YW, Martin. Please let us know if the behavior persists on your new laptop.

Martin wrote:
> The laptop was delivered with Vista HP 32Bit SP1 pre-installed. Video
> drivers were updated according to Dell's instructions. I am now pretty
> sure
> it's a hardware problem. I think Dell are too because they are going to
> replace the laptop. So I don't need to troubleshoot any more. Thanks for
> your help.
>
> "Martin" wrote:
>> Graphics drivers have already been updated. I thought it must be a
>> hardware
>> problem. And Dell have agreed to replace the laptop, so problem solved,
>> hopefully...
>>
>> For anyone else who comes to read this with a similar problem...
>>
>> It's Vista SP1, with McAfee. Since I posted, I did a screen grab of the
>> IE7
>> "cannot display the webpage" page on my desktop computer, where the
>> background gradient is barely visible. When I look at this bitmap in
>> Paint
>> on the laptop I see the same banding. This plus various other tests lead
>> me to believe that the problem is in the connection between the graphic
>> card and the LCD.
>>
>>
>> "PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:
>>
>>> Dunno then, but on the surface it sounds like a Display (e.g., graphics
>>> driver) issue to me.
>>>
>>> What's your Windows version (e.g., WinXP SP3; Vista SP1)?
>>>
>>> What anti-virus application or security suite is installed? What
>>> anti-spyware applications (other than Defender)? What third-party
>>> firewall (if any)?
>>> --
>>> ~PA Bear
>>>
>>>
>>> Martin wrote:
>>>> Thanks for the pointer, but this is not a related problem. I am not
>>>> using
>>>> that firewall. The gradient/banding is part of the background of the
>>>> IE7
>>>> "cannot display the webpage" and stretches right across the bottom
>>>> two-thirds of the screen when IE is maximised.
>>>>
>>>> "PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:
>>>>> Assuming you're running Online Armor firewall, see this related
>>>>> discussion
>>>>> http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=33918
>>>>> --
>>>>> ~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
>>>>> MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
>>>>> AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
>>>>> DTS-L http://dts-l.net/
>>>>>
>>>>> Martin wrote:
>>>>>> I am asking if anyone else has noticed colour banding on the IE7
>>>>>> "cannot
>>>>>> display the webpage" page to figure out if this means something is
>>>>>> wrong with my new laptop.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The page IE7 shows for "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage"
>>>>>> has
>>>>>> a
>>>>>> very faint colour gradient - so faint I have never noticed it before!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> But on my new laptop, I noticed it straight away. When looking
>>>>>> straight
>>>>>> at
>>>>>> the screen I can see irregular light and dark bands. When viewed from
>>>>>> slightly below centre, the bands become shaded blue and purple with
>>>>>> lighter
>>>>>> and darker bands and lines plus one 5 pixel yellowish line just below
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> "More information" link.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On my desktop machine, I can just about see faint colour variations
>>>>>> if
>>>>>> I look at the screen from below at a steep angle. With the same
>>>>>> screen
>>>>>> attached to the laptop the bands are maybe a bit more noticeable than
>>>>>> on the desktop, but nothing like the laptop's own screen.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If you move the IE window up and down, the bands move with it, so
>>>>>> it's
>>>>>> not
>>>>>> bad lines on the LCD. Somehow the tiny variations in RGB are causing
>>>>>> sharp
>>>>>> changes in the LCD. eg. From a screen grab RGB(247,248,250) is grey
>>>>>> but
>>>>>> RGB(247,249,248) is noticeably lighter and yellowish.