Windows 10: Start Button and Hidden Icons cause screen Flickering

I have a problem that has just started over the last week or so. If I hover my mouse over the start button on my Windows 10 machine, the entire screen flickers. I am still able to click on the links on the toolbar most of the time. Sometimes when I click on a link on the toolbar it will "refresh" the toolbar. When I try to "show hidden icons" in the bottom right of the screen, it will also "refresh" the toolbar. All of this means that I cannot access these hidden icons or use the start menu. I can use shortcut keys to accomplish most of the tasks that I want to, but this is starting to become a problem. I have re-installed my graphics drivers and that doesn't seem to have helped. I have tried running SFC /scannow, but it fails at about 28%. I have tried to run chkdsk /f and it fails at about 17%. I have tried to reset my computer, and it fails at about 17%. I am running out of things to try. Does anyone know anything about what this could be and if so, how to fix it?

Thanks,
Scott

:)

 

upgrade to Windows 10

Hi Minko,

Screen flickering in Windows 10 is usually caused by incompatible apps or display drivers. To determine whether an app or driver is causing the problem, check to see if Task Manager flickers. Then, based on that information, you'll need to either
uninstall the app or update the display driver.

Open Task Manager by pressing the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys on the keyboard at the same time. If that doesn't work, right-click the Start button in the lower-left corner of your screen and then select
Task Manager.

• If Task Manager doesn't flicker, an app is probably causing the problem.
  
• If Task Manager does flicker, a display driver is probably causing the problem.

Please revert if the screen flickers.

Thank you.

 

Windows 10 pro 1607 64-bit Screen flickering issue.

Hi James,

I appreciate you for trying some steps in order to get the issue fixed.

Screen flickering in Windows 10 is usually caused by incompatible apps or display drivers. To determine whether an app or driver is causing the problem, check to see if Task Manager flickers. Then, based on that information, you'll need to either
uninstall the app or update the display driver.

Open Task Manager by pressing the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys on the keyboard at the same time. If that doesn't work, right-click the Start button in the lower-left corner of your screen and then select
Task Manager.

• If Task Manager doesn't flicker, an app is probably causing the problem.
  
• If Task Manager does flicker, a display driver is probably causing the problem.

Please revert if the screen flickers.

Thank you.

 

Hello Scott,

Welcome to the TenForums *Smile

What message do you get when the SFC and CHKDSK tests fail? Please post them so that we can help. These tests can take a long time to run, be prepared to leave them for 1 hr or more if you have a lot of files and disk space to check.

 

This is an indication that the HDD is about to fail at any minute. Backup your files immediately and replace the HDD.

 

When SFC fails, it gives me the message "Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation". This is at 27% complete.

When I run CHKDSK /F, the system restarts, begins "Scanning and repairing drive (C*Smile, and then jumps from 45% to 100%. The system then restarts. All seems well with ChkDsk today.

I think the failure that I remember being at 17% was the "Reset the System" in Recovery.

 

A more comprehensive test of the hard disk is provided by Seatools and this will work on any disk.

Run following tests
1.Short Drive Self Test
2.Short generic
3.Long generic

If the short generic fails you can stop testing.

 

Ok thanks, I'll try that tonight when I get home from work.

 

Ok, I tested the drive on all three of these tests and it passed on all.

 

OK, I think we can put aside the worry that your hard disk might be failing. Can you tell me a bit more about your system? How much memory do you have? What version of W10? 32bit or 64bit? Details of motherboard? Hard disk size? Size of Power supply? All this might help us track down a possible cause.

System Specs - Fill in at Ten Forums

 

I've updated most of the info that you asked for. I am not sure about the PSU. It is 64-bit version of Windows 10. This is just odd, because everything worked fine for a few weeks after upgrading to W10, but now all of a sudden I have this problem.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on how to fix this? Or can someone point me in the direction of some test to run?

 

I see from your specs that you have 2 drives one is an SSD an the other HDD. I am now confused over which drive you have been testing. Seatools does not give valid data for an SSD. You need to check with the Manufacturer for a suitable test.

 

Ok, I have run ssdlife diagnostic on my ssd and it has come back as extremely healthy. I guess that means that there are no issues with the drive. Both seatools and this ssdlife seem to indicate that the drive is fine. If we eliminate hardware issues, are there any software issues that we can investigate?

 

Make sure you are running the latest Geforce Driver: 341.95