my laptop is not playing video's well

[bmw2007]

so ive got a mesh laptop, here are the specs

xp home edition, version 2002, service pack 2

intel[R]
pentium [r] 4 CPU 2.40 GHz
2.40ghz, 512mb of ram

if someone can tell me which program to use to give you the full specs ill get on that

basically, when im browsing the net, the page flashes whenit goes to new space (i e when im scrowling down)

and when watching video with vlc its very fuzzy, and when watching with realplayer its clear, but i get the flashes

the computer should be able to handle all this without problems becauce its only 5 years old but its taken a beating over the years so maybe something could be broken, (it does get very warm)

maybe the fans are broken

any help?

[redwudz]

Try SIW for system information. Probably more info than you need. http://www.gtopala.com/

You might try reinstalling your video drivers or downloading the latest one. Also check your video card settings.

And welcome to our forums.

[bmw2007]

how do i do all that, thanks for the help, soz if i seem like a n00b

[bmw2007]

i downloaded that program for more info, what would you like to know?

[redwudz]

I'm just guessing that it may be a problem with your video drivers or DirectX. For info on those:

Hardware>Devices>Display adapters>Description. I have Nvidia GeForce 6150

Software>Applications>DirectX (Probably 8-10. It's the first line.) I have 'DirectX 9.0c'

Those are on my HTPC.

Also what's the model number on the laptop?

Another thing you might try is booting into 'Safe Mode' and seeing if you have the same problem there. Safe Mode doesn't load many of the drivers and programs, so that's one way to exclude some of them as the problem. You usually hit one of the function keys when it first starts to boot. Usually F5 -F8.

With a laptop, if all else fails, a reinstall of the operating system from the restore discs cures a lot of problems. But you would have to back up all your files first. Then re-install all your programs.