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Thunderbird 31.6.0 and 31.7.0 shows screen flickering (shows flashes of wallpaper) noticed when Google Chrome window is on top of Thunderbird window.

  • 12 replies
  • 4 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by jipes

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OS Windows Vista Home Premium Version 6 (build 6002 service Pack 2)

I think this is some kind of screen refresh issue for Thunderbird window. I don't have any flickering unless Thunderbird windows is on display, the problem goes away when Thunderbird is closed.

OS Windows Vista Home Premium Version 6 (build 6002 service Pack 2) I think this is some kind of screen refresh issue for Thunderbird window. I don't have any flickering unless Thunderbird windows is on display, the problem goes away when Thunderbird is closed.

Chosen solution

(Thanks Toad-Hall)

jipes, and please post your reults

Read this answer in context 👍 1

All Replies (12)

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Please start thunderbird in safe mode - http://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/safe-mode

Does problem go away? Please reply to let me know results.

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jipes said

OS Windows Vista Home Premium Version 6 (build 6002 service Pack 2) I think this is some kind of screen refresh issue for Thunderbird window. I don't have any flickering unless Thunderbird windows is on display, the problem goes away when Thunderbird is closed.

Wayne,

Thanks for your suggestion to try.

I tried Safe-mode but I still get the flickering, expecially when using the scroll bar, sometimes when mousing over the google chrome browser tabs.

Let me know if a short video of the problem would help, or if you think of something else to try.

Doug

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OK, in that case, A. make sure you have the newest video drivers installed B. install http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/channel/ and uncheck Hardare Assist at tools | options | advanced | general

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And please post your results

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jipes said

OS Windows Vista Home Premium Version 6 (build 6002 service Pack 2) I think this is some kind of screen refresh issue for Thunderbird window. I don't have any flickering unless Thunderbird windows is on display, the problem goes away when Thunderbird is closed.

Wayne,

Thanks for your suggestions.

My video driver was up-to-date. I installed the Thunderbird Beta (link was broken for the Early Bird version) and disabled hardware acceleration, but I still see the problem.

Let me know if you think of anything else I can try.

Thanks, Doug

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If the problem only occurs when you're using Google Chrome, I wonder if Chrome, not Thunderbird, could be causing the problem (even though you only noticed the problem when Thunderbird is running). Does the same thing happen if you open a Windows Explorer or IE window on top of Thunderbird and scroll in it?

Modified by tjohnson

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jipes said

OS Windows Vista Home Premium Version 6 (build 6002 service Pack 2) I think this is some kind of screen refresh issue for Thunderbird window. I don't have any flickering unless Thunderbird windows is on display, the problem goes away when Thunderbird is closed.

Tjohnson2,

I have tried this with Firefox, IE, and Chrome with several tabs created. All of these browsers show a flickering issue when Thunderbird is immediately under the browser. I have found that the issue is most prevalent when grabbing the browser window by the top and dragging the browser window over Thunderbird window, especially when there is movement above the Thunderbird menuing area and tabs areas.

This appears to be a screen refresh issue. I am not a Windows programmer, but It appears to me that Thunderbird has registered for window movement or mouse control notifications for coordinates directly above Thunderbird window. Thunderbird may still be interacting with the refresh of the browser window that is in the foreground, even though Thunderbird windows is in the background at the time.

I don't notice flickering when Thunderbird is minimized, or when browsers do not overlay any of the Thunderbird window. I don't notice the flickering if I drag one browser window over any of the other browser windows.

Thanks, Jipes

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Please post the graphics only section of help | troubleshooting

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Graphics Adapter Description Intel(R) G33/G31 Express Chipset Family Vendor ID 0x8086 Device ID 0x29c2 Adapter RAM Unknown Adapter Drivers igdumd64 Driver Version 7.15.10.1472 Driver Date 4-18-2008 Direct2D Enabled Blocked for your graphics driver version. Try updating your graphics driver to version 7.1500.1000.1666 or newer. DirectWrite Enabled false (7.0.6002.23680) ClearType Parameters ClearType parameters not found WebGL Renderer Blocked for your graphics driver version. Try updating your graphics driver to version 7.1500.1000.1666 or newer. GPU Accelerated Windows 0. Blocked for your graphics driver version. Try updating your graphics driver to version 7.1500.1000.1666 or newer. AzureCanvasBackend skia AzureSkiaAccelerated 0 AzureFallbackCanvasBackend cairo AzureContentBackend cairo

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Intel(R) G33/G31 Express Chipset Family Driver Version 7.15.10.1472 Driver Date 4-18-2008

Update your graphics driver.

try these links:

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Chosen Solution

(Thanks Toad-Hall)

jipes, and please post your reults

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jipes said

OS Windows Vista Home Premium Version 6 (build 6002 service Pack 2) I think this is some kind of screen refresh issue for Thunderbird window. I don't have any flickering unless Thunderbird windows is on display, the problem goes away when Thunderbird is closed.


The Intel Update tool did not find the update (possibly due to age of motherboard/chipset) but I was able to find an update with a manual search on the Intel website.

I do not see the flickering issue anymore with the new graphics Driver Version 7.15.10.1666 as shown below.

Graphics Adapter Description Intel(R) G33/G31 Express Chipset Family Vendor ID 0x8086 Device ID 0x29c2 Adapter RAM Unknown Adapter Drivers igdumd64 Driver Version 7.15.10.1666 Driver Date 2-26-2009 Direct2D Enabled false DirectWrite Enabled false (7.0.6002.23680) ClearType Parameters ClearType parameters not found WebGL Renderer false GPU Accelerated Windows 0 AzureCanvasBackend skia AzureSkiaAccelerated 0 AzureFallbackCanvasBackend cairo AzureContentBackend cairo