Display driver issue on windows partition, what should I do?

[Red Cube]

Recently my mid-2009 vMB has had two occurrences of what seems to be a display driver issue. The screen freezes for a minute and gets a white tint, almost like a film, and when it unfreezes the screen flickers. After each occurrence I have turned off my computer, and when I turn it back on again, it doesn't happen again. It seems to happen at random times, and when running a fullscreen application. (BF3.exe and DOSBox were the culprits) Should I try to update my display drivers, or do something else?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Altemose]

Recently my mid-2009 vMB has had two occurrences of what seems to be a display driver issue. The screen freezes for a minute and gets a white tint, almost like a film, and when it unfreezes the screen flickers. After each occurrence I have turned off my computer, and when I turn it back on again, it doesn't happen again. It seems to happen at random times, and when running a fullscreen application. (BF3.exe and DOSBox were the culprits) Should I try to update my display drivers, or do something else?

Thanks in advance.

You can check for an update for Bootcamp. I am not sure why that problem would occur, and does it happen in OS X?

 

[Red Cube]

You can check for an update for Bootcamp. I am not sure why that problem would occur, and does it happen in OS X?

I haven't used OSX since this started happening. So far it only happens under these circumstances:

- My computer has been on for less than half an hour
- I'm playing a fullscreen game such as BF3 or running DOSBox in fullscreen. As of around 10 minutes ago it happened while playing the Darkplaces source port for Quake 1 in fullscreen.

Also of note is that before it happens, my computer feels unnaturally hot (The CPU and GPU are right below the left side of my keyboard and I can usually feel some of the heat)

 

[Altemose]

I haven't used OSX since this started happening. So far it only happens under these circumstances:

- My computer has been on for less than half an hour
- I'm playing a fullscreen game such as BF3 or running DOSBox in fullscreen. As of around 10 minutes ago it happened while playing the Darkplaces source port for Quake 1 in fullscreen.

Also of note is that before it happens, my computer feels unnaturally hot (The CPU and GPU are right below the left side of my keyboard and I can usually feel some of the heat)

My Mac does get hot when using full-screen Skype calls. That being said I do not actively use Windows on my Mac, so I cannot be of much more assistance than to attempt to update your Boot Camp drivers. Or even install the regular driver for your video card.

 

[Red Cube]

My Mac does get hot when using full-screen Skype calls. That being said I do not actively use Windows on my Mac, so I cannot be of much more assistance than to attempt to update your Boot Camp drivers. Or even install the regular driver for your video card.

First of all, I'm posting this from a different computer now.
Second, it's been getting worse and it happens in OSX too, mere minutes after startup. I'm starting to think something is seriously wrong with my graphics card.

 

[Altemose]

First of all, I'm posting this from a different computer now.
Second, it's been getting worse and it happens in OSX too, mere minutes after startup. I'm starting to think something is seriously wrong with my graphics card.

The sad part is that you may be right...

 

[Red Cube]

The sad part is that you may be right...

Okay, I've done some tests and it seems that it only happens when I launch a video game. Last time it happened was on OSX, and I had to hold down the power button.

EDIT: Found out what the problem is, seems to be the cable between the monitor and the motherboard(?) could be frayed or damaged. If I move the top half of the laptop (the half with the monitor) by adjusting the angle, it stops for a second, then comes back again, like the screen just refreshed. But if I put pressure on it (like holding it in place) it's a live image, but with some flickering.

 

[Altemose]

Okay, I've done some tests and it seems that it only happens when I launch a video game. Last time it happened was on OSX, and I had to hold down the power button.

Could be a blown video card that is beginning to fail. They usually show symptoms early in the game when under strain.

 

[Red Cube]

Could be a blown video card that is beginning to fail. They usually show symptoms early in the game when under strain.

Also, don't forget:

EDIT: Found out what the problem is, seems to be the cable between the monitor and the motherboard(?) could be frayed or damaged. If I move the top half of the laptop (the half with the monitor) by adjusting the angle, it stops for a second, then comes back again, like the screen just refreshed. But if I put pressure on it (like holding it in place) it's a live image, but with some flickering.

Another edit: it seems it doesn't matter whether I'm playing a video game or not. At least I can move the screen to fix it, I guess. So no blown video card.

 

[Altemose]

Also, don't forget:

Another edit: it seems it doesn't matter whether I'm playing a video game or not. At least I can move the screen to fix it, I guess. So no blown video card.

My guess is that the heat of using the GPU and CPU in a game or full screen application aggravated the issue. You should replace the cables.

 

[Red Cube]

My guess is that the heat of using the GPU and CPU in a game or full screen application aggravated the issue. You should replace the cables.

I've heard that the cables are somewhat expensive and difficult to replace.

 

[Altemose]

I've heard that the cables are somewhat expensive and difficult to replace.

I never changed any on a 2009 White MacBook.