Overpowered laptop screen flickering

How to fix laptop screen flickering

If youve been using your computer and suddenly you notice theres an element of the screen flickering, there are solutions to fixing the issue.

In Windows 10, the problem is usually caused by either of these two things: an incompatible app or a display driver.

In order to know for sure that the screen flickering issue is caused by an app or display driver, you need to check if your Task Manager also flickers.

This will determine whether you need to update the application or update the display driver altogether. Here are four tried solutions to fix the screen flickering issue.

Why is my laptop screen flickering and what can I do?

1. Update display driver
2. Check Task Manager to fix screen flickering
3. Update incompatible apps
4. Disable Windows Desktop Manager

1. Update the display driver

1.1 Boot your PC in Safe Mode

1. Click on Start button.
2. Select Settings the Settings box will open up.
3. Click Update & Security.
4. Select Recovery from the left pane.
5. Go to Advanced startup.
6. Click Restart now.
7. Select Troubleshoot from the choose an option screen, then click Advanced options.
8. Go to Startup Settings and click Restart.
9. Once your computer restarts, a list of options will come up.
10. Choose 4 or F4 to start your computer in Safe Mode.

Safe mode starts up your computer with limited files and drivers but Windows will still run. To know whether youre on Safe mode, youll see the words at the corners of your screen.

If the screen flickering issue persists, check whether it occurs while your computer is in Safe mode.

There are two versions:

• Safe mode
• Safe mode with Networking

The two are similar, though the latter includes network drivers and other services necessary to access the web and other computers in the same network.

If you want to know how to add Safe Mode to your boot menu in Windows 10, check out this step-by-step guide.

On the other hand, if youre having trouble opening the Setting app once youre in Safe Mode, take a look at this article to solve the issue.

And if the Safe Mode is not working, this step-by-step guide will help you get past the booting problems.

1.2 Uninstall the display driver

1. Right-click Start.
2. Select Device Manager.
3. Expand Display adapters.
4. Right-click the listed adapter and select Uninstall device.
5. Choose the Delete the driver software for this device box.
6. Select Uninstall.
7. Reboot your computer

1.3 Update Windows 10

1. Click Start, choose Settings, then select Update & Security
2. Click on Windows Update, then click on Check for updates.

Note: If youre having trouble updating your Windows 10, check out this guide that will help you solve them in no time.

1.4 Disable the added display adapters

1. Right-click the added adapter from Device Manager.
2. Select Disable and click Yes.
3. Turn off your computer.
4. Disconnect installation or recovery media [if using it].
5. Turn on your computer.

If this doesnt fix the screen flickering, do the following:

1. Restart in Safe Mode
2. Re-enable the added display adapter
3. Disable the other adapter

Once youre through and the screen flickering is sorted, exit safe mode so you can get your computer back to normal mode.

1.5 Exit Safe Mode

1. Right click Start button
2. Select Run.
3. Type msconfig.
4. Go to the Boot tab
5. Deselect or uncheck Safe Boot option box.
6. Restart your computer.

1.6 Use third party software to update the graphics driver

You can go through all those steps above or you can try using specialized software that can update the drivers and fix the existing ones automatically. We recommend DriverFix for this job as its very reliable and fast.

The first step is to download and install DriverFix. The tool will start automatically and search for issues or missing drivers and in a couple of seconds, it will provide a report.

You will have to either hit the Update all button above or check the individual boxes for the drivers you want to update.

2. Check Task Manager to fix screen flickering

1. Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC at the same time to open the Task Manager.
2. If the Task Manager isnt flickering, then the problem could probably be caused by an app.
3. If the Task Manager is flickering, a display driver could be the cause.

If you cant open Task Manager, weve got a great guide to help you fix this problem.

3. Update incompatible apps

There are three applications that have been known to cause screen flickering on Windows 10:

1. Norton Antivirus
2. iCloud
3. IDT Audio

Updating the incompatible application [or getting in touch with the manufacturer of the specific app to get an update] usually fixes the problem.

If the issue can be isolated on a certain individual app, its easy. This, of course, isnt always the case so we cant say with certainty whether its more of a general problem or just a rogue outdated app misbehaving.

4. Disable Windows Desktop Manager

1. Type services.msc in the Search box and click on the Services app from results.
2. If prompted to provide a password or confirmation, click Continue.
3. Scroll down and locate Desktop Window Manager Session Manager.
4. Right-click on it and select Stop from the menu.
5. Right-click on the entry again and select Properties.
6. Under General Tab, change the startup type to Disabled.
7. Click OK or press Enter.

Wed love to hear from you whether any of these solutions worked. Let us know by dropping your response in the comments section below along with any other questions you may have.