[K_Knight]

I have an HP Pavilion dv4420ca. I've had it for 6 months now, and for the most part it works great. However, for the last three weeks or so I've been having some issues with the screen. Sometimes when I'm working, the screen will flicker oddly, mostly near the top of the screen some lines will appear briefly and the screen kind of, well, flickers. Today I was using it and without warning the entire screen went green. I tried to get the screen to return to normal, and when I pressed 'escape' the audio program that I was running closed, so the computer was still responsive, just the screen was totally green. I turned it off and it seems fine now. This happened once before, about a month and a half ago. I let it slide the first time, but now that it's happened again I'm kind of worried.
Thanks for your help!
~Krystal

 

[TheMatt]

Hi Krystal,

This seems to sound like it could be an overheating problem, maybe the graphics card. But I have never seen a GMA900 overheat. Does it do this after the computer has been on for awhile? Also, can you try an external monitor and see if it displays this on the external monitor as well as the LCD?

 

[K_Knight]

Hi Matt,
Thanks for your help. Yeah, I think the computer has usually been on for a while when it happens, and I tend to run a lot of programs at once most of the time too. Also, with it being on my lap there probably isn't the greatest ventillation at all times, although I do try to keep the fan fairly unobstructed. I would try an external monitor, but I never know when it's going to happen. Is there some way that I can test to see if it's overheating, or should I just try buying a cooling pad?

 

[TheMatt]

Download MobileMeter from my sig. Post the temps it displays.

 

[K_Knight]

I'm not running too many programs, and it's been on for about two hours now.
The first temperature it gives it 65C, the second is at 51C, and the HDD #0 temp is at 35C

 

[TheMatt]

If the 65 is a little high. Is this when the laptop is idling, or when it is under load? if those are idle temps, then you definatley have a problem, and the green screen could definatley be caused by overheating. If those were idle temps, download Prime95 from my sig and run a (balanced) torture test for about 30 seconds and see how high the temps go and if you get the green screen.

In the mean time, I have a possible fix. Go into your Windows XP Power settings. Is the scheme Home/Office desk or Always On? If it is on one of those, switch it to the Notebook/Laptop power scheme and see how much temps drop.

 

[K_Knight]

I switched it to the laptop power scheme and now the temp is down around 50, but despite the lower temperature some horizontal lines just flickered across my screen.

 

[TheMatt]

Were the temps at 50 degrees when you saw the lines? Set the update interval to the smallest incriment (I think it was .5 seconds) and see what it reads the next time you see the green lines. 50 degrees sounds OK, but I think its the temps under load that are too high. That's why I said to run Prime95 briefly, so I would get an idea of the temps under load.

The other possibility I am considering is maybe loose wire(s) connecting the screen to the motherboard. If the green appears on the laptop screen but not the external monitor, then I can rule out that possibility completely.