Re: “this old laptop occasionally needs a reboot, but it has some issues that I'm pretty sure are hardware related - a flickering screen, occasional lockups, frequent logginess, etc.”
The flickering I mentioned was sporadic and usually got worse when the laptop's monitor was tipped at all in the direction of closed (forming a right or acute angle). It usually improved if the laptop was opened more fully, forming an obtuse angle.
Sounds like a problem with the hardware, right? Maybe something in the laptop's hinge putting pressure on a ribbon cable?
Apparently not. I updated the video driver this evening and the flickering seems to be gone. I'll give it 24 hours before I declare victory, but so far, so good. Very strange. I *really* didn't think the driver was going to make any difference, especially since my laptop worked fine for a couple of years (with all of the original drivers) before developing this problem abruptly about 18 months ago.
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