VIM Windows random flicker

Question

I'm using Windows XP with VIM 7.2, so far I've tried a bunch of different 7.2.x patch level versions (the official 7.2, and newer patched distributions from the 'Cream' project, without Cream, of course) all with same results.

After loading a file, during regular vim usage, I'm getting random flicker flashes, really short, sometimes barely noticeable, really frequent (every 4 to 20 seconds).

Some hints:

• It does not happen with syntax highlighting disabled

• It does not seem to be triggered for anything I do, at least directly, as sometimes just leaving vim idle (even out of focus) is enough to allow the issue to be seen.

• At home I'm using a faster Windows Vista machine, with the same configuration settings (in sync using DropBox), the flicker is not really an issue, if you pay attention you could barely notice very quick flickers. So I think the issue might just be hidden.

• I tried already changing "nolazyredraw", "ttyscroll=1", "nohlsearch", and similar stuff I found on the web about the issue, without luck.

Any hints?

Answer 1

This is not a hardware problem as the smart admin guys from Stackoverflow pointed out.

Here is the solution: http://groups.google.com/group/vim_dev/browse_thread/thread/ce70ecfd07b9821d/c5933e286590dded

Seems there is some application in the background that is randomly causing my applications to refresh, with a frequency way above normal (as you notticed the flickering can be seen even or your fast compueter).

Without the patch, the editing area is automatically invalidated when such events happened, causing it to be erased (this happens really quickly), the patch causes the editing area to remain when redrawing happens.

Answer 2

What are the specs of your computer? I use Vim7.2 on Windows XP every day, without flickering. I DID notice that the flickering occurred on older/slower hardware, but my current work machine handles it without a sweat: 2.2Ghz dual core cpu, 2g ram, and some low end Nvidia Quaddro FX video card.

Since my rep's not high enough to comment, my official answer is: "Get a faster computer" (I know, not very helpful)