Windows 8.1 - Black Screen Flash

[xWhiplash]

Does anybody have the following issues? I am using an early 2013 rMBP 15" mostly maxed out.

1 - When you first log in to an account in Windows 8.1, there is a brief flash of black screen for less than a second.

2 - Within the first hour or so, there is another flash of black screen that lasts for at least one or two seconds.

There is nothing in the event viewer to indicate a driver issue. And my NVIDIA drivers are up to date.

 

Also, this occurs even when I am using an external monitor.  Does anybody have any ideas?

[#Michael]

How are you using Win 8.1?  Is it through bootcamp/vmware/parallels?

 

What version of OS X are you using?

[xWhiplash]

Bootcamp

 

OS X Mavericks

[#Michael]

Bootcamp

 

OS X Mavericks

 

When you say your nvidia drivers are up to date...are they the drivers from windows update or from nvidia?  What version of Mavericks: 10.9, 10.9.1 or 10.9.2?

 

How is the external monitor connected?  Is it a true thunderbolt display or are you using a thunderbolt to hdmi/dvi/vga adaptor?

[+Zlip792 MVC]

Bootcamp

 

OS X Mavericks

 

I suggest you to update your nvidia driver to this Beta version if you are previously using Performance 337.50 Beta driver.

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3491

 

This could be somehow related due to BOLD mentioned part:

 

 

 Code 43 error message after installing driver 337.50 on a PC with Hyper-V enabled

[xWhiplash]

When you say your nvidia drivers are up to date...are they the drivers from windows update or from nvidia?  What version of Mavericks: 10.9, 10.9.1 or 10.9.2?

 

How is the external monitor connected?  Is it a true thunderbolt display or are you using a thunderbolt to hdmi/dvi/vga adaptor?

 

NVIDIA directly.

 

Latest possible version of Mavericks, 10.9.2.  All updates are done.

 

Latest possible version of Windows 8.1.  All updates are done.

 

This also does it using the laptop display.  But my external monitor is connected through HDMI using the HDMI out port on the laptop (NOT thunderbolt).

[Aergan]

Not an Apple user but I thought I would chime in with the fact that I have the same symptoms on Windows 8.1 Update x64, but mine's a Dell XPS optimus enabled using HDMI out (Nvidia GT555M 3GB / Intel HD3000).

 

I'm on the 337.50 Beta driver (Had the same issue with the 335.x WHQL version as well).

[#Michael]

I would say update to the new beta drivers and see if that helps.

[xWhiplash]

Well I gave up on this and ran 8.1 just fine on VMWare Fusion 6.  Everything was okay, but now the VMWare update made the flicker come back.  The previous version ran fine.  Updated to version 7 and the flicker came back again.

 

Seriously, does anybody know what is going on here?  OS X never flickers.  Windows 7 does not flicker.  Just 8.1.  NOTHING in the event log, and sometimes I get 10 seconds of black screen while I am trying to work (randomly, so I haven't had the chance to record it :( ).  I tried beta drivers, official drivers, numerous formats, various VM software....

 

I really do not want to go to Windows 7 and have to deal with hundreds of Windows Updates.  Plus I like Windows 8 better.  Does anybody have any solution?

 

Here is a video of the problem during login (the only thing I can record):  http://phstudios.com/videos/Windows8Flicker.mov

[+Zlip792 MVC]

If this is your issue described, then it could be known issue: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4536

 

- Someone on one YouTube video mentioned to disable Parental Control also fixed. You can try it though.

- From Apple support, one mentioned switching the Wifi channel to 5 GHz fixed for him. http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Fix-Flickering-Display-on-MacBook-Pro-Retina-427598.shtml

- Lowering down DPI Scaling in Windows 8.1 seems to fix this issue for a few as well.

[ITFiend]

If this is your issue described, then it could be known issue: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4536

 

- Someone on one YouTube video mentioned to disable Parental Control also fixed. You can try it though.

- From Apple support, one mentioned switching the Wifi channel to 5 GHz fixed for him. http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Fix-Flickering-Display-on-MacBook-Pro-Retina-427598.shtml

- Lowering down DPI Scaling in Windows 8.1 seems to fix this issue for a few as well.

 

The only part listed here that could possibly be relevant to his issues is the wireless link, assuming his hardware model is one affected.

 

 

NVIDIA directly.

 

Latest possible version of Mavericks, 10.9.2.  All updates are done.

 

Latest possible version of Windows 8.1.  All updates are done.

 

This also does it using the laptop display.  But my external monitor is connected through HDMI using the HDMI out port on the laptop (NOT thunderbolt).

 

The version of Mac OS you have running is irrelevant.  Mac OS plays no part in anything while a Mac is booted natively to Windows. Technically, bootcamp itself is not even required.  The Mac side of it only knows how to resize your MacOS primary partition and can create a partition suitable for Windows.  The Windows side of bootcamp is only relevant so long as you actually want all the drivers contained within it installed, and you can install them separately if you don?t want the entire suite installed.

 

Now, the Windows install you are using in VMware Fusion. Did you map your physical partition for Windows into the virtual machine, or did you install Windows on a virtual disk as well? If you run the same install of Windows both when booting to the physical host and booting to a virtual machine, there is practically no chance that this is a driver issue.

 

When the flicker occurs within your VM, is it limited to your virtual desktop when running as a windowed application, or does it also affect your entire monitor at this point. This question presumes you tested it while not having the VM connection in full screen mode.

 

If you?re physical OS is a different install than your virtual one, see what happens if you completely uninstall the Nvidia graphics drivers.  Run the uninstaller and tell it to remove absolutely everything, this way you can see what happens with the built-in generic display drivers.

 

Finally, is your Windows install or license 100% legit? Meaning, you didn?t do odd customizations to it with third party tools beyond DISM, are not using an invalid activation via rogue/emulated KMS or a hack to Windows itself, or pirate it from a weird location without validating the ISO hash matches official Microsoft media. It?s entirely possible that a Windows Update is in fact the cause of the problem if its not 100% legit. There also was a update from this weeks batch that was apparently pulled for undisclosed reasons, so I'm not sure anyone knows why or if that could be part of the problem.

[xWhiplash]

The only part listed here that could possibly be relevant to his issues is the wireless link, assuming his hardware model is one affected.

 

 

 

The version of Mac OS you have running is irrelevant.  Mac OS plays no part in anything while a Mac is booted natively to Windows. Technically, bootcamp itself is not even required.  The Mac side of it only knows how to resize your MacOS primary partition and can create a partition suitable for Windows.  The Windows side of bootcamp is only relevant so long as you actually want all the drivers contained within it installed, and you can install them separately if you don?t want the entire suite installed.

 

Now, the Windows install you are using in VMware Fusion. Did you map your physical partition for Windows into the virtual machine, or did you install Windows on a virtual disk as well? If you run the same install of Windows both when booting to the physical host and booting to a virtual machine, there is practically no chance that this is a driver issue.

 

When the flicker occurs within your VM, is it limited to your virtual desktop when running as a windowed application, or does it also affect your entire monitor at this point. This question presumes you tested it while not having the VM connection in full screen mode.

 

If you?re physical OS is a different install than your virtual one, see what happens if you completely uninstall the Nvidia graphics drivers.  Run the uninstaller and tell it to remove absolutely everything, this way you can see what happens with the built-in generic display drivers.

 

Finally, is your Windows install or license 100% legit? Meaning, you didn?t do odd customizations to it with third party tools beyond DISM, are not using an invalid activation via rogue/emulated KMS or a hack to Windows itself, or pirate it from a weird location without validating the ISO hash matches official Microsoft media. It?s entirely possible that a Windows Update is in fact the cause of the problem if its not 100% legit. There also was a update from this weeks batch that was apparently pulled for undisclosed reasons, so I'm not sure anyone knows why or if that could be part of the problem.

 

#Michael asked what OS X version I had.....so I answered.

 

This has been going on for months.  100% Windows.  I installed it, everything was fine.  As soon as I install the bootcamp drivers or the NVIDIA display drivers, I get native resolution, but I also get this issue.  

[simonlang]

all these patching and hacking is a solution which might work, but there is no guarantee for that. remember windows is closed source and no one knows what bugs, mistakes and problems it includes.

would a virtual box maybe be an option for you?

[xWhiplash]

@ITFiend:  I just uninstalled my graphics drivers (so I only run on the generic display drivers) and still notice this issue.  I also tried what you suggested with the VM -- running it not in full screen to see if the flash is the entire screen.  When I do that, it ONLY flashes on the VM window NOT the rest of the display.  The VMWare controls remain visible, just the box that displays the Windows content flashes.

 

Also, the VM is a separate CLEAN install of windows.  Separate from bootcamp.

 

Why does this ONLY happen after I install the bootcamp drivers, or the drivers from NVIDIA?  And why does it remain when I remove the display drivers and just use the generic one?  Should I just live with it?  Does this point to a hardware issue?

[ITFiend]

Why does this ONLY happen after I install the bootcamp drivers, or the drivers from NVIDIA?  And why does it remain when I remove the display drivers and just use the generic one?  Should I just live with it?  Does this point to a hardware issue?

It may be triggered by graphics hardware acceleration becoming enabled once you have better display drivers installed. The thing is, when you went back to the generic Microsoft drivers, hardware acceleration would have been disabled at the same time.

 

You can basically rule out chances that changing driver versions will resolve the issue.

 

If the OS truly went back to the default Microsoft display drivers when the Nvidia drivers were uninstalled, you can basically rule out hardware issues.  If the issue is only the logon screen, but you can play 3d games without issue, the odds of it being a hardware issue become more non-existent.

 

You can also try disabling all desktop visual effects and see if that changes anything.  Control Panel \ System, Advanced system settings, Performance settings, and then select Adjust for best performance. These settings are not dependent on hardware acceleration, they just switch to software rendering when hardware rendering is unavailable.

 

You said it was a clean install of Windows in your VM.  Was that with or without OS updates post-install?

 

If you have the bandwidth available, download and install the trial of Windows 8.1 Enterprise into a VM and see if you can even re-create the issue with that copy of Windows. If a fresh install of Enterprise doesn't have this issue, it mostly points at something being wrong with the Windows media you installed from.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-8-1-enterprise

[xWhiplash]

It may be triggered by graphics hardware acceleration becoming enabled once you have better display drivers installed. The thing is, when you went back to the generic Microsoft drivers, hardware acceleration would have been disabled at the same time.

 

You can basically rule out chances that changing driver versions will resolve the issue.

 

If the OS truly went back to the default Microsoft display drivers when the Nvidia drivers were uninstalled, you can basically rule out hardware issues.  If the issue is only the logon screen, but you can play 3d games without issue, the odds of it being a hardware issue become more non-existent.

 

You can also try disabling all desktop visual effects and see if that changes anything.  Control Panel \ System, Advanced system settings, Performance settings, and then select Adjust for best performance. These settings are not dependent on hardware acceleration, they just switch to software rendering when hardware rendering is unavailable.

 

You said it was a clean install of Windows in your VM.  Was that with or without OS updates post-install?

 

If you have the bandwidth available, download and install the trial of Windows 8.1 Enterprise into a VM and see if you can even re-create the issue with that copy of Windows. If a fresh install of Enterprise doesn't have this issue, it mostly points at something being wrong with the Windows media you installed from.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-8-1-enterprise

 

Both.  No OS updates and just the graphics driver install immediately showed the issue.

 

I changed the performance to best performance and it still does this in both bootcamp, and VM.

 

I do not play games on it, but I do use Visual Studio and Direct X to make my own games.  I have not had any issues, other than the ramdon 10 seconds of black screen that just happens randomly.

 

Now that I think about it, this issue might occur with the stock Windows 8.1 install.  Since the first time you run it, it logs you in automatically and does some things in the background before you can start (installing apps).  So maybe this issue occurs even at the initial install phase.  I really do not want to re-install again to figure it out.  Is it fine to leave it like it is?  What about when I get my 10 seconds of black screen while I am working?  I get no errors in the event log about that either, and it happens randomly so I cannot reproduce it :(

[ITFiend]

I do not play games on it, but I do use Visual Studio and Direct X to make my own games.  I have not had any issues, other than the ramdon 10 seconds of black screen that just happens randomly.

 

Now that I think about it, this issue might occur with the stock Windows 8.1 install.  Since the first time you run it, it logs you in automatically and does some things in the background before you can start (installing apps).  So maybe this issue occurs even at the initial install phase.  I really do not want to re-install again to figure it out.  Is it fine to leave it like it is?  What about when I get my 10 seconds of black screen while I am working?  I get no errors in the event log about that either, and it happens randomly so I cannot reproduce it :(

 

My assumption right now is that you have a damaged, hacked, or possibly malwared Windows media. I could easily be wrong, but it's what I suspect. That's why I wanted you to try a copy directly from Microsoft's download site that will be healthy if the download is successful.

 

 

As to the question is it fine to leave it as is... that's really whatever your comfortable with. If its not crashing and is mostly usable, the only real question is what it may be doing on the network and if any of the data on the OS is really private.  This is not something I encounter from healthy Windows media, so if LSASS.exe or anything like it has been tampered with its not "safe".  This is part of why I don't like Mac's at the moment, they don't support secure boot, so you presently lack some newer critical system file health checks that go on during the secure boot process that extends beyond the boot sector validation.

 

 

You can try running cmd.exe as Administrator and inputting the following commands to see if there is any corruption present and try to repair it.  Make sure you have a network connection active when using dism, as it will try and replace damaged bits through Windows Update as its source.  I don't know if it'll do you any good, but I don't have anything else I can recommend at this moment beyond getting different installation media.

#Run in this order.  DISM may repair files that SFC will then utilize during its repair scan.
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

[xWhiplash]

How would that be the case?  I use the same media on my Mac Pro with a GTX 680 and I do not get this issue.  It is the media directly from Microsoft, I did not burn the ISO myself.  It is the backup DVD you can get when you buy Windows 8.1.  Are you saying it can be damaged?  How come I do not get this issue on my Mac Pro then?

[ITFiend]

I was not aware it was working properly on another machine.

 

What happens when you move the VM that definitely has the flicker issue to the other Mac and run it from there?

[ITFiend]

Also, if you put your Mac with the issue into targeting mode and attach it to your other Mac with a firewire or thunderbolt cable, you can attempt to boot from your laptops Windows/Mac partitions and see if the issue is resolved when executed on the other Mac.  If the issue is resolved, then yeah, it does point at a hardware issue of some sort.

 

Did you try doing what the other user suggested and disable your wireless NIC on the laptop? If that actually resolves the issue then it is hardware, probably an IRQ/resource conflict, and so long as your Windows install has hardware acceleration enabled the issue probably won't stop while the wireless NIC is active.

 

[xWhiplash]

I was not aware it was working properly on another machine.

 

What happens when you move the VM that definitely has the flicker issue to the other Mac and run it from there?

 

I have not tried to run the same VM on my Mac Pro.

 

Also, if you put your Mac with the issue into targeting mode and attach it to your other Mac with a firewire or thunderbolt cable, you can attempt to boot from your laptops Windows/Mac partitions and see if the issue is resolved when executed on the other Mac.  If the issue is resolved, then yeah, it does point at a hardware issue of some sort.

 

Did you try doing what the other user suggested and disable your wireless NIC on the laptop?

 

 

Do I just go to the network adapters and disable it there?

 

If it is a hardware problem, why is OS X running fine?  Will Apple be able to fix it if OS X is working fine?

[xWhiplash]

So is it safe to use it for work purposes?  Would it be a malware install of Windows if it came from Microsoft directly?

[ITFiend]

So is it safe to use it for work purposes?  Would it be a malware install of Windows if it came from Microsoft directly?

 

*shrug* Thats up each individual to decide for themselves. For the devices I use that would probably be a costly mistake. For other people it may not matter at all.

 

The chances of you getting malware in a copy of Windows directly from Microsoft's download site are astronomically tiny. Barely exists.

 

Do I just go to the network adapters and disable it there?

I can only go by what that link talked about, and the suggestion they gave actually just involves changing the frequency your wireless is attempting to utilize.  I don't know why it would cause the problem in the first place, but it does sound like changing it fixed things for the people experiencing it.

[xWhiplash]

Well I decided to just get rid of Windows 8.1 and use Windows 7 instead since it did not do that when I had it initially.  However, when Bootcamp was installed and I restarted, I noticed this flash on Windows 7 too.  But it only did it one time.  I created a standard user account and logged in to it.  Bootcamp had to run again (I am not sure why it needs to "install" per account) and it wanted a restart.  I did so and noticed the black screen flash again.  Again, it only did it one time.

 

Is it something to do with Bootcamp that just people are ignoring and not posting about it?  I cannot tell you how many times I have formatted and how many VMs I have created that all have this same issue.