HP Spectre X360 Screen Flicker when I use touchpad

[Vaib012]

Product: HP Spectre X360 - 13-Aw0023dx
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11
Recently my screen has started to blank or flicker when I use the touchpad. Sometimes the screen flickers rapidly and other times it just goes black when I try to move the cursor or select a link or a word on the page. Sometimes, continued use of the touchpad brings the screen back, other times it does not. I can always bring the display back on by touching the screen itself. I only experience the problem in laptop mode. When I fold it over into pad mode I have no issues, but of course am interacting with the touch screen exclusively. There have been several recent windows updates and I have installed Nord VPN recently, other than that I have made no intentional changes. The touchpad information in settings claims that it is running correctly. What diagnostics should I try to narrow down the source of this problem?'

[Pallipurath]

Hi @Vaib012 

Welcome to the HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query.

It's clear the issue is not limited to the touchpad. Since the screen still flickers and goes black even with the touchpad completely disabled, that shifts the diagnosis away from the touchpad hardware and toward a broader system-level issue, which could be:

Most Likely Causes Now:

• Graphics Driver / Power Management Conflict
• The flickering and screen going dark could be caused by display driver instability — especially if it’s triggered by user input or activity, like moving the mouse.
• Windows 11's power optimization features (like Modern Standby) can also conflict with graphics behavior, particularly on HP laptops.
• Loose Display Cable
• Intermittent contact in the internal eDP (embedded DisplayPort) cable connecting the screen to the motherboard could cause flickering or blackouts during slight movements (like touchpad/mouse usage).
• Systemboard Issue or Embedded Controller (EC) Firmware Glitch
• Rare, but possible — if the EC or power delivery controller malfunctions, it may cause flickering triggered by power events or I/O device usage.

Recommended Next Steps:

1. Reinstall the Display Driver (Clean Install)

• Even if you've updated it before, do a clean uninstall + reinstall to remove conflicts:
• Open Device Manager → Display adapters → Right-click Intel UHD Graphics → Uninstall device (check the box for delete driver if shown).
• Restart.
• Windows will install a generic driver. Then:
• Download the latest graphics driver from HP’s website specifically for the HP Notebook 15-dy1751ms under Windows 11.
• Or use Intel’s Driver & Support Assistant to auto-detect and install the latest.

2. Disable Fast Startup (Power Setting)

• Go to Control Panel → Power Options → Choose what the power buttons do → Change settings that are currently unavailable.
• Uncheck Turn on fast startup.
• Restart the system.

3. Run the HP UEFI Hardware Diagnostics (Full Test)

• Shut down the laptop.
• Turn it back on and immediately press ESC repeatedly → then F2 to open Diagnostics.
• Run the Extensive Test (not just quick test) for Memory, System Board, and Display.
• This may help detect deeper hardware faults that weren't caught by Windows-based diagnostics.

4. External Monitor Test

• Connect the laptop to an external monitor via HDMI.
• If the external display does NOT flicker or go black while the internal one does, it strongly suggests a screen cable or panel issue.
• If both flicker, it's a GPU or systemboard issue.

Hope this helps, Please revert if the issue persists.

Take care and have an amazing day!