Windows 7 Flicker / Text problem

[spanjing]

Hello. Recently installed Windows 7 Ultimate x64 on my computer.

Setup:
AMD Phenom II X4 (quad core x64 processor)
GeForce 8600 GT gfx card
4 GB DDR3 RAM

My problem:
If I want to mark files (hold mouse left and drag, you know), the rectangle flickers / blinks.
Or if i re-size a window, then all text inside it flickers like mad (while resizing) - but no the images or anything else. Only the text.

I chat a lot on mIRC and everytime someone writes something, all text flicker. The same happens when I scroll.

Every time my mouse moves over an item in the context menu ("right click menu"), it flickers, as if the text is re-drawn.... mhm.

Many text related things flicker and feels generally slow.

Ah, another thing. Everytime I switch window, i get a white background of the window, and then the actual window contents is drawn. I have pretty dark theme so its really annoying when it flashes in white everytime I switch window.

I have installed motherboard drivers, graphics drivers, etc. Tried with downloading graphics drivers from nvidia's website but also from Windows Update.
Also tried changing to Windows 7 Basic theme, and even Classic theme. Still the same problems.

Any ideas on what could be wrong? How to Fix, etc..

Cheers

 

[Trouble]

Have you tried setting your monitors frequency / refresh rate to something higher. I would recommend the highest that is supported by your monitor, minimum 72 to 75 Hertz, higher if supported

 

[spanjing]

Native resolution is 1920 x 1080, and in that resolution I can only use 60 hz.

It worked perfectly fine on Windows XP.

 

[Swader]

I too am experiencing this exact problem.

Symptoms:
- flickering text in context menus - more apparent when using the context menu on the Desktop than anywhere else.
- flickering of progress text while, for example, unarchiving - the percentage indicator will flicker.
- slow redraws of websites, fraction of miliseconds delays, but still noticeable.
- flickering while mouse-overing and mouse-outing tabs in certain windows like the ones in the system properties dialog (advanced settings when in Computer - Properties)

I have tried playing around with my monitor and have changed the refresh rate to 75. This has never happened before on previous versions of windows, and has started happening only after I installed Win7. I have an nVidia 9600 GT which works flawlessly, the newest drivers, and the newest direct X. Resolution is 1280x1024. My card and my LCD monitor are both well connected and everything else works fine - only the flicker is there, and it drives me mad.

Likewise, the redraw of window contents while dragging is slow as well - the window leaves a short trail when being moved fast. Turning off "Show window contents while dragging" is not an option - I would like a solution to the cause, not the symptoms.

Anyone have any idea about this? The search results so far have been inconsistent at best.

 

[Joe S]

Is the refresh rate staying on 60? There was a bug before where it was dropping back to 59. If that;s the problem check this link out to fix it Link Removed
Joe

 

[Swader]

Nah, it stays on 75.
Doing the custom resolution trick from that revert problem post doesn't help any either, thought it might so I gave it a shot.

 

[TorrentG]

I have pretty dark theme so its really annoying when it flashes in white everytime I switch window.

Could be the 3rd party theme you're using and/or if you installed any OS hacks to enable that theme, that too.

---Just realized this OP is very old. Anyhow, the advice still applies to any new people reading, with the problem.

 

[Swader]

I'm on the Windows Basic theme. Nothing third party here.
Everything is fine when I turn the theme off by un-checking "Use visual styles on windows and buttons" under Adjust visual effects in Performance Information and Tools, but I shouldn't have to turn Windows 7 into Windows 98 again just because it fails miserably at drawing its own theme.
Aero is off by the way, has been from the beginning, but in the few minutes it was on - the flicker was already there. So anything shiny, no go for me?

I really hope someone finds something of a solution about this...

Edit:
When I tried turning Aero on again this morning, the problem went away. I then went and turned off Aero features one by one, rather than kill the entire theme, through Adjust Visual Effects. The more of those features I un-check, the worse the flickering becomes again.
In the end, I ended up on my Basic theme again, with the exact same flickering.

 

[Swader]

Well, since this topic doesn't seem to be moving anywhere, I thought I'd post my updates on the situation.

I figured out that the Windows Basic theme is actually the culprit. In fact, 80% of the responsibility lies in Desktop Composition - if I turn it off whenever, even in the Aero theme, the flicker rate goes up. If I turn it on, everything is MUCH better.

Still, the least flickering is present only when I have Aero turned on, so I guess I'm stuck with that until Microsoft releases some kind of patch.

Anyway, the guys who are still having trouble - try turning Aero, specifically Desktop Composition, on. Let us know if that changed anything.