Screen Flickering Randomly

I have a year old 17" Toshiba Laptop that up until recently has been working great. Untill about a month ago I started having a problem of when I plug in a flash drive the screen will randomly flicker when I am trying to do stuff. There doesn't seem to be a pattern to the flickering it sort of seems random. I am using the latest display drivers. i have tried almost 10 different flash drives. I cannot seem to figure out the solution. I am close to taking it back since I bought the extended warranty and having them fix it. The only thing I haven't done is try reinstalling Windows but I don't want to do that unless I have to since everything on my computer still works fast.

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit (SP1)

screen flicker toshiba

asked Mar 27 '12 at 21:35

TheTechDude
16.8k●40●94●298

edited Mar 29 '12 at 11:31

5 Answers:

oldest newest most voted

Try using safe-mode or a live-CD in order to determine if it is a driver issue. I know you said you have the latest drivers, but it never hurts to double check.

See if the screen flickers when you plug in the flash-drive in safe mode. If after a awhile of testing it and the same problem occurs then it is a hardware issue. Also, having the latest up-to-date drivers doesn't always mean that it is a good thing.

answered Mar 30 '12 at 01:42

Abel Luna
451●11●12●24

I have Windows 8 installed on this computer in a dual boot and I just tested and the screen doesn't flicker in Windows 8 so I am assuming it is some weird driver issue.

(Mar 30 '12 at 10:33) TheTechDude

From what I can tell, you do seem to have a driver problem. Someone suggested restoring to a previous point; I recommend trying to restore even though your restore-point doesn't go back to when the problem initially started.

You could try looking up the drivers for your computer then manually installing them if the restore-point fails.

If nothing seems to work what you could try backing up your data and re-installing.

(Mar 30 '12 at 13:07) Abel Luna

i tried the restore point and reinstalled drivers. So now I am going to reinstall Windows when I have some time.

(Mar 30 '12 at 19:40) TheTechDude

0	try restoring to a previous point, where it worked without flickering. Like someone said, latest driver doesn't always mean a good thing. answered Mar 30 '12 at 01:49 phototypo 866●10●16●29 I don't have a restore point that goes back that far... (Mar 30 '12 at 10:34) TheTechDude

Key word "Laptop"

Check the connection for the video cable. Had a few clients bring me laptops was dodgy connection.

answered Mar 30 '12 at 03:21

Jackster1337
8.5k●177●213●300

Like open up the laptop? Because the cable I have coming out of it to another monitor flickers also.

(Mar 30 '12 at 10:35) TheTechDude

Is it? Did not read it all :/

Driver or GPU problem.

(Mar 30 '12 at 15:22) Jackster1337

Load a Live CD up and test.

(Mar 30 '12 at 15:22) Jackster1337

When I boot Windows 8 I don't have the problem so I'm certain it is a driver issue now.

(Mar 30 '12 at 19:38) TheTechDude

Not an issue I've had before but the first thing I would try would be going to the manufacturer's website and looking for an old version of the driver. If you've recently updated the driver it may have some bugs.

answered Mar 30 '12 at 16:25

markd12
3.6k●91●114●152

I haven't updated the driver. I am almost considering reinstalling Windows now....

(Mar 30 '12 at 19:39) TheTechDude

It's Windows. I am convinced of that. This started to happen 6 months ago, but I can't swear exactly when. It happens on all my desktops, whether XP or Win7. Microsoft added something that does this. I am suspecting it does it when an app has to change something in the registry, because of the behavior that changes your whole screen in Windows 7 when an app has to have administrator rights.

answered Oct 04 '12 at 16:17

sansay
1●1

edited Oct 04 '12 at 16:17

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