office 2007 screen flicker

[JRT]

After installing Office 2007 on a "Windows Vista Capable" Dell Inspiron
E1505 I've noted several graphics issues.

1. Outlook 2007 tends to have a flicker, which is mildly annoying.

2. When using drawing objects in Excel the screen literally goes black for
an instant, about once per second or two.

Dell doesn't seem capable of solving the problem. Is this perhaps related
to the way the new Microsoft software displays graphics, and if so, what's
the answer?

And yes, I have all the latest updates and drivers!
Thanks.

 

[Echo S]

Have you tried turning down hardware acceleration a notch or two?

Also (and this will sound weird, but it just might resolve the problem), try
making sure your printer driver is certified for Vista, and set that as the
default printer.

 

[JRT]

Yes, turning the hardware accelration even completely "off" has no effect.

I will try to get a vista certified driver (even though I'm still using XP)
and then report back.

FYI, if this helps... the display is listed simply as a plug and play
monitor. apparantly there is no specific driver for the laptop display
itself. One of the tests I've tried is to uninstall/reinstall it (using
hardware devices) to no effect.

Thanks.

Have you tried turning down hardware acceleration a notch or two?

Also (and this will sound weird, but it just might resolve the problem), try
making sure your printer driver is certified for Vista, and set that as the
default printer.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

After installing Office 2007 on a "Windows Vista Capable" Dell Inspiron
E1505 I've noted several graphics issues.

1. Outlook 2007 tends to have a flicker, which is mildly annoying.

2. When using drawing objects in Excel the screen literally goes black
for
an instant, about once per second or two.

Dell doesn't seem capable of solving the problem. Is this perhaps related
to the way the new Microsoft software displays graphics, and if so, what's
the answer?

And yes, I have all the latest updates and drivers!
Thanks.

 

[Echo S]

Sorry, get an XP-certified driver, then. Your mention of "Vista-capable"
stuck in my head, so I thought you were running Vista.

There's a list of certified printer drivers here:
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/category.aspx?bcatid=1044&tabid=1

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

Yes, turning the hardware accelration even completely "off" has no effect.

I will try to get a vista certified driver (even though I'm still using
XP)
and then report back.

FYI, if this helps... the display is listed simply as a plug and play
monitor. apparantly there is no specific driver for the laptop display
itself. One of the tests I've tried is to uninstall/reinstall it (using
hardware devices) to no effect.

Thanks.

Have you tried turning down hardware acceleration a notch or two?

Also (and this will sound weird, but it just might resolve the problem),
try
making sure your printer driver is certified for Vista, and set that as
the
default printer.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

After installing Office 2007 on a "Windows Vista Capable" Dell
Inspiron
E1505 I've noted several graphics issues.

1. Outlook 2007 tends to have a flicker, which is mildly annoying.

2. When using drawing objects in Excel the screen literally goes black
for
an instant, about once per second or two.

Dell doesn't seem capable of solving the problem. Is this perhaps
related
to the way the new Microsoft software displays graphics, and if so,
what's
the answer?

And yes, I have all the latest updates and drivers!
Thanks.

 

[JRT]

Thanks. I only mentioned "vista-capable" in case that helped with the
diagnosis. My drivers are XP certified, and I did change the default
printer, twice. Once, to adobe 7.9 and the second time to Microsoft XPS
document writer.

None of these actions had any effect on the flickering.

Any other ideas?

Sorry, get an XP-certified driver, then. Your mention of "Vista-capable"
stuck in my head, so I thought you were running Vista.

There's a list of certified printer drivers here:
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/category.aspx?bcatid=1044&tabid=1

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

Yes, turning the hardware accelration even completely "off" has no effect.

I will try to get a vista certified driver (even though I'm still using
XP)
and then report back.

FYI, if this helps... the display is listed simply as a plug and play
monitor. apparantly there is no specific driver for the laptop display
itself. One of the tests I've tried is to uninstall/reinstall it (using
hardware devices) to no effect.

Thanks.

Have you tried turning down hardware acceleration a notch or two?

Also (and this will sound weird, but it just might resolve the problem),
try
making sure your printer driver is certified for Vista, and set that as
the
default printer.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


After installing Office 2007 on a "Windows Vista Capable" Dell
Inspiron
E1505 I've noted several graphics issues.

1. Outlook 2007 tends to have a flicker, which is mildly annoying.

2. When using drawing objects in Excel the screen literally goes black
for
an instant, about once per second or two.

Dell doesn't seem capable of solving the problem. Is this perhaps
related
to the way the new Microsoft software displays graphics, and if so,
what's
the answer?

And yes, I have all the latest updates and drivers!
Thanks.

 

[Mary Sauer]

According to this article, you should set your acceleration up rather than down.
How To Change the Screen Refresh Rate of Your Monitor in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311403/en-us


--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/

Thanks. I only mentioned "vista-capable" in case that helped with the
diagnosis. My drivers are XP certified, and I did change the default
printer, twice. Once, to adobe 7.9 and the second time to Microsoft XPS
document writer.

None of these actions had any effect on the flickering.

Any other ideas?

Sorry, get an XP-certified driver, then. Your mention of "Vista-capable"
stuck in my head, so I thought you were running Vista.

There's a list of certified printer drivers here:
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/category.aspx?bcatid=1044&tabid=1

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

Yes, turning the hardware accelration even completely "off" has no effect.

I will try to get a vista certified driver (even though I'm still using
XP)
and then report back.

FYI, if this helps... the display is listed simply as a plug and play
monitor. apparantly there is no specific driver for the laptop display
itself. One of the tests I've tried is to uninstall/reinstall it (using
hardware devices) to no effect.

Thanks.


:

Have you tried turning down hardware acceleration a notch or two?

Also (and this will sound weird, but it just might resolve the problem),
try
making sure your printer driver is certified for Vista, and set that as
the
default printer.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


After installing Office 2007 on a "Windows Vista Capable" Dell
Inspiron
E1505 I've noted several graphics issues.

1. Outlook 2007 tends to have a flicker, which is mildly annoying.

2. When using drawing objects in Excel the screen literally goes black
for
an instant, about once per second or two.

Dell doesn't seem capable of solving the problem. Is this perhaps
related
to the way the new Microsoft software displays graphics, and if so,
what's
the answer?

And yes, I have all the latest updates and drivers!
Thanks.

 

[Echo S]

heh, yeah, up is worth a shot, too. I think we might just say "change" on
the PPT FAQ entry for hardware acceleration, because with some issues you
gotta go up, but with others you gotta go down!

Actually, I wonder also if it's something running in the background. I know
I used to have a screen flicker problem in PowerPoint, especially with
transparent objects, but only if I had SETI (distributed computing app)
running in the background. I've had the same flicker with transparent
objects in PPT before, but they could always be resolved by turning hardware
acceleration down. When SETI was running, it didn't matter *where* my
hardware acceleration setting was, though -- that flicker wasn't going away!

Just a consideration.

Also, the screen going black when drawing in Excel is a bit alarming! It
sure sounds like a video driver problem, but I'm sure Dell would be aware of
that. What if you boot Windows into Safe Mode (it will be ugly -- but it's
just as a test, so bear with it) and then open Outlook -- does it flicker
then? How about Excel -- does it black out when you draw?

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

According to this article, you should set your acceleration up rather than
down.
How To Change the Screen Refresh Rate of Your Monitor in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311403/en-us


--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

Thanks. I only mentioned "vista-capable" in case that helped with the
diagnosis. My drivers are XP certified, and I did change the default
printer, twice. Once, to adobe 7.9 and the second time to Microsoft XPS
document writer.

None of these actions had any effect on the flickering.

Any other ideas?

Sorry, get an XP-certified driver, then. Your mention of "Vista-capable"
stuck in my head, so I thought you were running Vista.

There's a list of certified printer drivers here:
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/category.aspx?bcatid=1044&tabid=1

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


Yes, turning the hardware accelration even completely "off" has no
effect.

I will try to get a vista certified driver (even though I'm still
using
XP)
and then report back.

FYI, if this helps... the display is listed simply as a plug and play
monitor. apparantly there is no specific driver for the laptop
display
itself. One of the tests I've tried is to uninstall/reinstall it
(using
hardware devices) to no effect.

Thanks.


:

Have you tried turning down hardware acceleration a notch or two?

Also (and this will sound weird, but it just might resolve the
problem),
try
making sure your printer driver is certified for Vista, and set that
as
the
default printer.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


After installing Office 2007 on a "Windows Vista Capable" Dell
Inspiron
E1505 I've noted several graphics issues.

1. Outlook 2007 tends to have a flicker, which is mildly annoying.

2. When using drawing objects in Excel the screen literally goes
black
for
an instant, about once per second or two.

Dell doesn't seem capable of solving the problem. Is this perhaps
related
to the way the new Microsoft software displays graphics, and if so,
what's
the answer?

And yes, I have all the latest updates and drivers!
Thanks.

 

[JRT]

Mary, thanks. This is a Dell E1505 laptop, so refresh rate is fixed at 60
Hertz. And, hardware acceleration has no effect no matter where the slider
is positioned.

According to this article, you should set your acceleration up rather than down.
How To Change the Screen Refresh Rate of Your Monitor in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311403/en-us


--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

Thanks. I only mentioned "vista-capable" in case that helped with the
diagnosis. My drivers are XP certified, and I did change the default
printer, twice. Once, to adobe 7.9 and the second time to Microsoft XPS
document writer.

None of these actions had any effect on the flickering.

Any other ideas?

Sorry, get an XP-certified driver, then. Your mention of "Vista-capable"
stuck in my head, so I thought you were running Vista.

There's a list of certified printer drivers here:
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/category.aspx?bcatid=1044&tabid=1

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


Yes, turning the hardware accelration even completely "off" has no effect.

I will try to get a vista certified driver (even though I'm still using
XP)
and then report back.

FYI, if this helps... the display is listed simply as a plug and play
monitor. apparantly there is no specific driver for the laptop display
itself. One of the tests I've tried is to uninstall/reinstall it (using
hardware devices) to no effect.

Thanks.


:

Have you tried turning down hardware acceleration a notch or two?

Also (and this will sound weird, but it just might resolve the problem),
try
making sure your printer driver is certified for Vista, and set that as
the
default printer.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


After installing Office 2007 on a "Windows Vista Capable" Dell
Inspiron
E1505 I've noted several graphics issues.

1. Outlook 2007 tends to have a flicker, which is mildly annoying.

2. When using drawing objects in Excel the screen literally goes black
for
an instant, about once per second or two.

Dell doesn't seem capable of solving the problem. Is this perhaps
related
to the way the new Microsoft software displays graphics, and if so,
what's
the answer?

And yes, I have all the latest updates and drivers!
Thanks.

 

[JRT]

Echo, thanks. I've never used PPT so no idea if the prob occurs there. But
I have checked in safe mode there is NO flicker either in Outlook or Excel.
And even though one would think it would be "ugly" as you say, the graphics
in safe mode really aren't all that bad! I was even able to move "layered"
objects around in safe mode without flicker.

As to Dell, they will not acknowledge any issues with their drivers, hence
they haven't been able to solve the problem. They want me to do a complete
system reinstall but I am resisting because of the tedious work involved.
However, I've uninstalled/reinstalled the drivers, tried older ones, newer
ones (from the dell support site) and even tried the "latest" driver directly
from Intel for this chipset (945GM). I've upgraded BIOS as well. None of
these work.

Also, did I point out that the graphics themselves are "ugly" on web pages?
Pixellation, fuzzy pics and fonts... even at max resolution and color depth.

I will post again if Dell or Intel publishes a "fix" for this.

heh, yeah, up is worth a shot, too. I think we might just say "change" on
the PPT FAQ entry for hardware acceleration, because with some issues you
gotta go up, but with others you gotta go down!

Actually, I wonder also if it's something running in the background. I know
I used to have a screen flicker problem in PowerPoint, especially with
transparent objects, but only if I had SETI (distributed computing app)
running in the background. I've had the same flicker with transparent
objects in PPT before, but they could always be resolved by turning hardware
acceleration down. When SETI was running, it didn't matter *where* my
hardware acceleration setting was, though -- that flicker wasn't going away!

Just a consideration.

Also, the screen going black when drawing in Excel is a bit alarming! It
sure sounds like a video driver problem, but I'm sure Dell would be aware of
that. What if you boot Windows into Safe Mode (it will be ugly -- but it's
just as a test, so bear with it) and then open Outlook -- does it flicker
then? How about Excel -- does it black out when you draw?

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

According to this article, you should set your acceleration up rather than
down.
How To Change the Screen Refresh Rate of Your Monitor in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311403/en-us


--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

Thanks. I only mentioned "vista-capable" in case that helped with the
diagnosis. My drivers are XP certified, and I did change the default
printer, twice. Once, to adobe 7.9 and the second time to Microsoft XPS
document writer.

None of these actions had any effect on the flickering.

Any other ideas?



:

Sorry, get an XP-certified driver, then. Your mention of "Vista-capable"
stuck in my head, so I thought you were running Vista.

There's a list of certified printer drivers here:
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/category.aspx?bcatid=1044&tabid=1

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


Yes, turning the hardware accelration even completely "off" has no
effect.

I will try to get a vista certified driver (even though I'm still
using
XP)
and then report back.

FYI, if this helps... the display is listed simply as a plug and play
monitor. apparantly there is no specific driver for the laptop
display
itself. One of the tests I've tried is to uninstall/reinstall it
(using
hardware devices) to no effect.

Thanks.


:

Have you tried turning down hardware acceleration a notch or two?

Also (and this will sound weird, but it just might resolve the
problem),
try
making sure your printer driver is certified for Vista, and set that
as
the
default printer.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


After installing Office 2007 on a "Windows Vista Capable" Dell
Inspiron
E1505 I've noted several graphics issues.

1. Outlook 2007 tends to have a flicker, which is mildly annoying.

2. When using drawing objects in Excel the screen literally goes
black
for
an instant, about once per second or two.

Dell doesn't seem capable of solving the problem. Is this perhaps
related
to the way the new Microsoft software displays graphics, and if so,
what's
the answer?

And yes, I have all the latest updates and drivers!
Thanks.

 

[Mary Sauer]

I reckon your next step is to sift through Dell's support.
http://support.dell.com/support/index.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs
--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/

Mary, thanks. This is a Dell E1505 laptop, so refresh rate is fixed at 60
Hertz. And, hardware acceleration has no effect no matter where the slider
is positioned.

According to this article, you should set your acceleration up rather than
down.
How To Change the Screen Refresh Rate of Your Monitor in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311403/en-us


--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

Thanks. I only mentioned "vista-capable" in case that helped with the
diagnosis. My drivers are XP certified, and I did change the default
printer, twice. Once, to adobe 7.9 and the second time to Microsoft XPS
document writer.

None of these actions had any effect on the flickering.

Any other ideas?



:

Sorry, get an XP-certified driver, then. Your mention of "Vista-capable"
stuck in my head, so I thought you were running Vista.

There's a list of certified printer drivers here:
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/category.aspx?bcatid=1044&tabid=1

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


Yes, turning the hardware accelration even completely "off" has no
effect.

I will try to get a vista certified driver (even though I'm still using
XP)
and then report back.

FYI, if this helps... the display is listed simply as a plug and play
monitor. apparantly there is no specific driver for the laptop display
itself. One of the tests I've tried is to uninstall/reinstall it (using
hardware devices) to no effect.

Thanks.


:

Have you tried turning down hardware acceleration a notch or two?

Also (and this will sound weird, but it just might resolve the
problem),
try
making sure your printer driver is certified for Vista, and set that as
the
default printer.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


After installing Office 2007 on a "Windows Vista Capable" Dell
Inspiron
E1505 I've noted several graphics issues.

1. Outlook 2007 tends to have a flicker, which is mildly annoying.

2. When using drawing objects in Excel the screen literally goes
black
for
an instant, about once per second or two.

Dell doesn't seem capable of solving the problem. Is this perhaps
related
to the way the new Microsoft software displays graphics, and if so,
what's
the answer?

And yes, I have all the latest updates and drivers!
Thanks.

 

[JRT]

Echo, another idea.. your mention of background processes got me to check
task manager. I have 62 processes running, even with only a few apps active.
There are two "microsoft groove" processes even though "groove" is turned
off. ( haven't even bothered to learn what "groove" is all about yet).
Could that be an issue?

heh, yeah, up is worth a shot, too. I think we might just say "change" on
the PPT FAQ entry for hardware acceleration, because with some issues you
gotta go up, but with others you gotta go down!

Actually, I wonder also if it's something running in the background. I know
I used to have a screen flicker problem in PowerPoint, especially with
transparent objects, but only if I had SETI (distributed computing app)
running in the background. I've had the same flicker with transparent
objects in PPT before, but they could always be resolved by turning hardware
acceleration down. When SETI was running, it didn't matter *where* my
hardware acceleration setting was, though -- that flicker wasn't going away!

Just a consideration.

Also, the screen going black when drawing in Excel is a bit alarming! It
sure sounds like a video driver problem, but I'm sure Dell would be aware of
that. What if you boot Windows into Safe Mode (it will be ugly -- but it's
just as a test, so bear with it) and then open Outlook -- does it flicker
then? How about Excel -- does it black out when you draw?

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

According to this article, you should set your acceleration up rather than
down.
How To Change the Screen Refresh Rate of Your Monitor in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311403/en-us


--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

Thanks. I only mentioned "vista-capable" in case that helped with the
diagnosis. My drivers are XP certified, and I did change the default
printer, twice. Once, to adobe 7.9 and the second time to Microsoft XPS
document writer.

None of these actions had any effect on the flickering.

Any other ideas?



:

Sorry, get an XP-certified driver, then. Your mention of "Vista-capable"
stuck in my head, so I thought you were running Vista.

There's a list of certified printer drivers here:
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/category.aspx?bcatid=1044&tabid=1

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


Yes, turning the hardware accelration even completely "off" has no
effect.

I will try to get a vista certified driver (even though I'm still
using
XP)
and then report back.

FYI, if this helps... the display is listed simply as a plug and play
monitor. apparantly there is no specific driver for the laptop
display
itself. One of the tests I've tried is to uninstall/reinstall it
(using
hardware devices) to no effect.

Thanks.


:

Have you tried turning down hardware acceleration a notch or two?

Also (and this will sound weird, but it just might resolve the
problem),
try
making sure your printer driver is certified for Vista, and set that
as
the
default printer.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


After installing Office 2007 on a "Windows Vista Capable" Dell
Inspiron
E1505 I've noted several graphics issues.

1. Outlook 2007 tends to have a flicker, which is mildly annoying.

2. When using drawing objects in Excel the screen literally goes
black
for
an instant, about once per second or two.

Dell doesn't seem capable of solving the problem. Is this perhaps
related
to the way the new Microsoft software displays graphics, and if so,
what's
the answer?

And yes, I have all the latest updates and drivers!
Thanks.

 

[Echo S]

If you're not having problems in Safe Mode, then it's almost definitely an
issue with the video card and/or driver. Safe Mode is the classic test for
video card and driver issues. (I'm kind of surprised Dell didn't have you
try it.)

If you're seeing fuzzy issues and stuff with other graphics, too, I'd say
that confirms it. (Although pixellation on web graphics might just be an
issue of whoever created the site not knowing what they were doing!)
"Fuzzy" could be just the monitor in general -- I think flat-screens look
kind of fuzzy, for example -- but you might also disable Cleartype if you
have that enabled in Windows.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

Echo, thanks. I've never used PPT so no idea if the prob occurs there.
But
I have checked in safe mode there is NO flicker either in Outlook or
Excel.
And even though one would think it would be "ugly" as you say, the
graphics
in safe mode really aren't all that bad! I was even able to move
"layered"
objects around in safe mode without flicker.

As to Dell, they will not acknowledge any issues with their drivers, hence
they haven't been able to solve the problem. They want me to do a
complete
system reinstall but I am resisting because of the tedious work involved.
However, I've uninstalled/reinstalled the drivers, tried older ones, newer
ones (from the dell support site) and even tried the "latest" driver
directly
from Intel for this chipset (945GM). I've upgraded BIOS as well. None of
these work.

Also, did I point out that the graphics themselves are "ugly" on web
pages?
Pixellation, fuzzy pics and fonts... even at max resolution and color
depth.

I will post again if Dell or Intel publishes a "fix" for this.

heh, yeah, up is worth a shot, too. I think we might just say "change" on
the PPT FAQ entry for hardware acceleration, because with some issues you
gotta go up, but with others you gotta go down!

Actually, I wonder also if it's something running in the background. I
know
I used to have a screen flicker problem in PowerPoint, especially with
transparent objects, but only if I had SETI (distributed computing app)
running in the background. I've had the same flicker with transparent
objects in PPT before, but they could always be resolved by turning
hardware
acceleration down. When SETI was running, it didn't matter *where* my
hardware acceleration setting was, though -- that flicker wasn't going
away!

Just a consideration.

Also, the screen going black when drawing in Excel is a bit alarming! It
sure sounds like a video driver problem, but I'm sure Dell would be aware
of
that. What if you boot Windows into Safe Mode (it will be ugly -- but
it's
just as a test, so bear with it) and then open Outlook -- does it flicker
then? How about Excel -- does it black out when you draw?

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

According to this article, you should set your acceleration up rather
than
down.
How To Change the Screen Refresh Rate of Your Monitor in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311403/en-us


--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

Thanks. I only mentioned "vista-capable" in case that helped with the
diagnosis. My drivers are XP certified, and I did change the default
printer, twice. Once, to adobe 7.9 and the second time to Microsoft
XPS
document writer.

None of these actions had any effect on the flickering.

Any other ideas?



:

Sorry, get an XP-certified driver, then. Your mention of
"Vista-capable"
stuck in my head, so I thought you were running Vista.

There's a list of certified printer drivers here:
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/category.aspx?bcatid=1044&tabid=1

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


Yes, turning the hardware accelration even completely "off" has no
effect.

I will try to get a vista certified driver (even though I'm still
using
XP)
and then report back.

FYI, if this helps... the display is listed simply as a plug and
play
monitor. apparantly there is no specific driver for the laptop
display
itself. One of the tests I've tried is to uninstall/reinstall it
(using
hardware devices) to no effect.

Thanks.


:

Have you tried turning down hardware acceleration a notch or two?

Also (and this will sound weird, but it just might resolve the
problem),
try
making sure your printer driver is certified for Vista, and set
that
as
the
default printer.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


After installing Office 2007 on a "Windows Vista Capable" Dell
Inspiron
E1505 I've noted several graphics issues.

1. Outlook 2007 tends to have a flicker, which is mildly
annoying.

2. When using drawing objects in Excel the screen literally
goes
black
for
an instant, about once per second or two.

Dell doesn't seem capable of solving the problem. Is this
perhaps
related
to the way the new Microsoft software displays graphics, and if
so,
what's
the answer?

And yes, I have all the latest updates and drivers!
Thanks.

 

[JRT]

Echo, thank you. I'm sorry, I should have mentioned that Dell did ask me to
do the Safe Mode test... but when I told them the results were fine, their
answer was to resinstall windows.

Dell also asked me to do a pre-boot hardware diagnostics test which passed
every component.

I've looked at the Dell forums and see quite a few posts about flickering.

As to the fuzzy issues, here's a new discovery: The fuzzy images are only
occuring in IE7. The same pages in Firefox are "clean" even though I know
not as many pages can handle firefox.

If you're not having problems in Safe Mode, then it's almost definitely an
issue with the video card and/or driver. Safe Mode is the classic test for
video card and driver issues. (I'm kind of surprised Dell didn't have you
try it.)

If you're seeing fuzzy issues and stuff with other graphics, too, I'd say
that confirms it. (Although pixellation on web graphics might just be an
issue of whoever created the site not knowing what they were doing!)
"Fuzzy" could be just the monitor in general -- I think flat-screens look
kind of fuzzy, for example -- but you might also disable Cleartype if you
have that enabled in Windows.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

Echo, thanks. I've never used PPT so no idea if the prob occurs there.
But
I have checked in safe mode there is NO flicker either in Outlook or
Excel.
And even though one would think it would be "ugly" as you say, the
graphics
in safe mode really aren't all that bad! I was even able to move
"layered"
objects around in safe mode without flicker.

As to Dell, they will not acknowledge any issues with their drivers, hence
they haven't been able to solve the problem. They want me to do a
complete
system reinstall but I am resisting because of the tedious work involved.
However, I've uninstalled/reinstalled the drivers, tried older ones, newer
ones (from the dell support site) and even tried the "latest" driver
directly
from Intel for this chipset (945GM). I've upgraded BIOS as well. None of
these work.

Also, did I point out that the graphics themselves are "ugly" on web
pages?
Pixellation, fuzzy pics and fonts... even at max resolution and color
depth.

I will post again if Dell or Intel publishes a "fix" for this.

heh, yeah, up is worth a shot, too. I think we might just say "change" on
the PPT FAQ entry for hardware acceleration, because with some issues you
gotta go up, but with others you gotta go down!

Actually, I wonder also if it's something running in the background. I
know
I used to have a screen flicker problem in PowerPoint, especially with
transparent objects, but only if I had SETI (distributed computing app)
running in the background. I've had the same flicker with transparent
objects in PPT before, but they could always be resolved by turning
hardware
acceleration down. When SETI was running, it didn't matter *where* my
hardware acceleration setting was, though -- that flicker wasn't going
away!

Just a consideration.

Also, the screen going black when drawing in Excel is a bit alarming! It
sure sounds like a video driver problem, but I'm sure Dell would be aware
of
that. What if you boot Windows into Safe Mode (it will be ugly -- but
it's
just as a test, so bear with it) and then open Outlook -- does it flicker
then? How about Excel -- does it black out when you draw?

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


According to this article, you should set your acceleration up rather
than
down.
How To Change the Screen Refresh Rate of Your Monitor in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311403/en-us


--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

Thanks. I only mentioned "vista-capable" in case that helped with the
diagnosis. My drivers are XP certified, and I did change the default
printer, twice. Once, to adobe 7.9 and the second time to Microsoft
XPS
document writer.

None of these actions had any effect on the flickering.

Any other ideas?



:

Sorry, get an XP-certified driver, then. Your mention of
"Vista-capable"
stuck in my head, so I thought you were running Vista.

There's a list of certified printer drivers here:
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com/category.aspx?bcatid=1044&tabid=1

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


Yes, turning the hardware accelration even completely "off" has no
effect.

I will try to get a vista certified driver (even though I'm still
using
XP)
and then report back.

FYI, if this helps... the display is listed simply as a plug and
play
monitor. apparantly there is no specific driver for the laptop
display
itself. One of the tests I've tried is to uninstall/reinstall it
(using
hardware devices) to no effect.

Thanks.


:

Have you tried turning down hardware acceleration a notch or two?

Also (and this will sound weird, but it just might resolve the
problem),
try
making sure your printer driver is certified for Vista, and set
that
as
the
default printer.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/


After installing Office 2007 on a "Windows Vista Capable" Dell
Inspiron
E1505 I've noted several graphics issues.

1. Outlook 2007 tends to have a flicker, which is mildly
annoying.

2. When using drawing objects in Excel the screen literally
goes
black
for
an instant, about once per second or two.

Dell doesn't seem capable of solving the problem. Is this
perhaps
related
to the way the new Microsoft software displays graphics, and if
so,
what's
the answer?

And yes, I have all the latest updates and drivers!
Thanks.

 

[JRT]

Some interesting developments. I don't think the problem is with the Dell
(see below).

Dell is replacing the card and some other parts on the computer. So while
that computer is away, I'm using another laptop, a sony Viao running XP SP2.
I did a fresh install, loaded all updated drivers, and installed Office 2007.

The first file I opened is the Excel file I've been working on (lots of
drawing objects). The Sony is doing EXACTLY the same thing as the Dell,
flickering, blacking out momentarily every few seconds.

An important note here, is that I think the Sony has the same graphics card
as the Dell (an Intel 945GM).

Just be sure I don't have a corrupt excel file, I tested a "fresh" excel
file with just two drawing objects, but the screen behavior remains the same.

So.. is it the Intel graphics card? Or a bug in Office 2007?

 

[Angela]

Please post an update on if you got this solved! I have a brand new Dell
Inspiron 9400 running Office 2003 and I have the screen flicker with Outlook.
I have narrowed it down to Outlook however if I have it open and also open
Excel, the flicker is in Excel also. Dell support had me reload the video
driver, no help. I reloaded Office, no help. It is driving me insane!
Please help!

 

[JRT]

Dell replaced the video card and motherboard but this didn't solve the
problem. I think the problem is that the hardware just can't "keep up" with
Office 2007 even though I have 2 gigs of RAM and a 2 gig CPU.

I didn't have any flickering problems with Office 2003. You may have a
different problem, such as a loose power connection or LCD wiring. But I'm
not a tech.

 

[Patrick Schmid [MVP]]

I am running Office just fine on my Tablet PC: Intel Centrino processor,
1024x768 resolution and 1.25 GB RAM. And the whole thing is running
Vista (I don't get Aero though on my tablet).

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Outlook 2007 Performance Update: http://pschmid.net/blog/2007/04/13/105
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
RibbonCustomizer Add-In: http://ribboncustomizer.com
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed

 

[LSMILEY]

I am also having the same problems with the Inspiron I purchased last
November. Have tried all the same fixes to no avail. Updated the
video driver, and Dell finally agreed to have technician replace the
LCD. The flicker persists. The tech also updated Java, increased
virtual memory, ran full diagnostics. Flicker is very noticeable in
all Office 2007 applications, but is present in every application to
some extent.

If anything fixes your problem, please let us know (and vice versa).

 

[LSMILEY]

In my particular situation, the problem was ipoint.exe (Intellipoint
software). It was part of the install of a new MS keyboard, and is the
mouse driver. Uninstall it, and the screen flicker no longer exists.

 

[Echo S]

This is fantastic news! Thanks for posting it!