Windows Vista Active window flickers at appx. one-second intervals.

This is a reasonably late model Vista-vintage HP Pavilion desktop system with no model number I can see front, back oir sides.

The active window flickers at regular (appx) one-second intervals. Each flicker removes what was typed into any address bar in IE, Firefox or Windows Explorer, making naming a new folder or renaming an old folder impossible. Each flicker will also cause MS Word to skip characters at each flicker. I've updated video drivers, replaced the video card, scanned with Malwarebytes, AVG and Microsoft Security Essentials and found nothing.

Suggestions please?

 

You can find the Model, P/N and S/N in HP Advisor\Dashboard HP Support Assistant or BIOS\Sysrem Information Page. You can also go to the HP website Support and Drvers Then select Auto detect to get your system information. Hope this helps.

 

I have more information on this problem and a work-around but still no solution.

The 'more information' part (things I tried that didn't work):
I disabled all items in the MSCONFIG start-up group. I changed the monitor's refresh rate to the only other available rate -- from 60 to 59. I disabled TMM in scheduled tasks. I tried another monitor. I tried safe mode.

The work-around:
I created a new user who has admin privileges. I moved everything from Documents, desktop items and favorites to the new account. The flickering did not follow to the new account; but, this also introduced network and VPN log-in problems so I fixed the flicker but broke the network so this is not a satisfactory solution.

The work-around tells me this is an OS/user-related Windows problem which at least narrows the scope; but, I'm still lost.

Maybe this will give someone with more smarts than I a clue about where I should look for a real solution.

 

Thanks for the model number info; but, I think the changing of the video card and installation of its latest driver and other later experiments detailed in my second post, rule out hardware-related issues.

 

Can you use this?
Fix a corrupted user profile

 

Thanks for the link; it was an interesting read.

I've made/moved user profiles before and did it my own way by moving Documents, Favorites and Desktop items by using the cut-n-past method; but, it was interesting to see what Microsoft recommended. I did it their way this time to see if I ended up with any advantages. I didn't see any obvious ones.

Frankly, their way seems awkward and time-consuming; but, perhaps that is simply because I'm just used to my own way because I've done it so much.

 

You seemed to say the user profile was the problem

Did making a new user profile work (RE: "network and VPN log-in problems ")? Otherwise let us know the details of the problems.

Matt

 

They could no longer log in to a program on a local server. I'm guessing the local server or the program on the local server was relying on the old user name and password that was built in to the old defective user account.

There was also a VPN tied in to a location over a hundred miles away. There was a similar problem there, also.

I left the work of solving that problem to those of their own people who are more familiar with those proprietary programs.

 

If that seems to resolve the issues, please mark the thread Resolved. It is in your Thread Tools.