Office Apps Crashing

Fix OneNote Pen Tool Display Flickering and Office Crashes

Kushani Nimanthika Oct 19, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user experiences display flickering, cursor tracking delays, and application crashes when using the pen tool in OneNote and Microsoft Word across a multi-monitor setup.

Fix OneNote Pen Tool Display Flickering and Office Crashes

Product: Microsoft OneNote and Microsoft 365
Device & OS: Windows
Scenario: Using a pen tablet to draw or write in Microsoft Office applications while multiple monitors are connected.
Observed behavior: The monitor flickers, the display temporarily disconnects, cursor tracking is delayed, and Office applications become unstable or crash. Other apps like Paint remain unaffected.

Before you start

Ensure you have saved all open documents to avoid data loss, and safely disconnect then reconnect your pen tablet to rule out temporary hardware glitches.

Solution 1Recommended

Adjust Display Setup and Disable Hardware Acceleration

Simplify your hardware setup and disable Office graphics acceleration to prevent rendering conflicts.

Microsoft Office applications use specific hardware acceleration methods that can conflict with certain multi-monitor and graphics driver configurations. Reducing the display complexity and shifting rendering to software can stabilize the app.

Test with a single monitor

Disconnect all secondary monitors from your desktop computer. Open OneNote and use the pen tool to see if the flickering and crashing persist on a single display.

Disable hardware graphics acceleration

In OneNote or Word, navigate to File > Options > Advanced. Scroll down to the Display section and check the box for 'Disable hardware graphics acceleration'. Click OK and restart the application.

Adjust Display Setup and Disable Hardware Acceleration

Missing Setting: If the hardware graphics acceleration setting is missing in your version of Microsoft 365, it may have been removed by a recent update, requiring you to rely on graphics driver updates instead.

Solution 2

Update System and Application Software

Ensure that Windows, Microsoft Office, and your graphics drivers are fully up to date to patch known compatibility bugs.

Solution 3

Contact Microsoft 365 Support

Escalate the issue to Microsoft's development team if standard troubleshooting fails.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Switch to WPS Office for Stable Document Editing

If Microsoft Office applications continue to experience display flickering or instability when using drawing tools, WPS Office is an excellent lightweight alternative. It offers powerful document processing without heavy system resource demands, ensuring smooth performance even on multi-monitor setups.

1. Download and Install: Visit the official WPS Office website and download the free installer for your operating system.
2. Open existing documents: Launch WPS Office and simply open your existing Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files without losing any formatting.
3. Edit smoothly: Enjoy a stable editing environment with reliable performance, free from display glitches and sudden application crashes.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Office formats like DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX.Lightweight installation ensures fast loading times and highly stable performance.Free to use with a familiar, intuitive user interface for seamless migration.Includes built-in PDF editing tools for comprehensive document management.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the pen tool cause flickering in Office but not in Paint?

Microsoft Office applications utilize complex hardware graphics acceleration and dedicated drawing components that can conflict with certain graphics drivers or multi-monitor configurations, whereas simpler applications like Paint use basic rendering methods.

What should I do if 'Disable hardware graphics acceleration' is missing in OneNote?

In newer versions of Microsoft 365, the option to disable hardware acceleration has been removed from the user interface. You will need to ensure your graphics drivers are fully updated or use the Windows Registry Editor to force software rendering.

Can a faulty pen tablet cause Office apps to crash?

While hardware defects can cause issues, if your tablet works perfectly in other applications and on other computers, the crash is more likely caused by software compatibility issues between Microsoft Office's drawing components and your system's graphics configuration.

Office App Problems