Screen flashing black

After I installed OpenOffice a few days ago, the screen began flashing black ONLY when I viewed a document file. I called tech support. The problem does not appear to be the monitor. I have an XPS 17 laptop. The motherboard was recently replaced (unnecessarily) due to a problem with the power adapter (cord won't stay plugged in). I used System Restore to restore they system to a previous state. I updated the video drivers. I even uninstalled OpenOffice and downloaded a copy of Word to use. The screen still starts flashing when I open a Word document. The problem ONLY happens when I view a .doc or .pdf file. What is the problem?

Responses(1)

DELL-Manpreet C

343 Posts

0

August 21st, 2012 15:00

Hi,

It seems to be a file association error. Please try the steps to select the default program for .doc and .pdf files:

Go to Start>> select 'Default Programs'>> select 'Microsoft Word' and 'Adobe Reader' as the default program.
If the program is not listed, open Default Programs by clicking the Start button and then clicking Default Programs.
Please click 'Associate a file type or protocol with a program'.
Click the file type that you want the program to act as the default for.
Then, select Change program.
Click the program that you want to use as the default for the file type you selected.

You can also watch the video on this link for detailed instructions:

http://windows.microsoft.com/is-IS/windows7/Change-which-programs-Windows-uses-by-default

You can also try to update the BIOS by referring to this link:

Go to support.dell.com >> Click 'Drivers Home'>> enter the Service Tag on this link: http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriversHome/NeedProductSelection?fkey=Drivers_PS
Click Submit>> select Operating System as' Windows 7 64-Bit'>> click 'BIOS'. An image for the same is shown below.

Download and save the file. Open the file location, right click the file and select 'Run as Administrator'. Follow the onscreen instructions. The laptop will reboot after the update. The AC adapter should be connected during this process. The battery should be charged 10% or greater than 10%. Please disconnect any external devices as well. Please save any unsaved data.

You can also run the hardware diagnostics.

Restart PC. When the Dell Splash screen appears, press the key 2-3 times. The 'One Time Boot menu' appears. At the One Time Boot menu, press the arrow key to highlight Enter ePSA, then press
Please make a note of any error codes listed.
Refer to this link for ePSA error codes: http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kcs/document?c=us&cs=19&docid=266787&doclang=en&l=en&s=dhs

Please try these steps and write back with the findings

Glad to be of help.

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Screen flashing black