standard driver install just reports "not valid for your hardware". My Dell warranty covers only hardware so Dell wants me to pay for them to fix a bug in their driver.

Here's the amusing part (if anything about this can be considered amusing). My warranty covers accidental damage. That means if I drop the laptop it will be repaired at no cost to me. I asked the Dell tech "so if the laptop is damaged beyond repair it will be replaced?". She replied "we will attempt to repair it first." I repeated the question three times with "but if it can't be repaired it will be replaced?" and got the same answer each time. Obviously if they have to replace the laptop and the new one exhibits the same behaviour it could be returned as defective. She was trying her best to avoid saying exactly that.

It's sad that they would rather go to the expense of replacing an otherwise perfectly good laptop than fix their own buggy software when they will eventually have to fix it anyway.

[rproffitt]

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-Inspiron-17-5748-Notebook-Review.122422.0.html and other sites notes it came with Windows 8. I'm left to guess if this is another repeat of the move from 8 to 7 and finding things broke. If you can't stand 8, add Classic Shell. I did and I no longer have any issues with 8.

[Reverend Jim]

Mine came with Windows 7 Home Premium pre-installed. I had the option of Windoes 7 or Windows 8. I preferred to have an OS that has had some of the bugs fixed. I'm not going to get into a Windows 8 is/isn't a complete turd ball debate.

[rproffitt]

Sorry to read that. My bet is they didn't test it thoroughly on 7. Let the buyers be crash testers.

No excuse on their part but it sort of stuck out like there was some OS change after delivery.

Maybe 10 will work out?

[Xlphos]

Looks like its time to get the sledge hammer out and have a DIY accident.

I'm sure dell will still try to diagnose the problem, good luck.