Black screen every ~5 minutes while playing games

sancarn

New member
Hi all,

I have a little problem with my laptop. I mainly use it for programming but recently I started using it for games which wouldn't run on my Macs (in general I use those for entertainment purposes and the laptop for business related stuff).

Regardless, as soon as I started playing games the screen would occasionally cut out. It flickers on and off for a 20-30 seconds (more off than on) then it'll permanently go off. I can make the screen come back by closing the lid and re-opening it. Then it will be good for maybe another 5 minutes until it starts to go again.

Initially I wanted to know whether this was a software or hardware issue. If it was a software issue I could probably fix it on my own... So I downloaded OBS and recorded a video when the screen started flashing. Sadly I did not see the screen flash in the video recording; which makes sense, but that means it is probably a hardware issue... :(

So I started thinking about what it could be. The only thing I can think of is that when I'm playing a game the computer tends to get reasonably hot. So my only assumption is that when the battery gets hot it is applying pressure to the wire which connects the computer to the screen, thus screwing with the visuals...

I've just thought that I might be able to test this by disconnecting the battery next time when I play the game. I assume the laptop will still run without the battery connected as long as it's plugged into the mains... but that's something I will find out when I get to testing it. The alternative test (but slightly more costly) would be to get a laptop cooler which I can place my laptop on. But if that doesn't fix the issue i'd be worried that I just wasted money! :p

Rambling aside, is there anything else that people suggest I test / does anyone have any idea of what could be wrong with the computer? Does it need to be sent back to be fixed or is it something I can fix here?

Specs:

Chassis & Display UltraNote: 14" Matte Full HD IPS LED Backlit Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™ i7 Dual Core Processor i7-7500U (2.70GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM) 8GB HyperX IMPACT 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card INTEL® HD GRAPHICS 620 - 1.7GB Max DDR4 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
1st Hard Disk 500GB SERIAL ATA II 2.5" HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (5,400rpm)
M.2 SSD Drive 128GB SAMSUNG SM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3100MB/R, 700MB/W)
Battery UltraNote III Series 32WH Lithium Ion Battery
Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence

Thanks,
~Sancarn
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
If you plug the laptop into an external monitor or HD TV with an HDMi input, does the video output still go wibbly?
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
If you plug the laptop into an external monitor or HD TV with an HDMi input, does the video output still go wibbly?

First off, is 'wibbly' a technical term? I'm not familiar with that one, is it an acronym for something? ;)

To the OP, what you describe sounds very much like a faulty cable to the screen or, hopefully, just a loose connector. Sometimes in transit stuff comes loose. I would phone PCS and ask how you can get at the screen cable and connector on that model of laptop and check that the connector is fully home and that the cable isn't pinched or chaffed anywhere. If that looks good boot the laptop with it open (if you can) and see whether moving or tapping the cable and/or connector causes the wibble (see, now I'm using the proper technical term!).
 

sancarn

New member
First off, is 'wibbly' a technical term? I'm not familiar with that one, is it an acronym for something? ;)

To the OP, what you describe sounds very much like a faulty cable to the screen or, hopefully, just a loose connector. Sometimes in transit stuff comes loose. I would phone PCS and ask how you can get at the screen cable and connector on that model of laptop and check that the connector is fully home and that the cable isn't pinched or chaffed anywhere. If that looks good boot the laptop with it open (if you can) and see whether moving or tapping the cable and/or connector causes the wibble (see, now I'm using the proper technical term!).

Thank you both, connecting an external screen was also something I wanted to try to connect an external monitor [strike]but can't as I don't have a HDMI socket on the laptop[/strike]. Turns out I do have a HDMI socket on the laptop. Just tried hooking it up to my main screen and even though my laptop screen messes up my main screen shows no change! So I guess it's good that it's a connection issue as you both suggest. Will ring PCS at some stage then. It'd be good to get it resolved in general as it is only likely to become worse of an issue over time..
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Thank you both, connecting an external screen was also something I wanted to try to connect an external monitor [strike]but can't as I don't have a HDMI socket on the laptop[/strike]. Turns out I do have a HDMI socket on the laptop. Just tried hooking it up to my main screen and even though my laptop screen messes up my main screen shows no change! So I guess it's good that it's a connection issue as you both suggest. Will ring PCS at some stage then. It'd be good to get it resolved in general as it is only likely to become worse of an issue over time..

Nice job, that's good troubleshooting! My bet is that it's either the cable or connector and I have my fingers crossed for a loose connector.... :)
 

Stese

Member
i've just posted about a similar issue, and I suspect the cable between mobo and display panel. In my case, external displays are fine. I'll monitor this and see if there is a fix. If I find one for my own issue, I'll post it here.
 
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