Screen flashes for a second

[dmason2]

Hi All

Just need a bit of advice, some of our pcs randomly just flash black for a second and carries on as normal, all different pcs and models so none specific, there's nothing that sets it off it's all just sporadic. Whilst it isn't a massive problem the users which it effects are getting quite annoyed as we can't get to the bottom of it.

I've checked the drivers for update and windows updates and different visual cables , I've changed refresh rates too and still no luck

Any help would be appreciated 

TIA

[DalekSec]

Is it all in the same area? could be a power issue. We had one area where when someone turns on a shredder it makes all the screens flash... shredder has since gone

[dmason2]

4 minutes ago, DalekSec said:

Is it all in the same area? could be a power issue. We had one area where when someone turns on a shredder it makes all the screens flash... shredder has since gone

Not all in the same area I'm afraid, does it on dual monitors and single monitors round the college

[Dos_Box]

I agree with @DalekSec inference though. It does sound like possible interference from somewhere.
When did this behavior start, how often (I know you said it was sporadic, but is it 5, 10+ times a day school wide?) and was there something new that was installed in the school around that time?

[6Foot2]

We had a similar issue with new Viglen monitors (so, a while ago now!)

 

We tried swapping cables and reinstalling drivers, (we didn't try clean driver install, or driver rollback because this was happening out of the box to around 25% of the new delivery)

 

We were eventually able to persuade Viglen to take them back for repair, but they came back with the same fault unrepaired.

 

The situation dragged on, and we ended up not getting a solution or any kind of explanation.

 

Hope you have better luck.

 

 

Edit: For clarity: Our monitor fault: The display would wipe to a uniform white starting from one side, stay that way for a couple of seconds, then go black and then return to normal again with a wipe, but faster than the initial wipe to white.

[Gongalong]

To the OP, when did it start? I was getting this issue with my Xbox One after I changed the HDMI cable. Changed it back to a better cable, all fine now. Presumably though you haven't just done a mass change of HDMI cables!

[Oaktech]

I've had a similar issue twice fairly recently.

 

One was with a manufacturer specific Intel driver for Lenovo Thinkcentre mini PCs installed via Lenovo Service Bridge and affected monitors connected by HDMI but not by DP. That was fixed with the a new driver from Intel without the manufacturer customizations.

 

The other issue is ongoing with 23/24" HP E and Z displays and it is basically the beginning of the end for them, it gets progressively worse and eventually they just stop working!

[Gongalong]

Now that I think of it, we also had an issue with some very old Intel mobo based PCs, and that was either hardware dying or driver related. Again though, that seems unlikely if you've got it across multiple types of PC.

[drutt]

Do you have gas lift office chairs? We've had an issue like this with some of our multiscreen setups and put it down to a combination of issues related to the dock, chair and cables with no clear 100% answer.

 

Checking up the displayliink support section pointed me to gas lift office chairs as being a factor

 

https://support.displaylink.com/knowledgebase/articles/738618-display-intermittently-blanking-flickering-or-los

 

Quote

Surprisingly, we have also seen this issue connected to gas lift office chairs. When people stand or sit on gas lift chairs, they can generate an EMI spike which is picked up on the video cables, causing a loss of sync. If you have users complaining about displays randomly flickering it could actually be connected to people sitting on gas lift chairs. Again swapping video cables, especially for ones with magnetic ferrite ring on the cable, can eliminate this problem. There is even a white paper about this issue.