L2000 screen flicker

Ok now something appears to be wrong with my nice new L2000. The machine works great when the LCD is at full brightness. If I dim the display 3 or more notches down from full brightness I see a flicker or rolling line effect. It is like there are shadow lines rolling up from the bottom of the screen to the top of the screen. Does not matter if it is on AC or Battery - tried without battery. Tried different Ram, HD, and even took out the Broadcom mini PCI card, all the same. Full, 1 or 2 notches of brightness down from full it is not visible. If I turn the brightness all the way down it looks like the effect you see on a TV show when they aim the camera at a real monitor and the refresh rate is out of sync. It is not windows as I booted right into the Bios and it is visible there. I have the ML-37 processor. Doesn't seem to change if the fan is quiet or ramping up or at full speed. This should be a fun one to call HP about. Anyone else with a new L2000 notice any issues when turning down the brightness? Also, the Bios reports it is version F.06 - website shows 05 as latest. Hmmmmm...thoughts?

 

Hi,

Have you tried reinstallting drivers?

I do vaguely remember flickering when my L2000 arrived.
However, I reformated harddisk, re-partitioned and re-installed
windows and drivers right away.

I can't say for sure though (about initial flicker).
Now it's absolutely ok at all brightness levels.

Imran

 

No similar issues. But can't be drivers if it's like that in POST. Hook an external monitor up to it, see what happens.

 

I'm not the least bit surprised that the HP website is out of date. I wonder what changes were made in F.06?

Check what your refresh rate is set to in Display Properties | Settings | Advanced | Monitor tab. It really shouldn't matter but 60Hz is standard for LCD displays. If that's already set correctly I'd suspect the ATI video drivers. A hardware issue is possible but not likely.

 

Well it looks like as of this morning, F.06 is on their website now. Says - Fixes intermittent issue where system memory size is represented incorrectly in the BIOS Setup menu. I tried flashing back to 05, same effect on the LCD. Put it back to 06, still there. It is only noticable on darker screens, it is almost like the effect you would see on a traditional CRT monitor when it is plugged into the same circuit as a motor - IE a refrigerator. Tried an external LCD and external CRT, both look fine. I think the problem is in the LCD or the wiring to the LCD. I will give HP a call later. I wouldnt mind so much if I didnt like to have the LCD nice and dark when using the battery or even when plugged in at night. We'll see what they say.

 

Any update on what HP said? I seem to be having the same problem when my screen brightness is down...I'd like to know what HP had to say on this issue. Thanks

 

This looks like a problem with the FL Inverter not providing enough power to the LCD backlight. I've seen flicker & screen corruption when there's a faulty inverter. You may want to get the inverter checked/replaced.

-Vb-

 

Well HP's reply was ever so helpful. They told me that it must be the video drivers and even sent me the link to download them from their website. Funny, I didnt know the video drivers for Windows XP had an effect in the BIOS, hahahahaha. I ended up just returning the laptop, I really wasn't very happy with the overall function of the machine. I ended up buying a gateway 6518GZ from Bestbuy for $899, run's everything faster than my L2000 did (GW has a 1.7 PM, I had the ML-37 2.0 in the L2000), the fan doesnt run nearly as much, standard 6 cell battery is getting me 3 hours - and this is with a 15.4 inch display. I really wanted to support Lance and all but instead I will just donate some money and get a braclet on my own. HP was fantastic about the return and the credit for the machine. Good luck with your screen issue, I noticed the one on display in CompUSA was doing the same thing. Maybe they dont expect you to turn it all the way down, or maybe it has something to do with the specific processor being used, dunno.

 

That's too bad...I'm surprised they aren't more friendly with their warranty. I'm still trying to figure out whether or not to return it...I also have some LCD backlight issues on the bottom corners of the screen, but nothing too bad. I don't know what else I would get...I want a 12" or 14.1", but there are too many choices and I'm too picky, which isn't a good combo. Oh well...

 

Do you want a 14.1" wide screen or non-wide? If it's non-wide, you may want to take a look at the nc6200 series. Excellent build quality and loaded with features.

-Vb-