My laptop screen became pixelated and faded to solid white
A while back my laptop screen flickered, became very pixelated and faded to a solid bright white. The only way to get a response from the computer was to press and hold the power button. After turning it back on the bios splash page (logo, version, etc.) was also pixelated in random colors. The computer would go through post with no issues and proceed to the windows loading screen and the screen would again fade to solid white. I would press and hold the power button to turn off and turn it back on. Again bios start page is pixelated. This time it says windows was not shut down properly and I choose to boot into safe mode with networking. The computer boots with no issues – no graphical distortion at all. I run the resolution at 1920 x 1200 and in safe mode this resolution was still used, however any loading of graphics was very slow (e.g. Scrolling through content in IE 7).
I don’t think that your problem is related to the LCD screen because the laptop has good video in safe mode. With a bad LCD screen it would fail in safe mode too.
Your description sounds like a problem with the video card. You can test your laptop with an external monitor. If you see distortion on the external monitor (or external video not working at all), it’s definitely a problem with the video card.
In most laptops the video card is integrated into the motherboard and cannot be removed and replaced separately. If that’s the case, you’ll have to replace the whole motherboard.
March 24th, 2009 at 6:25 am
I have a very similar issue with my compaq f579…My screen fades to white and becomes very pixilated/grainy and freezes at the same time. I have to let the laptop sit for about 20 minutes before I turn it back on or it will come on with the same problem, so I’m thinking something may have overheated. I changed the memory out and it did the same thing, so that eliminates memory problems. I have had this laptop for about 1.5 years. Any Ideas? I need help…
April 8th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Hi – I had a similar problem with my 3 yr old Acer Ferrari 3000. The screen would pixelate after a few minutes and I’d need to let the whole thing cool for a while before it’d give me another few seconds of clear/normal screened use.
I took it apart and found the video chip’s heatsink had come away from the chip causing it to overheat.
No obvious way to fix it in my case though. I could watch video if I removed the keyboard and pressed it all back together manually.
Was time for an upgrade for me unfortunately. Expensive.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
I have a Dell Latitude 820. It was given to me at Christmas and was used professionally. I’ve had to buy a new ac adapter because my puppy chewed through my Dell adapter. The one I just bought is new. But now when I am on the computer for a while it starts to flicker and goes yellow and white and then fails all together…..pixelates. it’s worse on Yahoo it seems but does it anyway even when Im not on the internet. it also seems to be getting really hot, I can hardly hold it on my lap for long.
June 8th, 2009 at 7:33 am
Sounds EXACTLY like a problem i had last year… if you have a Dell M1330 or 15xx with an nvidia graphics card that is at least 6 months old then youll need to replace the graphics card – and a hence the motherboard because they come together as a single part in order to fit in the laptop. This is apparently not an uncommon problem but nvidia (through dell) will replace it with a new one that isnt faulty even if you’re nt under warranty (thank the lucky stars for me!)
July 28th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
umm is it possible to disable my graphics card and just run my laptop off ram??? because at the moment i getting the same problem as above and is becoming all pixelated and flashing changing colors :S :S?
August 19th, 2009 at 7:48 am
my HP Pavilion dv6000 laptop keeps fadeing to white and becomes very pixilated and grainy the only way i can seem to get it back to normal is to tap the left hand side of the screen. I noticed before that the screw on the left side holding the screen in place was loose so i undid the screw and put it all back in place then tightened the screw back up but this problem has just started happening so i dont no if its the hardware or wether its posibley a software that i have installed. Any help would be greatfull.
Cheers, Andy
August 28th, 2009 at 12:55 am
to andy connell,
im having the exact same problem the whole applying pressure on the left hand part of the laptop screen, i was wondering how you fixed your probem?
I would really appreciate your reply!
thank you~
November 3rd, 2009 at 7:41 pm
I am using a Toshiba Satellite Pro M70. For the past 4 years it has worked great. About a couple weeks ago I started noticing a screen issue that’s different from anything described on this website. I now see several bright areas or blotches across the screen. One blotch is brighter than the others. Changing the brightness of the screen doesn’t help. The blotches are most noceable when working an application with a white background, and barely noticeable when looking at photographs. Do these bright blotches mean my LCD screen is damaged? Should I have the LCD screen replaced? What causes these bright blotches?
Sincerely, Rupertsland
November 6th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Rupertsland,
Sounds like a problem with the LCD screen. I’ve seen this problem before and you cannot fix the screen. You’ll have to replace the screen or use it as is.
Maybe you accidenatly grabbed the screen with your fingers and damaged it. Or applied too much pressure while cleaning the screen.