Alienware Laptops: Lines and Distortion on the Screen

Supported Systems

• All Alienware laptops

Run a On-line Diagnostic First.

Run the LCD Built-in Self Test

All Alienware laptops have a built-in self test for the display that will help you determine the cause of the problem. To run the test do the following:

1. Turn off your system
2. Press and Hold the D key
3. Turn on the system while holding the D key, release the key when you see colors on the screen

   The screen will come on and cycle through the colors Red, Green, Blue, White and Black

   This will stay for a few seconds, pay attention to screen to check if the distortion is present during the test.

Testing and External Display

Connecting an external display will allow you to determine if the source of the distortion is the screen or some other component of the screen

If the distortion is also present on the external screen follow our article Resolve Hardware Issues With Built-in and Online Diagnostics (SupportAssist ePSA, ePSA or PSA Error Codes) for further testing

Update your System BIOS and Video Drivers

Latest BIOS is available at our Drivers and Downloads Page

Click Here for help on how to update your BIOS.

You may visit NVIDIA or AMD for the latest driver for your system

Important: Please visit our Drivers and Downloads Page in case the above drivers do not work for you.

Platform Specific Solutions

• Alienware 13 R2, 15 R2 & 17 R3 - LCD Display show distortion when play games
• Alienware 15 R2 & 17 R3 - External LCD Display will flash when playing a video
• Alienware 15 R2 and 17 R3: Line Distortion while Playing Games

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Recommended Articles

Here are some recommended articles related to this topic that might be of interest to you.

• Alienware 15 R2 and 17 R3: Screen "Slicing" while Playing Games
• Alienware 13 R2, 15 R2 & 17 R3 - LCD Display show distortion when play games
• Alienware Systems: General Video Troubleshooting
• Top Solutions for your Alienware System