I've not been able to find any documentation of this alhough I've seen it posted before. Try as I might sorry, I cannot remember the cause or the fix.
Just a generic suggestion is all I can offer. When something like this comes up, the first thing that always comes to mind is updated video drivers. This is a likely culprit and by updating, you will either solve the problem or eliminate drivers as the cause. Either one is better than no help at all.
i went to Downloads and they have the right jpatch for my video drivers, but it only recomends it be installed if i am going to XP. i am running ME. what do i need to do?
Dell offers drivers for download on all factory installed components however, these are usually several versions behind those available directly from the manufacturer. I always use those on the video adapter manufacturer website (in my case, nVidia) for this reason.
Be sure to read the installation instructions for changing drivers...hopefully, it will cure your problem.
I had this happen to me before, and it stopped after I changed my pixels..What I did was on the desktop I right clicked, then Properties, then settings.
it was on 800x600 I changed it to 1024 by 768
WIndows M.E
Dim 4100 Series, Pentium 111 Proc 1GHZ
V.905/56kPCI Datefax modem
8x/4x/32xCD-RW, TIED
SB LIVE! Digital sound card with 1024 voices
speakers with subwoofers
512MB
20GB
ZoneAlarm
NortonAntiVirus2002 till 1-15-03
System Ship Date: 6/10/2001
USING A CABLE MODEM
As I said before, I use the drivers from the card manufacturer's sites since they are considerably more up-to-date. Since I have no idea what card you have or what driver set you are running, I can't make a suggestion to you.
Your comments about a "patch" is a little confusing...what I'm referring to is updated video drivers which come out periodically for most cards. If you are unsure what to do you can call Dell Support for guidance or, just re-load the same drivers that came on your computer. Just removing them and re-installing may well cure the problem.
efrid,
Maria may be on to something there, but allow me to bring up something I've seen cause this exact problem. It's a screen saver and photo wallpaper application called Webshots. When Webshots is installed it activates an icon in systray that polls webshots.com for new photo collections and when new collections are available for download the icon turns into a blinking camera. I've seen this blinking camera icon cause the Start button to blink at a synchronized rate and even have a horizontal line with strobing colors move up and down it. I don't know if you have this application installed or not, but if you do it's something worth looking into.
i don't have anything like that on the computer. i just had a new hard drive installed a few days ago because the start button blinked and dell thought it was a virus and we tried to fix it by reinstalling everything 5 - 6 times. i have not downloaded anything; it still blinks and it was suggested that i reinstall my drivers so i've done that too. i have no idea what to do next. any help would be great.
Dan Manley
1.4K Posts
0
March 18th, 2002 02:00
I've not been able to find any documentation of this alhough I've seen it posted before. Try as I might sorry, I cannot remember the cause or the fix.
Just a generic suggestion is all I can offer. When something like this comes up, the first thing that always comes to mind is updated video drivers. This is a likely culprit and by updating, you will either solve the problem or eliminate drivers as the cause. Either one is better than no help at all.
Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm).
efrid
4 Posts
0
March 19th, 2002 00:00
efrid
4 Posts
0
March 19th, 2002 01:00
Dan Manley
1.4K Posts
0
March 19th, 2002 01:00
Dell offers drivers for download on all factory installed components however, these are usually several versions behind those available directly from the manufacturer. I always use those on the video adapter manufacturer website (in my case, nVidia) for this reason.
Be sure to read the installation instructions for changing drivers...hopefully, it will cure your problem.
Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm).
culligangirl
2 Intern
•
251 Posts
0
March 19th, 2002 01:00
it was on 800x600 I changed it to 1024 by 768
WIndows M.E
Dim 4100 Series, Pentium 111 Proc 1GHZ
V.905/56kPCI Datefax modem
8x/4x/32xCD-RW, TIED
SB LIVE! Digital sound card with 1024 voices
speakers with subwoofers
512MB
20GB
ZoneAlarm
NortonAntiVirus2002 till 1-15-03
System Ship Date: 6/10/2001
USING A CABLE MODEM
Dan Manley
1.4K Posts
0
March 19th, 2002 20:00
Your comments about a "patch" is a little confusing...what I'm referring to is updated video drivers which come out periodically for most cards. If you are unsure what to do you can call Dell Support for guidance or, just re-load the same drivers that came on your computer. Just removing them and re-installing may well cure the problem.
Sorry, your browser doesn't support Java(tm).
The_Namek
2 Intern
•
2.8K Posts
0
March 20th, 2002 04:00
Maria may be on to something there, but allow me to bring up something I've seen cause this exact problem. It's a screen saver and photo wallpaper application called Webshots. When Webshots is installed it activates an icon in systray that polls webshots.com for new photo collections and when new collections are available for download the icon turns into a blinking camera. I've seen this blinking camera icon cause the Start button to blink at a synchronized rate and even have a horizontal line with strobing colors move up and down it. I don't know if you have this application installed or not, but if you do it's something worth looking into.
efrid
4 Posts
0
March 23rd, 2002 00:00