A computer situation I never even heard of before

[IrishAyes]

I'm running a donated, refurbished Dell Latitude D630, Windows 7. Can't remember exactly when the problem started, but it was at least soon after I received it and has now grown noticeably.

At first I noticed the taskbar display would sort of shimmer and quiver when Windows opened. No problem then because I could easily read what was on there anyway. Gradually as the situation intensified, a horizontal line appeared along the middle of the taskbar, and sometimes I could see flashes of whatever web page I happened to be on. Now about 6 months later the Windows display itself has started to flash (refresh?) every 6 seconds or so. It isn't severe YET but seems to be getting worse. It happens on the desktop even when I'm not online.

I also have to piggyback a weak wifi signal from the church nearby. From the very beginning it's never been a reliable signal and sometimes 'works' slower than dial up. Everything that can be done to strengthen my reception has been done already. Don't know if this affects anything, but I do use a VPN and I know that slows things down a tiny bit but not that it necessarily has anything to do with the flashes.

Does anyone know if this has anything to do with the crappy wifi signal I have to use? Even when the internet's off, my signal booster's still plugged in.

Not knowing what might be the probable/possible villain, I have at least done a bangup job copying everything onto flash drives so if the machine dies I won't lose everything.

Any help or even good guesses anyone has to offer would be much appreciated. I can hardly believe I might be so lucky as to learn the problem's easily corrected or at least not likely to be worse than annoying. I can't play videos anyway, so that's not an issue.

[SwankyXomb]

1. First thought is either the GPU or the screen is failing

If you've done a full anti-virus scan and nothing showed up, it's probably a hardware issue. You've got all the important stuff backed up, so that's good. Since it's a Dell, you're likely looking at either a screen or motherboard replacement, and those can run money. If you check some Dell forums, or maybe Tom's Hardware, you might find someone with a similar situation, and hopefully an easy solution.

[IrishAyes]

7. Thanks for your help.

I have two anti-virus methods on the laptop; one, ThreatFire, works in real time to spot and block any types of bugs, and the other is updated daily to be ready to sweep anything ThreatFire might miss. I practice almost paranoid safety measures, including a vpn.

Hadn't even thought to check if there's any hardware conflict going on until someone else mentioned it too. Looks like I have my work cut out for me. Lots of good suggestions received, and I'm grateful for all.

[SwankyXomb]

9. A lot of local computer shops offer free diagnostics

If there's one near you that does, have them take a look at it before giving up.

[Drew Richards]

2. There are many things that could be causing the problem that it could take days via text to check

Them all...


Here are the top few...

1. Does the flashing refresh occur more often when you move the screen on the laptop? And is it on a docking station?

A. Bad or failing connection between screen and laptop docking station.

2. Does it occur more after the system has been on a while?

Y. Overheating connection between screen and laptop or over heating failing video card.
N. Its constant...continue...

3. Has the laptop been checked for dirt dust in the case and has it been cleaned/blown out properly with a can of compressed air? Not a hi pressure air hose?

Magnetized dust can cause arching between components causing multiple issues...

4. Have you checked hardware manager for a ! Symbol indicating a hardware conflict?

5. Have you checked and identified if you have two video card systems the basic and a high end invidia system And once confirmed have you downloaded and installed the latest CORRECT drivers for your hardware and operating system....big difference in drivers between 32 and 64 bit...

6. Is there a difference in video or wifi when you use battery vs using the "correct" power supply for your laptop?

Y. Failing or incorrect power from either battery or power supply possible.

Those are the top 6...there are many more but that should get you going diagnosing the problem...

Drew.

Ps one other check video refresh rate and see if someone put it on a crazy rate.

[IrishAyes]

5. It will take me awhile to go through all those checks, Drew, but I shall try asap.

Thank you very much. I can say initially that the canned air has been used.

I'll get on the rest of that list tomorrow. Very tired tonight and about to sign off.

[gvstn]

3. If you have a monitor around you could attach the monitor

To narrow down whether it is the graphics card or the internal screen. If it is the screen then you could conceivably use the external monitor until you decide what you want to do with the laptop. If it is the graphics card then there is not much you can do except replace the whole thing as replacement laptop motherboards are usually too expensive to feasibly replace.

[Drew Richards]

4. Great suggestion. I always nerd out and skip suggesting the basics.

[IrishAyes]

6. There is no extra monitor available. I gave up desktops at least a decade ago,

and used the last monitor frame for a cat/dog bed.

Hoping I don't have to replace anything but realize I might have to. $$$$.

[gvstn]

8. Perhaps you could borrow one?

I know I have two old monitors around because they are a pain to get rid of in the trash. I would think others around you might have one around as well.

It is difficult to determine if it is graphics output or the screen causing the problem from your symptoms. Graphics chips going bad can do almost anything but the shimmering effect could be the screen. If an external monitor displayed everything correctly then you would know it was the screen and Drew's suggested troubleshooting might help correct the problem without replacement.

[ChromeFoundry]

10. If you have an LCD TV...

They usually have a VGA port input. You will not get the resolution of the laptop display, but it should give you enough for a test.

Have you tried lowering/changing the resolution of your display? (right-click desktop, Screen resolution) If the horizontal lines, flashing looks different across different resolutions, chances are your video memory is failing.

Does the flashing seem to change while you are opening and closing the lid, or tap on the back? if so, it is most likely an issue with the video wiring between the motherboard and the monitor. The wiring runs through the lid's hinge and often times gets loose or warn from the mechanical action.

[ChromeFoundry]

11. Looks like this is a common problem on the D630...

"After some researches, this problem is fairly well documented as a fault with the nvidia quadro nvs m135 video card. The internal solder becomes brittle with age and causes this exact type of failure."

http://www.itbunker.com/2012-07-not-amazing-fix-dell-d630-laptop-baking-motherboard/

This can also be performed with a digital heat gun and liquid solder flux... similar to the Playstation 3 solder reflow instructions found on YouTube.

Also, NVIDIA settled on this issue:
http://www.nvidiadefect.com/NVF_NOT.pdf

[IrishAyes]

12. hmmmm.....

So I need to change the video card? Depending on the complexity, we might better pray I can find a handy teenager. This is such a tiny town - 1 grocery, etc. - that things taken for granted in larger population centers are unavailable if not unheard of here. While half the longtime locals are basically at war with the other half, the one thing many of them will close ranks against is the occasional rash outsider. One nicer lady whose family goes back 4 or 5 generations blew her top one day and ranted about the town's shameful attitude. It's not just my idea.

The one saving grace the area offers is comparative peace and quiet, low rates of violent crime, and a congenial climate for a DamnYankee. Same gardening zone as southern Maine. And houses are almost cheap as dirt here. They'll be twice as cheap if you move into one of these little spots on the road that have absolutely nothing. But getting older and thinking I should be closer to a Remote Area hospital guaranteed to stay put, I moved into what passes for the region's 'big town' of far less than 2K souls.

[ChromeFoundry]

13. No, you do not have a video card...

the circuit for you video is integrated with the motherboard. You'd need to pull the mother board out of the laptop, find the video chip (shown in the links I posted), and reflow the solder under the chip by heating it up to 400 degrees for 7 minutes with either a digital heat gun or large toaster oven. I don't think this is something that should be attempted on a whim, unless you (or someone you know) has done something like this in the past. The pins on the video chip are under the chip (not visible), and are soldered directly to the motherboard (not in a socket).

You may be able to find one on eBay for $50 (working unit) with no hard drive, battery or charger... you could swap your parts into a functional unit and be on your way.

[IrishAyes]

14. Wow. All I can say is thanks. I'll try.

[IrishAyes]

15. After having been innocently given a dud, I don't want to risk buying parts for it

that may or may not work; since I'm no expert, the seller would blame me for not installing it right whether I was at fault or not, and I'd have no recourse.

I've already done as much as I could of what you and others have suggested, for which I want to thank you all again. And I think the problem's a little worse today already. So I'll probably just offload my daily work before shutting down and run this sucker until it totally quits. I don't like the flashing, but I can live with a lot of it. One thing for sure, I'll never ever buy a Dell.

Do you think I should let CRS know about what a piece of junk they were given by some business as a tax write-off? I don't want to sound ungrateful. It's not the fault of CRS. But then they might be paying someone for the refurbishing too, I don't know.

[No Vested Interest]

16. I'm not fond of Dell either.

My spouse always had Hewlett-Packard products, having worked with that company's reps for years through his employment.
Spouse then had lengthy illness and died four yrs ago.

When my HP got so slow and apparently filled with junk, son, who had apparently worked with Dell all along, replaced the H-P with Dell, and I don't think it measures up.
I may be wrong, however, and it may be that newer updates of Microsoft Windows are the source of problems I have.

Or maybe I'm the one not keeping up with newer technology.