HP Pavilion dv5 laptop screen keeps blacking out. I have to move it back and forth to get the screen to come back on... sometimes it takes a few minutes to get it in a position where the screen appears again. Other times, the screen shakes or dims out of nowhere. What could be causing this and how do I fix it?

please use the flow chart attached, and fix it. God bless you

Update the drivers that control your PC. Take care that fans are running. Sometimes this type of problem occurs due to overheating. I woulod recommend to use PCFresher to keep your PC fast and avoid pc freezes and lagging.

what happened next?try restarting your laptop then press f8 then restore to its previous settings

The LCD is connected with a strip to the mother board. That strip is damaged in your laptop. Take it to a service centre to get repair.

no photos of white screen presented or posted.
is it white in a dark room???????????
DV5-1125nr (9 years old (first made date) RTC COIN cell time? sure. page 59 tells you how.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01550108


lacking any photos , it be impossible to fix this talking in text box.
no?
as they say ,seeing is believing, what you call white I call black.
white on sunny beach, or black in dark room, can be the same.
PAvilion dv5-1125nr

always post what a pC does in the dark, its best.
all text seen , all logos seen (hp or compaq)
any boot screens, any log in screens.
and if the "hit F10 key to enter HP setup" is missing on said screen as seen now for 9 years running.
if that text is missing,
remove the big battery in rear of LP,they short, so get it out now
and first., do that first. always,,,
then run on AC power,
do the HP long reset? (battery out, ac pack pulled
push power button 10 to 30second, not use the ac pack only
it can run on AC forever, end ever , no problems.
do so now.
got that that 9 year old text now? in the dark, ok?
The F10 is BIOS hot key, power on and quickly hammer F10
bingo for BIOS. see that? see those screens, those are first.
if BIOS is dead, it can not boot any OS made.
BIOS does the booting job, see?
here is your support page. at HP, Fixya is NOT HP. so....

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-pavilion-dv5-1100-entertainment-notebook-pc-series/3744201/model/3795325/manuals?jumpid=reg_r1002_usen_s-001_title_r0001


this OLD PC, is CCFL back lighted, all are.
2010 year is the magic hear we went to LED backlamps.
but your PC is 2008, see?
CCFL do these things
dim, go yellow, do dead, go intermittent and blink(strobes)
if dim, AS I SUSPECT , then its that. (brightness set to max)
CCFL tubes are 99% caused
the HV inverter is 1%

here is the tube sets.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/CCFL-Backlight-for-15-4-LCD-HP-Pavilion-dv4400-dv5000-dv5100-dv5-1000-1100-1200/401259562873?hash=item5d6cef0779:m:mcD2SCb17BxyIvQPKdpd78A


here is the inverter (high voltage inverter for HV CCFL tubes)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Pavilion-dv5-1125em-dv5-1125eo-dv5-1125es-dv5-1125nr-laptop-LCD-inverter/121175375836?epid=1758409030&hash=item1c369d7fdc:g:CXEAAOSwRbtaAU5l


if you tell what it does in the dark , all things
good or bad,.
answer get 10x smaller, or in fact , dead accurate.

why not just get it fixed by a tech.
all old laptops do this, EVERY SINGLE ONE.

Sounds like a loose connection at the inverter board. Laptops use an inverter to step up voltage to drive fluorescent tube(s). The problem could be at the inverter or at the tubes.

Hi, you need do follow things:
1) check RAM in the back small cover of laptop, clean RAM pins and slots set back or change RAM position each other ,or replace other RAM(same model) if old RAM not works.
2) take out the wireless card in the back small cover that is MINI PCI slot, then turn on. sometimes it cancause this trouble.
help you fix it, and any question keep in touch please.

Either the backlight on the LCD has failed, or the video inverter which provides power to the backlight have failed. Either way, the computer is under warranty; contact HP and have them fix it; it could get costly to do it yourself.

I am sure that the issue is related to the cable that connects to the LCD Display or the LCD Backlight.
There should be some connection shortage because of which the LCD flickers few times as stated by dan231.
I Recommend you to get the Notebook examined as soon as possible before something really goes wrong...