# Desktop Flashing since last update



## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

Since the last Windows 10 update my desktop flashes and closes my files, then reappears. 
It is happening intermittently.

Anyone have an idea how to fix this?

TIA,
Grissom


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## joeten (Dec 4, 2008)

Hi and welcome to TSF try to start it in safe mode with networking there are a variety of ways to do so https://www.digitalcitizen.life/4-ways-boot-safe-mode-windows-10 from there you might try reinstalling the video driver as a first step and see if that helps.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

I'm not that tech savvy.
My video driver is up to date, that I did check. But wouldn't know how to uninstall and reinstall it.


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## joeten (Dec 4, 2008)

Hi first you would go to the computer makers support pages for your particular model and download the driver to your desktop or downloads folder then do this.
Windows Vista or Windows 7 steps to roll back your driver:

Click Start
Click Control Panel
Windows Vista: Click System and Maintenance and then System or simply System (in Classic view). Windows 7: Click System and Security and then System.
In the left pane, click Device Manager
Double-click on Display Adapters
Double-click on your video/GPU
Select the Driver Tab 
and select uninstall.
then go to the driver download and click/double click it and follow the prompts.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

I tried to change my system posted, I do have Win 10 home.
Would you give me the directions for that one?


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

Same as Windows 7.


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## joeten (Dec 4, 2008)

Go to your user control panel and change the details there.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

Ok, thanks.
I've been trying to edit my computer specs, but when I apply the edit it's not changing.
I think a poltergeist has hit my system.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

The Update updated your video driver to one that is not compatible. 
Press the *Win *key*+X *and choose _Device Manager,_ 
Expand *Display,* Right click the _Display Adapter _and choose *Properties/Driver/Roll Back Driver*. Roll it back to the driver that was working.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

Rollback driver is not a clickable option. It's there, but is the only one that is greyed out. I clicked the update driver, but it says it is up to date, also has no rollback option.
*sigh*


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

We're gonna need a more detailed look at your system, so download Speccy, run it then go to the *File* menu and choose *Publish Snapshot*. Post the link that is presented here.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/rFpWGbAdE45xqZMRi2r4lE5

Here ya go.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Thank you for the Speccy report
What is the Make and Model# of your Dell computer? 
Go to https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19?app=drivers type in your _ Service Tag #_ or Model # Choose your version of Windows (ie) 32bit or 64bit and download the Video driver for your model.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

Dell xps 27 7760 (Only one listed)
Downloading driver from last May now.
Hope it's the right one.


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## RockyAtlanta (Aug 11, 2016)

Your Speccy report (only visible if you remove the 's' from the 'http') shows your Dell model as: 

*XPS 2720 *([email protected])
If you use your Dell Service Tag number that's how you will find the latest driver.




Grissom said:


> Dell xps 27 7760 (Only one listed)
> Downloading driver from last May now.
> Hope it's the right one.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

Update says it's incompatible with my machine.
I read the model #, and it's xps2720.
I'm really getting confused.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

You have two Video drivers, the Intel HD Graphics 4600 and the nVidia GeForce GT 750, try downloading both. 
Make sure you are choosing the correct version of Windows at the top of the download list.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

The Nvidia geforce needed updating.
The intel said that I already had a newer version.
Guess I just have to wait and see if it flashes again.

Thanks for the help so far~~couldn't have gotten to the downloads without it.
Fingers & toes and dog paws crossed that the update worked magic.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

I have an HP ProBook the same way with Intel HD Graphics card and also an Nvidia video card as well so you do need both.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

Despite the update, my desktop is still flashing.
Anything else I can try?
I had such high hopes.....


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Uninstall the Intel, and install the Intel from the Dell Site, it may be an older driver but work better.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

If I do that and it doesn't work, can I do a system restore and undo the older driver to the newest one?


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## RockyAtlanta (Aug 11, 2016)

Do what has been advised FIRST. Don't waste your energy on anything else till then.



Grissom said:


> If I do that and it doesn't work, can I do a system restore and undo the older driver to the newest one?


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

@Grissom, you can always install the new driver again, if there are any issues.. A system restore is not required..
@RockyAtlanta, while we appreciate the enthusiasm to help, a more polite tone would be great..


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

Where would I find that newer driver again? The one I'm uninstalling as it is not listed on the dell site?

I am sorry if I am asking too many questions of you. I just want to get it right so as to not mess up my machine.
I do appreciate the time and patience all have given me.


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

Sure, nothing wrong with asking queries.. please don't hesitate..

Drivers if part of the Windows package will install automatically once other drivers are removed.

else it can always be downloaded from the Vendor website, not Dell, but the hardware vendor website..


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

One more question~~would a system restore work? So much easier, at least for me.


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## tristar (Aug 12, 2008)

It would, but system restore usually breaks more than it fixes, in my opinion.. unless you have a regular set of restore points and know exactly what was installed/removed...


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

I always make a restore point before doing anything to my system, so it's easy to rollback.
I would try the manufacturers website first.

Going to take the plunge in a little while. 
I'll report back.

Thanks so much for the info


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

As long as you make a restore point first your idea makes sense but as already said here many of us fear what SR will mess up not so much what it can fix. You are so much better off downloading and installing the driver again, that is really the right way to do it whether easier or not.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

Gotcha. Then that's the way I will try. (Will create restore point just in case.....)


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

Uninstalled the driver, and installed the older one to no avail.
Darn.
Anything else I can try?


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## joeten (Dec 4, 2008)

You might get the chipset driver from the makers site and try reinstalling it and then try again.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

Grissom said:


> Since the last Windows 10 update my desktop flashes and closes my files, then reappears.
> It is happening intermittently.
> 
> Anyone have an idea how to fix this?
> ...


 We could be looking at this wrongly. From the first post as quoted above, it sounds like Explorer is getting restarted automatically, most likely after a crash caused by something incompatible. It could be a shell extension or library belonging to outdated software that isn't playing nice with the updated Explorer.


Let's start with _*Event Viewer*_ logs to see if any errors are being logged. Open Event Viewer by right-clicking the Start button and select Event Viewer from the menu that appears. Alternatively, you can search for "Event Viewer" using the taskbar search icon, which I believe you are familiar with. Once Event Viewer is open, look to the left pane of its window and double-click *Windows Logs* to expand it. Underneath it, click on Application. The middle pane will populate with a list of events. It's a long list, but scrolling through should reveal some errors. You can save all of the Application events to a file that you can attach here so that we too can have a look at it. To do this, *right-click* on *Application*, select *Save All Events As...*, select the location where you would like to save the file, for example Desktop, give it an appropriate name, e.g "Application_Logs" and click *Save*. Repeat the same procedure for the System logs.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

See next post.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

I attached as zip files and it uploaded.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

Grissom said:


> I attached as zip files and it uploaded.


 Perfect and just as I suspected, Explorer is indeed crashing, even though the responsible module is unknown for now.



```
Faulting application name: explorer.exe, version: 10.0.17134.165, time stamp: 0x4031a9f8
Faulting module name: combase.dll, version: 10.0.17134.112, time stamp: 0xfad18dc5
Exception code: 0x80010106
Fault offset: 0x0000000000146f2b
Faulting process ID: 0x50c
Faulting application start time: 0x01d446012489846d
Faulting application path: C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe
Faulting module path: C:\WINDOWS\System32\combase.dll
Report ID: c4264e12-a38c-459b-938c-ea08442622ad
Faulting package full name: 
Faulting package-relative application ID:
```


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

Is there a way you think you can figure out what module it may be?
Thanks so much for your expertise.
At least I know that it is not the graphics card.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

Grissom said:


> Is there a way you think you can figure out what module it may be?
> Thanks so much for your expertise.
> At least I know that it is not the graphics card.


I'm working on it, some methods are quite advanced and involving, so just be patient while I try to simplify things. Others may pick up from here, so don't wait up on me. I'll be following what they come up with and will respond accordingly. It's getting late on my end and I'm super worn out. Catch up later.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

Thank you.
Pleasant dreams.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

For now, let's check the integrity of core system files and make sure they're not compromised. Open an elevated Command Prompt by right-clicking the Start button, select Command Prompt (Admin) then type *SFC /SCANNOW *inside the Command Prompt window and press Enter to execute. There is a single space between "SFC" and the forward slash character " / ", so make sure to include it.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

"Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations".

That was the result of the scan.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

Grissom said:


> "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations".
> 
> That was the result of the scan.


That is great. Let's start with disabling all third party (non-Microsoft) shell extensions. To do this, we'll use a tool called _*ShellExView*_. Download the 64-bit zip package and extract it then launch it by opening the application (executable) file called *shexview*. It will display a long list of shell extensions in a short while. The status bar at the bottom of the window will show you the progress and number of extensions found. You'll be surprised just how many there are. Go to its *Options* menu and select *Hide All Microsoft Extensions*. The list will become shorter because it will now be displaying non-Microsoft extensions only.










The next step is to disable ALL of the visible extensions, so select all of them using Ctrl+A or the *Edit* menu. Click the *red* button on the toolbar below the menu bar as shown in the image below. If the operation is successful, the disabled extensions will be marked/shaded in gray and the Disabled column will be showing Yes for each extension. The information displayed on screen should be self-explanatory and simple to understand.










The tool can generate a HTML report of the extensions which you can zip and attach here for us to have a look at. To do this, go to the *View* menu and click the *HTML Report - All Items* option. 










The generated report will open in your default browser. The HTML file itself will be located in the folder/location from which you opened the application.

Lastly, you need to restart Explorer for the changes to take effect. The easiest way of doing this is by *logging/signing out* of your Windows user account and log/sign back in. You could also *restart* your PC just to be thorough. After doing this, IF a third-party shell extension was responsible for crashing Explorer, it should no longer be happening. Let us know what the outcome is.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

Oh, geez, that's definitely above my pay grade! 
Do you think I would be better off doing a windows reset, which is much easier.
Would that fix the issues? Or maybe it's a hardware problem?
Can I test for that first?


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

Grissom said:


> Oh, geez, that's definitely above my pay grade!


Wow!




> Do you think I would be better off doing a windows reset, which is much easier.


Sounds like your mind is already made. I can't say if you would be better off with a reset (reinstall) though. Our perceptions of a reset in this context are very different.





> Would that fix the issues?


Yeah sure, it will as long as the software component responsible is kept at bay, but since we don't know what it is, you could just end up reinstalling the same crap and causing the problem to return, then we'll be back here seeking a solution to the same. What I can advise to that effect is to make sure you're running compatible or updated versions of third-party software. There's a bad tendency of hanging onto grossly outdated versions of software for whatever reason.




> Or maybe it's a hardware problem? Can I test for that first?


It's a possibility. A reinstall or reset of Windows would be a good test for hardware problems in that if the problem persists even on a fresh, clean installation of Windows with no other third-party software installed, then it would most likely be a hardware fault.


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## RockyAtlanta (Aug 11, 2016)

Before doing a reset of Windows itself you can check the health of that disk following this guide:
*Disk Error Checking in Windows 10/8*

You can also use a disk checker tool from that Hard Drive's manufacturer


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

It's not that I don't want to do what you suggested, it's that it is way too complicated for me. I'd be more afraid of doing something wrong than doing it right.
I can't thank you enough for taking the time to do all your screen shots and explaining.
I'm already in computer hell just thinking about putting my programs back on my computer. 
Again, I appreciate all help, and will check in after I work on my machine.
Best,
Leslie


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

The disk checker found no errors. Thanks for the suggestion, tho.


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## gadget850 (May 5, 2011)

Only time I have seen this it was a corrupt PDF on the desktop.


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## Stancestans (Apr 26, 2009)

Grissom said:


> It's not that I don't want to do what you suggested, it's that it is way too complicated for me. I'd be more afraid of doing something wrong than doing it right.
> I can't thank you enough for taking the time to do all your screen shots and explaining.
> I'm already in computer hell just thinking about putting my programs back on my computer.
> Again, I appreciate all help, and will check in after I work on my machine.
> ...


It's alright. I'm just surprised that you found the ShellExView tutorial complicated compared to what you've managed to do so far. IMO saving the event logs and attaching them here was more complicated, but you did it perfectly with zero illustrations to guide you. Maybe you find it complicated just because ShellExView is new to you, so you shy away from it even before you try? The hell of setting everything up is exactly why I couldn't say you'd be better off with a reinstall. We try to avoid a reinstall, so we don't advise for it willy nilly, but if it is no trouble for you then by all means go for it. We don't coerce anyone into doing anything, all we can do is advise, suggest, direct, illustrate and so on, but in the end, it's your call, so whatever you decide to do, we'll be here to assist the best we can. You're welcome.


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## jenae (Jun 17, 2008)

Hi, firstly congratulations to Stancestans, for looking at event viewer, there are a number of errors most can be ignored, however your problem is referenced. To make it simple for you (the over the top reinstall would fix this problem), as should this procedure.

Press the win + x keys together, select Powershell (admin) from the options.

An elevated powershell prompt will open, all you have to do is copy the two cmds below.

Copy this cmd, then right click anywhere in the powershell prompt window, the cmd will append to the prompt, press enter.

Get-appxpackage -all *shellexperience* -packagetype bundle |% {add-appxpackage -register -disabledevelopmentmode ($_.installlocation + “\appxmetadata\appxbundlemanifest.xml”)}

You will not receive any indication, that anything has happened, do not worry this is normal, the prompt will return, next copy this cmd and right click anywhere in the powershell window, the cmd will append to the prompt, press enter.

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"} 

This time you will see quite a bit of action, do not worry about entries appearing in red (this is normal) wait till it finishes (the prompt will return).

Restart computer, now test by running for awhile, let us know how you get on.


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## Grissom (Aug 19, 2012)

I had the windows reset done yesterday.

The desktop flashed a couple of times, but hasn't so far today.

If it does start to flash again, would that mean that it is a hardware problem?


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