Alright guys I have a kinda recent problem with my laptop and its freakin me out. My laptop is about 4 months old with:

  Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6000) (6000.vista_gdr.071009-1548)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
       System Model: HP Pavilion dv6500 Notebook PC    
               BIOS: Ver 1.00PARTTBL
          Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     T5450  @ 1.66GHz (2 CPUs), ~1.7GHz
             Memory: 2046MB RAM

About every 10-15 seconds (although sometimes it can go a while without any affect) the backlight on the screen changes intensity, it seems to be happening primarily in the bottom left corner of the screen. Now I havent dropped it, spilt anything on it, or left it in the middle of a snow storm so i dont get it.

Is it possible that this is a software issue or is the whole possibility that my screen is going after 4 months because I will kill HP if thats the case.

I don't see how this is a software issue, considering it is happening on only a portion of the screen.
If it's only 4 months old, I would definitely make use of the warranty and get it fixed.

have you contacted HP directly? You say it's only 4 months old so it should be under warranty. It sounds like there may be something wrong with the connection between your screen and motherboard. Perhaps that connection is loose.

Originally Posted by Truly

(although sometimes it can go a while without any affect) the backlight on the screen changes intensity, it seems to be happening primarily in the bottom left corner of the screen. Now I havent dropped it, spilt anything on it, or left it in the middle of a snow storm so i dont get it.

Is it possible that this is a software issue or is the whole possibility that my screen is going after 4 months because I will kill HP if thats the case.

I'm almost certain it's not a software issue. When they're building the screens, they make giant sheets of LCD. A % of the area will be bad; sounds like yours made it through QC.

I was upset when I bought an external 1680x1050 LCD with a single bad pixel. You should return the laptop to have it fixed or replaced. Back up all of your data beforehand. The tech at HP will probably re-image the machine before anything else to avoid diagnosing drivers and software issues. It's almost sure that's not what you have, but with all the service any computer company does, it's fair to bet that's probably the start to their process.

I'm with the others. This is an HP issue in all likelihood, and if it's what I think it is, it's "dead pixels".

You also need to remember that just because you take care of equipment doesn't mean that it won't break...even under warranty. That's why warranties exist on stuff...because sometimes the machine just craps out.

My own personal experience with Packard products tells me not to trust anything other than their printers. They're usually horribly built and have a tendency to die.

I have an HP DV-6000 laptop, so it's similar to yours. When this happen, are you plugged in or on battery only ?? If you're on battery only, the screen intensity is reduced by 20% for power conservation. Although, if it's only a portion of the screen, it sounds like something else with the display.

My HP laptop can let me use an external monitor. If yours does as well, you can plug one in and see if the problem is replicated on the external monitor. If not, then it's almost 100% likely to be a hardware problem.

PS: have fun calling HP support

Actually, I have called hp support and they are very helpful and send you what you need quickly. They will walk you through numerous troubleshooters, which is a good thing because it will help you learn some things. They remain on the phone with you the entire time, make sure that you have a couple of hours to give to them. I have yet to contact any product support that was not helpful. Microsoft also has some of the best customer service and will even call you back periodically over the next couple of days to make sure it is still working correctly.

HP also has a chat option. I have personally used it as well, due to an hp monitor problem that was no longer under warranty. They even helped with it.

Do not fear the support lines!

I had a dell laptop that did the same thing, Mine did it on the top right corner, It was only 2 months old, they said it was a malfunction inside the moniter, or happend everynow and then, but what was bast was it just keeps getting worse..

When you turn it off/on and you can see its still doing it, its a hardware problem and is covered by warrenty

ya just send the laptop back to company they should cover this.

Thanks for the advice guys I will have to backup my system and then give them a call, going to suck going without a machine for however long it takes them, although they could always upgrade me to their top of the line, I would be willing to settle with that :P.

Brandy's right on HP support (at least from the server end). You can call them up and get an answer within an hour or two, and in my case (a dead server hard drive), they actually sent a tech to show me how to hot-swap it just in case I didn't want to do it myself (and since it was under warranty and the service was free...I didn't. )

Originally Posted by ADAM Web Design

I'm with the others. This is an HP issue in all likelihood, and if it's what I think it is, it's "dead pixels".

You also need to remember that just because you take care of equipment doesn't mean that it won't break...even under warranty. That's why warranties exist on stuff...because sometimes the machine just craps out.

My own personal experience with Packard products tells me not to trust anything other than their printers. They're usually horribly built and have a tendency to die.

Well I don't know about you but I think HP are very popular in laptop industry. Personally, I think HP products are good despite Dell are better