Laptop screen flickering/moving up and down with pink tint

[Wrichik Basu]

This problem started around two hours ago while I was watching lectures on YouTube. All of a sudden, the screen started flickering in and out of focus or moving up and down, with a pink shade appearing as soon as it goes out of focus moves up.

I tried Updating the NVIDIA drivers from 470 to 510 and then to 515, but in vain. Restarted several times in the process. No change.

A few things that I noticed:

• The flickering starts as soon as POST completes and the first grub screen loads with the HP logo and "Press ESC to enter BIOS settings" in the bottom-left corner. The issue continues when I enter BIOS setup, throughout the Plymouth boot screen, and even after I am logged in.
• I don't have a second monitor, but if I connect the laptop to our TV using HDMI, the problem is not replicated on the TV and everything looks normal.
• I tried to record the issue using OBS Studio, and interestingly, the problem was not visible in the video, as I verified it from my mobile after uploading it to YouTube.

A video of the issue is linked below:

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The specifications of my laptop are as follows:

I am really at a loss as to what could cause this issue. Is it a hardware problem — the laptop screen needs replacement? Or is it a software issue? The issue arose at a time when I have certain exams coming up early next month and I require the laptop for studying.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Edit: Changed the title because everything on the screen is actually moving up and down with a pink tint rather than going in and out of focus.

 

[Svein]

When you are in the BIOS, the nVidia drivers are not active. My (not very useful) advice is to give the laptop a good whack when this shows up (I know, but in my 50 years of experience with electronics it usually either gets rid of the problem or the thing will die completely and then it is easier to find the fault).
Show the laptop who is the master!

 

[Rive]

The flickering starts as soon as POST completes and the first grub screen loads with the HP logo and "Press ESC to enter BIOS settings" in the bottom-left corner. The issue continues when I enter BIOS setup, throughout the Plymouth boot screen, and even after I am logged in.

Then that'll be some HW issue, and likely not the GPU but the screen itself.

... whacking it (although I suggest some restrain and just do it gently) is actually a good idea.
If you are familiar with these kind of things, then you may check the cable (between the screen and the mainboard).

Ps.: could you please check if the flickering is present both with running from adapter and from battery?

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Then that'll be some HW issue, and likely not the GPU but the screen itself.

could you please check if the flickering is present both with running from adapter and from battery?

Yes, it's present regardless of whether the device is using battery power or AC adapter.

 

[DrJohn]

It could be a faulty set of wires moving just a little bit out of contact when the laptop screen is opened and closed. Mine had that problem once, when I would loose a set of colours for a short time eg no blues or no reds sometimes and sometimes the colours flickering on and off again. I too had no problem with a second screen connected. A bit of wiggling the laptop screen around seemed to cure the problem but eventually I got a new laptop. As you can probably guess, as soon as the new laptop arrived, the colour flickering problem disappeared.

So I'd suggest moving the screen about a bit to see if that helps. Or finding a friend with a spare old stand alone screen that is no longer needed and connecting that instead.

 

[FactChecker]

Or finding a friend with a spare old stand alone screen that is no longer needed and connecting that instead.

If that lack of mobility is acceptable, then you should question whether you really need a laptop rather than a desktop or tower computer. Desktop and tower computers last a lot longer and are easier to maintain. The only things they lack are mobility and a battery backup. I recommend getting an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS).

 

[Wrichik Basu]

So I'd suggest moving the screen about a bit to see if that helps.

I dare not do that because I am not familiar with laptop hardware. Especially those fragile ribbon cables.

Or finding a friend with a spare old stand alone screen that is no longer needed and connecting that instead.

That would only be a temporary solution.

A hardware issue is one of the worst that I could face. I really dislike the idea of letting another person, however professional they be, to handle my laptop. But it seems I haven't got any choice either. Given that someone can actually pull out the HDD from the laptop and mount it on another PC as a second HDD and read it, it would be practically impossible to give away the laptop to someone for repairs. I will have to see if they agree to repair it in front of me.

 

[Tom.G]

If you have THAT much private/personal data on the laptop it should NOT be on the Internet at all!

By the way, those fragile ribbon cables you are afraid of are fine if handled only by gripping them at the connector and you avoid crimping them. Some cable connectors have a latch on them that must be released before unplugging the cable... remember to re-latch after reconnecting!

If you are in the habit of unplugging things from the wall outlet by yanking on the cord then you are setting yourself up for far worse situations.

Also, ribbon cables in desktop and tower computers have been mostly retired. The norm is now nice round cables with connectors on the cables that have room for your fingers.

If you buy a complete (desktop/tower) computer system from an established manufacturer you can consider it a 'Black Box' just as you would a portable.

And once you get used to it, you will be amazed at your productivity increase!

Worth considering anyhow.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[FactChecker]

A hardware issue is one of the worst that I could face. I really dislike the idea of letting another person, however professional they be, to handle my laptop. But it seems I haven't got any choice either. Given that someone can actually pull out the HDD from the laptop and mount it on another PC as a second HDD and read it, it would be practically impossible to give away the laptop to someone for repairs. I will have to see if they agree to repair it in front of me.

It is a good idea to keep all critical personal information on a drive that is password protected (different from the login password). You can use something like VaraCrypt to set up encrypted areas that have a separate, strong password. Getting that organized can be a lot of work, but IMO it is worth it in the long run.

If you have THAT much private/personal data on the laptop it should NOT be on the Internet at all!

I don't think that is very practical advice. A computer that can not be connected to the internet is not nearly as useful.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

If you buy a complete (desktop/tower) computer system from an established manufacturer you can consider it a 'Black Box' just as you would a portable.

And once you get used to it, you will be amazed at your productivity increase!

Worth considering anyhow.

For that, you need to have money and a good amount of space. Both of which we don't have at this point. In addition, I am not into gaming, nor do I require very heavy usage. Other than occasional MATLAB and Android Studio, I am mostly working with a browser, pdf reader and TexMaker, all of which happily works with my setup. A desktop/tower PC is currently not something that I am looking forward to.

 

[FactChecker]

For that, you need to have money and a good amount of space. Both of which we don't have at this point. In addition, I am not into gaming, nor do I require very heavy usage. Other than occasional MATLAB and Android Studio, I am mostly working with a browser, pdf reader and TexMaker, all of which happily works with my setup. A desktop/tower PC is currently not something that I am looking forward to.

If you need a laptop to take with you, then the money for a desktop computer is a lot to add, but if your work is at home, then desktop computers are cheaper than laptop computers with the same capability. Desktop computers do not have to be powerful enough for gaming.
Space for the desktop computer is another consideration.
I also recommend the use of an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) for a desktop or tower computer, which the laptop has with its battery.
Unfortunately, no single computer has everything you want.

 

[DrJohn]

When I said move the screen about to test what happens, I was referring to tilting it a little bit further back or further forward and gentle pushes to the left or right. You do this whenever you open or close a laptop or move it across the table. I was not referring to playing with the actual connecting cables by opening the case, exposing the cables and moving them about. I too would not be too keen on doing that except as a last resort.

 

[FactChecker]

When I said move the screen about to test what happens, I was referring to tilting it a little bit further back or further forward and gentle pushes to the left or right. You do this whenever you open or close a laptop or move it across the table. I was not referring to playing with the actual connecting cables by opening the case, exposing the cables and moving them about. I too would not be too keen on doing that except as a last resort.

But if this works, IMO it is time to have it repaired. It will not last long.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

When I said move the screen about to test what happens, I was referring to tilting it a little bit further back or further forward and gentle pushes to the left or right. You do this whenever you open or close a laptop or move it across the table. I was not referring to playing with the actual connecting cables by opening the case, exposing the cables and moving them about. I too would not be too keen on doing that except as a last resort.

Oh, okay; I misunderstood. I have already tried that, but it didn't help.

Called an engineer today, and he took the screen for replacement. Until then, I am working by connecting the laptop to our TV via HDMI.

And today itself, the laptop fan has stopped spinning. Initially, It was making a buzzing noise, but now just spins for a split second and stops, and continues to do hat over and over again. The engineer cleaned it, but that didn't work. And since we have a major festival from tomorrow, all shops will remain closed, and getting a spare part, if available at all, will take the second week of October.

I am keeping an eye on the CPU and GPU temperatures; currently they are holding around 50-60°C. And I'll take care not to stress the CPU much. I can't work without the laptop as I don't have any backup system.

This is how the sound started. Near the end, you will hear the fan had started to spin normally.

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And this how things are now. The fan is not spinning at all.

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[FactChecker]

This is starting to sound like something I recently went through. One by one, over about a year, I replaced a laptop battery, power connector, screen cable, and lid, only for the lid hinge to break again. When things start to break on a laptop, it might be time for a new one. I have heard that there is a big difference in durability between regular personal laptops versus business-grade laptops. Although business-grade laptops are more expensive and not as fancy, they are what I would get from now on.

 

[StevieTNZ]

I have heard that there is a big difference in durability between regular personal laptops versus business-grade laptops. Although business-grade laptops are more expensive and not as fancy, they are what I would get from now on.

I've been having a lot of issues with this HP laptop of mine - as indicated in another thread - and at the moment I've set aside some money to buy a business-grade laptop. This will most likely be from Fujitsu.

However, it seems, @Wrichik Basu that your laptop is conking out. Back up your data for sure, in case the next thing to fail is the hard drive. It certainly doesn't sound like an ideal situation to be in, especially with important exams coming up and you needing a device to work on.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

However, it seems, @Wrichik Basu that your laptop is conking out. Back up your data for sure, in case the next thing to fail is the hard drive. It certainly doesn't sound like an ideal situation to be in, especially with important exams coming up and you needing a device to work on.

Yeah, I have it all backed up. Even if I can access the files via mobile, I don't have another PC at hand.

The inevitable happened too: I was working on MATLAB, started a program, and the CPU temps reached 98°C and before I could stop the program, the system shut itself down. I booted after some time; thankfully everything is still fine and working.

 

[StevieTNZ]

The inevitable happened too: I was working on MATLAB, started a program, and the CPU temps reached 98°C and before I could stop the program, the system shut itself down. I booted after some time; thankfully everything is still fine and working.

Do you have a laptop cooling pad you can use? Though I'm not sure if that might do much.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Do you have a laptop cooling pad you can use? Though I'm not sure if that might do much.

I don't have one. As far as from reviews on Amazon, these do not seem very efficient. Most people reported the temperature dropping only by 2-3°C.

 

[DrJohn]

The Belkin pad with a fan worked well for me, although I didn't check the cpu temperature, but the whole base of the laptop was much cooler. I have used it for about ten years, but my current laptop is very cool anyway, so I now just use it to tilt the laptop to a better viewing and typing angle.
Amazon lists the one I have (black, fan in centre, brand name to right of that, usb powered) price is £28 and stock is low. It has good reviews.
However, I suspect your laptop may be about to die. So make regular backups - even an SD card will do given how cheap they are now, as I got one for my camera two years ago 128GB for £20 and its still on amazon now at £16.50, SanDisk Ultra.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

The replacement screen was installed today. Almost like the original. Took INR 7800 (~96 US$). Not an original replacement, definitely. But if I took to the only one HP authorized service centre in our city, they would keep the device for around 3-4 weeks. Not acceptable. Plus, they have horrible reviews.

The Belkin pad with a fan worked well for me, although I didn't check the cpu temperature, but the whole base of the laptop was much cooler. I have used it for about ten years, but my current laptop is very cool anyway, so I now just use it to tilt the laptop to a better viewing and typing angle.
Amazon lists the one I have (black, fan in centre, brand name to right of that, usb powered) price is £28 and stock is low. It has good reviews.

I think I will wait for a few days for the fan. Especially since a good amount was spent behind the screen, we are over budget at this moment.

However, I suspect your laptop may be about to die. So make regular backups - even an SD card will do given how cheap they are now, as I got one for my camera two years ago 128GB for £20 and its still on amazon now at £16.50, SanDisk Ultra.

I have two 1 TB HDDs, and do make regular backups.