14in HP 14cf series laptop whole screen show a horizontal dithered pattern, then crashes

[orangeglider]

I have a 14 month old 14in HP 14cf series laptop that every 2 or 3 days of use has the whole screen show a horizontal dithered pattern and then the computer crashes. I've searched he web for a similar issue and solutions, but have not found any.  The problem began on month 13, just 1 month after the warranty expired. Go figure! I did check and the graphics driver was outdated by like 12 months--never automatically updated I guess. I manually updated it to the latest driver. But the problem still happens. Please could the community offer some ideas? Thanks!

[praveen196]

@orangeglider Welcome to HP Community!

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http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03754824

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[orangeglider]

Thanks for your reply. Sorry for delay. I really appreciate any help resolving this issue. This is a 14" HP laptop purchased on Amazon Sept. 2019.  Specs are Model 14-cf0006dx. ProdID5VQ99UA#ABA. 2133 MHz, Intel HD Graphics 620, 2.4GHz Intel Core i3-7100U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, HDMI, Card Reader, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Windows 10 Pro (Gold). It's been a great laptop except for the recent issues with the screen randomly going out with the horizontal pattern and locking up. When it started doing this a few weeks ago, it would pause on a screen similar to the one I've attached to this post for a short time (5 - 15 sec) then automatically reboot and then be fine again for a day or two. Lately, when it goes out showing this type of screen and lock ups, but would not automatically reboot. I have to shut it down by holding the power button and restart it again that way. I have done extensive web research and found some similar stories: possible graphics card driver, GPU over heating, BIOS issue, and more. But I haven't really found a post with a clear solution. The screen on this post looks similar to my issue: 30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Boot-and-Lockup/Display-issue-with-Brand-new-HP-Envy-x360/m-p/5909303

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[praveen196]

@orangeglider

Thank you for the update.

Please run the SFC scan. you can refer to this Link: https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/4026529/windows-10-using-system-file-checker

Try updating the computer, this will install the latest updates -

Step 1 Windows Updates -

1) In the search box, type, and open Windows Updates.

2) Check for updates.

3) If the updates are available, click on install and restart the computer.

Step 2 Install updates using HP Support Assistant

1. In the search box, type, and open HP Support Assistant. 
2. Check for updates. 
3. If the updates are available, click on install and restart the computer.  

Note: If you do not have HP Support Assistant installed, Click here to download the same.

Have a nice day!!

[orangeglider]

It seems like the posts don't always come out as expected with image and text. So trying again....

Thanks for the first steps. Much appreciated. Initially after the incidents first began, I had fully updated both Windows 10 and the HP Support Assistant. But it the screen crash continued to happen afterward. At your recommendation, today I saw need to do the big update to Win 10 Version 2004. So I did that. Then I check for updates on HP Support Assistant app, but automatic updates were just done today. Next I ran System File Checker using the instruction link you provided. It ran version 10.0.19041.572. It completed 100% and said that the restore operation completed successfully. At this point I guess I just needed to wait to see if/when the screen would crash again. Then it happened. As I was writing up my response here on a different computer, I had the troublesome HP laptop setting on top of my desk. I attempted to pick up HP laptop by the front-right corner as shown in the attached pic and the screen immediately crashed and show the pattern in this pic with patterns very typical to all the other times. Screen was on a webpage Google Chrome about checking CPU temp, but not sure that matters. It remained on that crash screen for several minutes, until I finally did a hard shutdown and reboot from the power button. When it came back up to Windows, I wondered if lifting the laptop had something to do with it. So I tried to do it again. This time, I had to get more aggressive with lifting it up by trying to flex both sides of the keyboard base down while lifting it into the air and then the screen crashed again. So it appears this is a mechanical issue and not software or operating system related. After rebooting it again, I could not get the screen to crash by lifting it from the front corner again or flexing it on the the sides. But I could hear the fan speed slow down when flexing the sides. And now when idle, the fan may sound a bit more labored than it did before, not sure. A couple other ideas I've come across are the screen ribbon cable contacts and/or its connector inside the laptop may be flaky and need pulled out, cleaned and reset back into the connector. I was also thinking maybe GPU overheating or maybe the area around the fan needs blow out clean of dust, but this just happened twice in a row with the laptop idling. And the laptop doesn't feel at all hot. There are perforated vent holes thru the bottom of the laptop in a rectangular shape of about 7 inches wide x 1.5 inches tall that I can feel a slight venting of warm air on one side. Though it seems harmless to do, the laptop is often used in bed and setting it on top of the blankets that would be blocking those vent holes. So not sure about overheating since I just got the screen to crash while it was idle setting on my desk.  Do you have any recommendations on second steps given this new information? Thanks again for your help!

[orangeglider]

Well, I attempted to post this, but it didn't seem to go thru. So trying again...Thanks for the first steps. Much appreciated. Initially after the incidents first began, I had fully updated both Windows 10 and the HP Support Assistant. But it the screen crash continued to happen afterward. At your recommendation, today I saw need to do the big update to Win 10 Version 2004. So I did that. Then I check for updates on HP Support Assistant app, but automatic updates were just done today. Next I ran System File Checker using the instruction link you provided. It ran version 10.0.19041.572. It completed 100% and said that the restore operation completed successfully. At this point I guess I just needed to wait to see if/when the screen would crash again. Then it happened. As I was writing up my response here on a different computer, I had the troublesome HP laptop setting on top of my desk. I attempted to pick up HP laptop by the front-right corner as shown in the attached pic and the screen immediately crashed and show the pattern in this pic with patterns very typical to all the other times. Screen was on a webpage Google Chrome about checking CPU temp, but not sure that matters. It remained on that crash screen for several minutes, until I finally did a hard shutdown and reboot from the power button. When it came back up to Windows, I wondered if lifting the laptop had something to do with it. So I tried to do it again. This time, I had to get more aggressive with lifting it up by trying to flex both sides of the keyboard base down while lifting it into the air and then the screen crashed again. So it appears this is a mechanical issue and not software or operating system related. After rebooting it again, I could not get the screen to crash by lifting it from the front corner again or flexing it on the the sides. But I could hear the fan speed slow down when flexing the sides. And now when idle, the fan may sound a bit more labored than it did before, not sure. A couple other ideas I've come across are the screen ribbon cable contacts and/or its connector inside the laptop may be flaky and need pulled out, cleaned and reset back into the connector. I was also thinking maybe GPU overheating or maybe the area around the fan needs blow out clean of dust, but this just happened twice in a row with the laptop idling. And the laptop doesn't feel at all hot. There are perforated vent holes thru the bottom of the laptop in a rectangular shape of about 7 inches wide x 1.5 inches tall that I can feel a slight venting of warm air on one side. Though it seems harmless to do, the laptop is often used in bed and setting it on top of the blankets that would be blocking those vent holes. So not sure about overheating since I just got the screen to crash while it was idle setting on my desk.  Do you have any recommendations on second steps given this new information? Thanks again for your help!

[orangeglider]

Thanks for the first steps. Much appreciated. Initially after the incidents first began, I had fully updated both Windows 10 and the HP Support Assistant. But it the screen crash continued to happen afterward. At your recommendation, today I saw need to do the big update to Win 10 Version 2004. So I did that. Then I check for updates on HP Support Assistant app, but automatic updates were just done today. Next I ran System File Checker using the instruction link you provided. It ran version 10.0.19041.572. It completed 100% and said that the restore operation completed successfully. At this point I guess I just needed to wait to see if/when the screen would crash again. Then it happened. As I was writing up my response here on a different computer, I had the troublesome HP laptop setting on top of my desk. I attempted to pick up HP laptop by the front-right corner as shown in the attached pic and the screen immediately crashed and show the pattern in this pic with patterns very typical to all the other times. Screen was on a webpage Google Chrome about checking CPU temp, but not sure that matters. It remained on that crash screen for several minutes, until I finally did a hard shutdown and reboot from the power button. When it came back up to Windows, I wondered if lifting the laptop had something to do with it. So I tried to do it again. This time, I had to get more aggressive with lifting it up by trying to flex both sides of the keyboard base down while lifting it into the air and then the screen crashed again. So it appears this is a mechanical issue and not software or operating system related. After rebooting it again, I could not get the screen to crash by lifting it from the front corner again or flexing it on the the sides. But I could hear the fan speed slow down when flexing the sides. And now when idle, the fan may sound a bit more labored than it did before, not sure. A couple other ideas I've come across are the screen ribbon cable contacts and/or its connector inside the laptop may be flaky and need pulled out, cleaned and reset back into the connector. I was also thinking maybe GPU overheating or maybe the area around the fan needs blow out clean of dust, but this just happened twice in a row with the laptop idling. And the laptop doesn't feel at all hot. There are perforated vent holes thru the bottom of the laptop in a rectangular shape of about 7 inches wide x 1.5 inches tall that I can feel a slight venting of warm air on one side. Though it seems harmless to do, the laptop is often used in bed and setting it on top of the blankets that would be blocking those vent holes. So not sure about overheating since I just got the screen to crash while it was idle setting on my desk.  Do you have any recommendations on second steps given this new information? Thanks again for your help!

[orangeglider]

[jamie333]

A dithered pattern may occur if the BIOS or a device driver is out of date or is not compatible with some other hardware or software component. Try updating the BIOS and device drivers to resolve the problem.

[orangeglider]

Ok. Seems strange for a BIOS issue that by lifting the laptop while slightly flexing the sides on two separate occasions the screen immediately crashed each time. But I did update BIOS. So will see if screen crash recurs. Thank you for advice