Laptop screen flickers..time for new one?

[theplanb]

well my dad has this old P233 compaq armada notebook with smallish screen.
Now it's been a while since the screen was giving him the trouble. It flickers like a.. candle in a windy day.
The thing is.. it doesn't happen all the time.. it happened before..but somehow it went away..but after month, it came back! strange thing..
I'm not even sure whether it's software or hardware problem.. can somebody please help?

 

[XxervioCSO]

has he changed any hardware or updated video drivers or anything right before it started doing it?

 

[Bacinator]

Right click on desktop, go to properties. Go to settings. Go to Advanced, and there should be a tab in there where you can change the frequency/refresh rate. See if changing the frequency up/down fixes your problem. My GeForce 2 only ran @ 60hz, but my 9500 pro doesn't like 60, it likes 85hz. Both were stable, but 85hz is noticibly better with 0 flicker.

 

[Texun]

Originally posted by: theplanb
well my dad has this old P233 compaq armada notebook with smallish screen.
Now it's been a while since the screen was giving him the trouble. It flickers like a.. candle in a windy day.
The thing is.. it doesn't happen all the time.. it happened before..but somehow it went away..but after month, it came back! strange thing..
I'm not even sure whether it's software or hardware problem.. can somebody please help?

Does it do it when connected to a monitor? If not, it probably is due to the inverter that drives the laptop display. My Dell did that and I had to have the inverter replaced.

 

[theplanb]

nop no change in hardware.. driver.. not changed either..
and when i was saying ti's flickering ... i meant.. it goes on and off fast..not like.. because of low refresh rate.. it sometimes goes off full second..
my hunch is the hardware problem..could be the inverter.. but how can i be sure.. and is it worth to gt it checked and replace the faulty part for this old laptop?