Horizontal Lines on Your Laptop Screen: Causes and Fixes

Which one do you have?

Lines on the external monitor too

The graphics driver or graphics chip is the likely cause, not the screen. See fixes

Lines only on the laptop screen

The LCD panel or its cable is the likely cause. See fixes

Fixes to try (easiest first)

1. Restart the graphics driver

   Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B. The screen blinks once. Check whether the lines are gone. [2]

2. Restart the laptop

   A full restart reloads the graphics driver from scratch. [1]

3. Plug in an external monitor

   Press Windows + P and choose Duplicate. If the external monitor looks fine, the laptop's screen may have a hardware problem. If it shows lines too, look at the graphics driver or card. [1]

4. Update the graphics driver and BIOS

   Corrupted graphics drivers can cause lines. On Dell laptops, SupportAssist (Home > Update software) updates both. [1]

5. Roll back a recent driver update

   If the lines started after an update: Device Manager > Display adapters > Properties > Driver > Roll Back Driver. [2]

6. Run the built-in LCD test

   On Dell laptops: turn off, hold D, press power, release D when colors start flashing. If lines appear during the test, the LCD may be faulty. Contact the manufacturer about repair under warranty. [1]

Is it worth fixing?

Driver problems cost nothing to fix. If the lines show during the built-in test, the screen or its cable has failed. Use the warranty if you can; otherwise get a repair quote and compare it with the value of the laptop.

Repair or replace? Try the calculator · Not sure this is your problem? Take the quiz