Member Avatar for 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.

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Edited by Reverend Jim
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A compact, prioritized diagnostic + repair checklist that builds on points from , and and focuses on isolating a Windows/driver-side cause (rather than hardware). Follow steps in order and document what changes each step produces.

  1. Clean-boot to rule out a background service or helper (Dell utilities, codecs or third-party overlays can interfere). Use msconfig to hide Microsoft services, disable non-Microsoft services and startup items, then reboot and retest playback. (support.microsoft.com)

  2. Localize to screen vs. pipeline: mirror the laptop to an external monitor and also take a desktop screenshot while the tear is visible. If the external monitor shows the same tear, it points to the GPU/driver path; if only the laptop panel shows it, it leans toward display/panel timing or connector issues. The screenshot method and external-monitor test are standard diagnostics. (decortweaks.com)

  3. Clean driver slate and try an alternate package: create a restore point, boot to Safe Mode, use Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to remove the current graphics stack, then try installing a different driver by extracting a driver package and installing via Device Manager -> Update Driver -> Have Disk (point at the extracted INF). The "have disk" install route exists precisely for OEM-blocking situations. Back up first. (wagnardsoft.com)

  4. Player and compositor workarounds to try in parallel: disable hardware-accelerated decoding / DXVA in the player (VLC: Input & Codecs -> Hardware-accelerated decoding or change the video output module) to see whether software rendering removes the tear. Also toggle the Intel graphics 3D/vertical-sync option (Wait for Vertical Refresh / VSync) to force frame-sync and test results. (macxdvd.com)

  5. If still unresolved: check Event Viewer for display-driver / TDR errors (display-driver resets), update BIOS/chipset from the OEM page, and collect a short recorded clip + a photo of the tear, OS/drivers versions and exact reproduction steps before escalating to Dell so the issue can be logged as a driver-level defect for their engineering team. The Windows TDR docs explain what to look for in the logs. (learn.microsoft.com)

Cautions: always make a system restore point and keep backups before driver or BIOS changes. If a test (Clean Boot, external monitor, or disabling hardware decode) eliminates the tear, that result narrows the root cause and points the next action (driver rollback/alternate driver, or hardware service).

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Member Avatar for 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.

Member Avatar for 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.

Member Avatar for 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.

Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

Intel®HDGraphics4400

Member Avatar for 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?"

Member Avatar for 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.

Edited by Reverend Jim
Member Avatar for Xlphos

Hello,

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

Member Avatar for 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.

Member Avatar for 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.

Member Avatar for 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?

Member Avatar for 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.

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