Program windows flickering

Hotfuzz56 · 19 Jan 2014

Hey guys, about a week a problem started in which program windows (for example Teamspeak, device manager or the "Personalization" screen) will flicker. By "flicker" I mean that text and icons inside these windows will disappear and instantly disappear at short intervals.

So far I've tried:

Running CCleaner
Re installing Nvidia graphics drivers
Monitoring temperatures (they are all normal)
Checking the hard disk: no errors were found
Updating all available drivers and windows updates

I should also mention that I was getting an issue with drop down menus about a week ago - the menus would often leave "ghosts" behind. I fixed this by turning off "fade in/out menu items" in the performance and appearance settings.

Restarting the PC often seems to fix the issue, but this becomes very tedious and i'd love a permenant solution to this problem.

Cheers,
Hotfuzz56

EDIT: Restarting the PC no longer fixes the issue.

andrew129260 · 19 Jan 2014

A couple tests to try:

1.) Turn all visual effects off by adjusting for best performance. Then restart the PC. Turn the ones you want back on then.
2.) Replace your monitor cable
3.) Test with another monitor

Hotfuzz56 · 19 Jan 2014

Thanks for the reply, the problem still persists with appearance set to best performance, even after a restart.

I forgot to mention in the OP that I'm using 3 monitors: the flickering problem occurs across all of them.

Hotfuzz56 · 19 Jan 2014

Quick update- the problem isn't there in safe mode. This has led me to believe that a recently installed program is causing the issue. Ill update if if I make any progress.

bigmck · 19 Jan 2014

Try a System Restore to a date before you had the problem and let us know how it goes.

Hotfuzz56 · 19 Jan 2014

It doesn't seem like there is any system restore points available for a time before this problem started to occur unfortunately. I've tried uninstalling some programs to no avail - I even uninstalled a .NET framework update that was installed 10 days ago but the problem was still there, so I reinstalled it. The only program left to uninstall would be "Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable (x64) - 11.0.60610" but I believe that this was installed before the issue began to occur. Shall I try uninstalling it anyway?

andrew129260 · 19 Jan 2014

Okay, software is not the issue here- it has to be the hardware.

The only software suggestion left is to calibrate color under the display settings in control panel.
Also try under display in control panel-screen resolution-advanced settings-monitor tab What is the screen refresh rate? Try turning it down or up and see if that helps.

But if it started happening right out of the blue like you stated, I really believe it to be a hardware issue.

I know you stated you have 3 monitors, could you try replacing the monitor cable (vga, dvi, hdmi) and have 1 monitor connected and see what happens?

Hotfuzz56 · 19 Jan 2014

I've calibrated all 3 monitors and changed their refresh rates, the problem is still here

I've also tried just using one of them with spare HDMI cable to no success.

As with it being a hardware issue: in safe mode there is no flickering so I don't think it could be to do with hardware. However, this problem started about 2 weeks after I installed a new GPU (GTX 780 Ti). Does safe mode use the GPU or integrated graphics? If it uses integrated graphics then I think it could be a GPU fault.

Ranger4 · 19 Jan 2014

If the problem started just after you installed a new GPU, then that is certainly the likely cause. Have you installed all the correct drivers for it.
When running in safe mode the screen resolution is reduced to the old standard of 640 x 480 which is much less demanding on the GPU.

Hotfuzz56 · 19 Jan 2014

I've made sure all drivers are up to date and in safe mode I've changed the resolution to 1080p and the flickering still doesn't occur.