Help needed with laptop

[Kenora]

Don't know if this is the right place to post but maybe someone can help me?

My laptop has just developed faint horizontal lines on the screen which flicker intermittently. It's only 18 months old. (Win 10)

I've tried uninstalling and updating the video driver, have returned Windows to a previous version, and deleted any recently installed apps which may have been causing the problem. I've Googled the problem, which seems to be fairly common, but none of the "fixes" has made any difference.

I really don't want to have to shell out another £1000 for a replacement laptop, so - does anyone have any bright ideas please?

[Kitten]

@Kenora have you checked the refresh rate?  If mine is not at the right rate (I think usually around 60Hz) then sometimes I notice flicker.

Just a thought.

[K.H.]

To be honest, that does sound like the hardware is failing. Does it do it all the time? If you watch a movie full screen or something that takes full screen and not a windows screen, is it the same? If so I'd be tempted to say a hardware fault. 18 months old, probably still under warranty?

[Iminei]

I hope the warranty is for more than a year ??? @Mr Twingo Any ideas?

[Diane]

Have you tried a factory reset?

[Kenora]

@Kitten - yes I've checked the refresh rate - it's 60Hz which is recommended.

@K.H.  - the lines are much more obvious on a normal Windows screen. If I watch a YouTube video in full screen there's a very slight flicker but no lines obvious.

@Iminei - I think the warranty ran out last August.

@Diane - no, I was leaving a factory reset as a last resort. It'll probably be the next thing I try.

Thanks all for your ideas.

[Celia]

Just check there isn’t an update for the graphic’s card before you reset.

[Kenora]

Thanks @Celia - I've done that but it didn't make any difference.  I've also tried connecting the laptop to the TV via a HDMI lead. It works fine on the TV - no flickering at all, so I'm assuming it's the laptop screen that's at fault?

[Iminei]

Thats a bugger when the item cost sooooooo much! Bugger!

[Mr Twingo]

Being a laptop, there will be a few connections between screen and the 'motherboard' (the mysterious electronics that do magical things). These connections will be ribbon cables — the name aptly describes the connections.

The screen section is attached to the main body by hinges. Over time, it is possible for the ribbon cables to begin to fail. The thin strands of metal can fatigue. Result: flickering or non-functional screen. Alternatively, the ribbon cables can work themselves loose, resulting in the same symptoms.

Quite easy to fix the latter, not so easy the former (though replacement parts should be readily available on eBay or Amazon).

As for warranties, regardless of what the shop may tell you, all goods sold whilst we we in the EU carry a TWO YEAR warranty. And as all EU laws were written into British law, that warranty still stands.

We also have the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to refer to. Which? has an excellent summary here: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act-aKJYx8n5KiSl

[Kenora]

Thank you for all your information. Unfortunately, my nerves couldn't withstand the stress of trying to obtain warranty service from a retailer who doesn't want to give it. My DH was annoyed by my frustration so said "Just get another one" - so I did.

That was about 10 days ago. I ordered exactly the same laptop but it came installed with Win 11 instead of Win 10. Having used it, I've decided I absolutely hate Win 11. It's completely skewed towards mobile phone users, and I have a hate/hate relationship with my phone so that's not good for me. It's also designed around a pastel appearance which makes all the text and graphics very hard to see (for me). Everything is pale and tiny. I hate all the "new" widgets and apps. I just want to go back to a (fairly) basic but fast laptop.

So, the update is that I'm in the middle of installing Win 10 onto my laptop. Hopefully it will work. I did create a full system backup on an external HD first so now I just have to wait.

Wish me luck.

[Bumblebuncher]

There was a time when the Mother taught computing in school!  Now she can't even open her laptop and get on Tesco shopping without having an aneurism!
Why do they insist on making everything more, and more, complicated?
If some (very wise) company were to offer a basic laptop, with basic programming like it used to be, I am sure there would be many people wanting to buy it instead of just bringing out more apps and more complications.

[coffeeandcake]

Ahh, Windows 11! I downloaded this a couple of weeks ago: Microsoft finally wore me down with their wretched pop-ups. I haven't particularly noticed that it's pastel but I dislike what they've done with my task bar and the whole widget stuff. I have that on my phone and it's fine there but I don't need it on my laptop.

[Kenora]

Well, the so-called "downgrade" worked. Yippee! It was easy and free. It took me longer to find my Product Key than it did to install Win 10 instead of Win 11 - and in the end I didn't need the Key anyway. It's all digital nowadays but I'd wanted to be certain I had it, just in case.

Now I can customise my new laptop to my heart's content. It seems that Microsoft are hell bent on taking all control away from us, which annoys me no end.

And this all started because I couldn't add a new System Folder under This PC to keep all my embroidery designs in.  Now I can.