Screen Flickers on Startup

Question

Whenever I start my HP Laptop the screen flickers so much it is unusable. However, if I do a restart, when it comes back its fine. If I do shutdown and start it again, the screen flickers.

Any suggestions?

Thanks. George

Answer 1

Hi,

Access msinfo32 in the search bar, take screenshots and post here

Open the command prompt (admin) and run the commands: sfc /scannow and dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth, wait for the process to finish and restart the computer.

Then perform a clean boot and if you want to uninstall applications that you do not use.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-execute-a-simple-boot-start-in-windows-da2f9573-6eec-00ad-2f8a-a97a1807f3dd

Thanks

Answer 2

Screen flickering in Windows 11 is usually caused by either a display driver issue or an incompatible app.

Follow these steps when the screen is flickering after a cold start:

1. Reset the graphics driver
   • When the screen is flickering, press Windows logo key + Ctrl + Shift + B.
   • If the flicker stops, the issue is likely with the graphics driver.
2. Check whether Task Manager flickers
   • Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete, then select Task Manager (or press Ctrl + Shift + Esc).
   • Observe the screen:
     • If Task Manager flickers along with the rest of the screen, the display driver is likely the cause. Go to step 3.
     • If Task Manager does not flicker while the rest of the screen does, an incompatible app is likely the cause. Go to step 4.
3. Fix the display driver
   • Open Device Manager from the taskbar search.
   • Expand Display adapters.
   • Right‑click the display adapter and choose one of the following:
     • Roll Back Driver (on the Driver tab) if the issue started after a recent update, then restart.
     • Update driver to install a newer driver.
     • If updating/rollback does not help, on the Driver tab select Uninstall Device, check Attempt to remove/Delete the driver software for this device if available, select OK, then restart so Windows reinstalls the driver.
   • Administrator privileges are required for rollback/uninstall.
4. Update or uninstall incompatible apps
   • If Task Manager does not flicker, identify apps that start automatically and may affect display (for example, screen recorders, display utilities, or OEM tools) and update or remove them:
     • Go to Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
     • Select a suspect app > Uninstall > Uninstall, then restart and test.
   • If the app came from Microsoft Store, update it via Microsoft Store > Library.

If the flickering makes the screen unusable on first boot, perform these steps in Safe Mode and then adjust drivers or apps from there.

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References:

• Troubleshoot screen flickering in Windows