Inspiron 3662, monitor flickering

Thank you for your message. I apologize for the inconvenience caused. I will be glad to assist you with this.

Do you observe the black screen on the external monitor when output by Miracast or Intel WiDi?

What is the version of BIOS & Windows (Build) installed?

Restart the computer & tap F2 to get into BIOS & stay on this screen for a while & check if the issue persists, this will help us diagnose if there is a hardware or a driver issue.

For my reference, please click on the message tab next to your avatar– click “New Message” & search for my Dell username (Dell-Sreejith R) & send a private message with the service tag, registered name & email address.

Click here to find the service tag -  https://dell.to/2xXUCUW

If you can afford the downtime, I'd leave it in the F2 BIOS for a while to see if it occurs there, too. If it happens there, you know you're looking at a hardware problem somewhere in the chain and can rule software out completely. Alternatively, if it stops, you can look at software troubleshooting.

What happens if you use the PC's HDMI port and an HDMI cable, instead of VGA, assuming your monitor has an HDMI input port?

You might look in Windows Event Viewer to see if any errors are logged around the time of a blink.

Don't really have the resources to test the Widi or Miracast. I used chromecast but nothing happened to the Television.

BIOS Version 2.8.0 & Windows 10.

I left it on for an hour in the bios settings. No black screen observed.

The BIOS screen not going black confirms that is not a hardware issue, this could be caused by the driver.

Please download & save Intel HD graphics driver, BIOS & Intel Chipset Device Software driver to your desktop screen.

Open task manager- click on the startup tab & disable all startup items excluding the anti-virus.

Complete All Windows updates, open device manager – expand display adapter – right click on the graphics driver & click on uninstall (check the box that says delete driver) do not restart the computer.

Install the Chipset driver, Intel HD graphics driver & then the BIOS again (even if you have the latest version) & then restart the computer.

Observe the computer & let me know the outcome.

Attempting now.

I looked around. Found a HDMI monitor & HDMI cable and reported no blank screen. Can only hold onto this screen temporarily though, would like a solution to VGA.

So it works OK via HDMI with no blinks...

If updating chipset, video drivers and BIOS doesn't help, you might consider trying an inexpensive HDMI (PC) > VGA (monitor) adapter with your VGA monitor as a work-around.

HDMI OUT to VGA is possible

VGA OUT TO HDMI is not aka the adapters are not bi directional aka 2 types

https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-FOINNEX-Converter-Connecting-HDTV-Male/dp/B071SHJ1S3

https://www.amazon.com/Active-Adapter-Benfei-Converter-Gold-Plated/dp/B01KLKQN9U/

Could you please share a video of the issue? The screen not going blank in BIOS rules out the hardware issue.

Please start the computer in safe mode by following this link https://dell.to/2tPi85q & check if the issue persists here.

I tried this. When removing the drivers in the device manager and going to the step where I install the HD Graphics driver, it came up with an error - cannot run installation as system doesn't meet minimum requirements. I skipped this - went to bios installation & installed hd graphics driver after. Still a blanking. 

Not noticing any blanking when on safe mode.

You can reach out to us at your convenience, we will be glad to assist you. Also, please check the system in safe mode when you get a chance.

Will upload video at some point next week. I will be out of the office. Thanks for helping with this issue.

So if not blinking in Safe Mode, what apps (and junk) are running in the background when you boot normally?

Do you have Norton or IDT Audio or iCloud on this system? They're all known to cause blinking screens in Win 10.  Norton even released a tool to fix their software. There are fixes for the others too so Google for them.

You can also go into Task Manager and click the Startup tab. Uncheck one or a few things and reboot. If not blinking, check those items again and uncheck some other ones to see if you can find the culprit.

NOTE: Disconnect your PC from the internet completely (both WiFi and Ethernet) before disabling your anti-viral software so you won't get hit with malware while testing. And make sure your anti-viral app is re-enabled before connecting to the net again.

BTW: Have you scanned thoroughly for malware recently?