# Dell monitor flashing continuously



## madmax0002 (Sep 5, 2007)

I have a Dell Inspiron E1505 with Windows XP. I changed the default action for closing the lid so now it does nothing instead of going into standby, and that worked fine. But recently whenever I re-open the lid after leaving it closed for a long time, the monitor starts flashing; it stays normal for about 1 second then turns black for about .5 second, and repeats. This flashing continues until I go into standby, hibernate, or shut down. I have found no other way to stop the flashing.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Might be a failing backlight. I don't think changing the power setting caused this. When it flashes, can you faintly see the display? I know it might be hard on the eyes because it is flashing.


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## madmax0002 (Sep 5, 2007)

No, the screen goes completely black, although adjusting the contrast makes the blackness slightly lighter or darker. And I don't think it's a failing backlight because after I restart, it works normally. It only starts flashing after I leave it closed but running and then I open it again.
It feels to me like it's constantly changing the resolution but gets stuck in a loop somehow.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

You might have to shine a flashlight at the screen to see an image. If your laptop is still under warranty, I would contact Dell before the warranty expires.


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## madmax0002 (Sep 5, 2007)

No, I don't think there is a faint image.
Some other things have been happening: when I hibernate and then come back from hibernation to fix the flashing, my desktop background becomes a lot of small black and white horizontal bars spanning across the whole screen. The next time this happens I'll get a screenshot of it, if I can remember to.
And just now, when I went to the Settings tab of Display Properties to try to change my resolution, it said:



> The currently selected graphics display driver can not be used. It was written for a previous version of Windows.
> 
> The system has been started using the default VGA driver.
> 
> Please contact your hardware manufacturer to get an upgraded driver, or select one of the Microsoft provided drivers.


This is the first time that has showed up, and I haven't changed my video driver or done anything differently.

EDIT: After restarting, it no longer shows the above error message


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Do you have any of the described problems including the flashing display in Safe Mode?


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## lyndass (Nov 3, 2007)

hi ppl i need help i have a similar prob my elonex exentia flashes on and off when i try to click on the menu or start button i have updated the drivers for the graf card ati radeon 9600 im really not sure what is happening i dnt play games on here and it works fine for about 2 weeks then all of a sudden it starts going crazy plz any thoughts


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

How new is the laptop?


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## jchord (Apr 19, 2008)

I have a Dell E1505 and I just started experiencing the same problem. It doesn't seem to do it every time I open the monitor from standby, and putting it back to sleep makes the problem go away sort of (except when it comes back up the wallpaper is always garbled).

I had Dell replace the entire LCD and the problem was not fixed.

I speculate it's a driver issue, maybe a conflict with a recent Microsoft update? I'm at a lost what to do next...


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