Flashing Box on Screen - What Is It and How Do I Get Rid Of It?

Question

I have a very annoying outline of a black box which keeps flashing up and disappearing straight away.  It interferes with my typing/work I am doing so I really want to know what it is and get rid of it.

I tried advice on other forums and also installed a screen recorder so I could see if there was any text/warning in the box when i flashes but it is empty - just an outline.

Can anyone help?  I'm using a Surface Pro 4 on Windows 10 Pro if that makes any difference?

Answer 1

Hi HelsBels75,

Thank you for reaching out Microsoft Community. We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you.

Is this happening on a certain browser or an app? Well, what I'd like you to do to initially troubleshoot this issue is to run the system file checker to check if there are corrupted system files that are just looping around causing this issue to exist.  To run the system file checker, kindly type Command Promp****t on the search box next to the Windows icon and run it as administrator. Once done, type and enter sfc /scannow. Let it load, detect and repair those corrupted files. Whether it detects a corrupted file or whatnot, kindly restart your Surface device and please run the Surface Diagnostic Toolkit. 

If this helps, feel free to mark this post as an answer. Otherwise, don't hesitate to respond to this thread if you need further assistance.

Kind Regards,

Crest_Z

Answer 2

Hi, thanks for responding but it hasn't solved the problem.

It is happening all the time so not on certain browsers or apps.

Although the scan did detect corrupt files, after following the rest of the instructions the box is still flashing on screen.

Answer 3

Hi HelsBels75,

Sorry for the delayed response.

Is your Surface device up to date? If it is, what I can recommend for us to determine if this is already a hardware problem is to reset the device back to factory settings.

- HOW TO DOWNLOAD, CREATE AND USE A USB RECOVERY DRIVE -

You'll need a PC running Windows 7 or later or a Surface Device and a USB flashdrive (16GB or 32 GB).

1. Visit the page to Download the recovery image for your Surface
2. Sign in with your Microsoft Account
3. From the list of Surface devices available, select the device that you need a recovery image for

Please note that while you will only be presented with devices that are currently registered on your account, you will also be presented with the option to get an image for a different type of device. If you try to use this option, you will be prompted to enter the serial number for your Surface device. 4. Download the recovery image using the button on the page 5. When the download bar pops up at the bottom of your screen, save the file in a location you will be able to find it.

Format USB Drive:

• Note: Formatting a recovery drive will erase anything that is already stored on your USB drive. Make sure to transfer any important data from your USB drive to another storage device before using it to create a Surface

USB recovery drive.

1. Insert your USB drive into the USB port of your PC.
2. From the desktop, open File Explorer
3. Tap and hold or right-click on the USB drive and choose Format
4. Select FAT32 as the file system and enter a Volume label to name the USB drive, such as RECOVERY, and then tap or click Start
5. Tap or click OK to erase the contents of the USB drive
6. Tap or click OK when the format is complete

Create a recovery drive:

1. On your Surface or PC, open recovery image that you downloaded by double-clicking it or right click then select Extract and then Extract all.
2. Select the USB drive you formatted earlier for the location and click Extract.

Use a USB recovery drive to reset your Surface:

1. Shutdown the Surface
2. Insert the USB recovery drive into the USB port
3. Press and hold the volume-down (-) rocker
4. Press and release the power button
5. When the Surface logo appears, release the volume-down (-) rocker
6. Surface will start the recovery software on the USB recovery drive
7. When prompted, choose your language options and keyboard layout
8. Select Troubleshoot
9. Select Recover from a Drive. Choose Remove Everything and Fully Clean the Drive. Recovering this PC.
10. If prompted, select Repartition the drives
11. If prompted for BitLocker Key, tap Skip this Drive and continue with the reimaging process.

In the event that the issue still exists after resetting the device, then this confirms that your Surface is already facing a hardware issue and the best recommendation I can suggest is to contact our MS Surface Support for replacement options.

If this helps, feel free to mark this post as an answer. Otherwise, don't hesitate to respond to this thread if you need further assistance.

Kind Regards,

Crest_Z