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15326
July 30th, 2015 13:00
Display problem
I'm experiencing a blurry/small display for text (and some images) across a wide variety of apps and the desktop.
Using Alienware x51 R2. Basically this started about a month ago after installing Witcher3. So I'm not sure if driver updates caused some problem, playing the game caused some sort of hardware fail, or something else. Originally this problem existed in 8.1, so I thought windows 10 might fix it, but I had the blackscreen error during installation that a lot of people seem to be getting. The black screen was fixed (I replaced old cable to HDMI cable) but the text is still blurry. I'm also getting a weird notification popping up when I log on that my resolution is supposed to be 1980 , 1536 (or so) while my montior's (Samsung SyncMaster 2494 HM) top resolution is 1980, 1080.
I've also tried switching back and forth between intel and nvidia video drivers (by disabling them one at a time in settings), but the problems seems to be about the same.
All drivers are up to date. I've also messed with dpi settings in about every configuration possible without success. I'm starting to think its a monitor problem but I'm just wondering if anyone has any good tests/fixes if they think its something else.
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EpicWestern
6 Posts
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August 20th, 2015 14:00
FINAL UPDATE:
K, I feel kind of dumb but it turns out I just had a scanning issue with my monitor that was easily fixed in the monitor settings. This issue apparently doesn't apply to analog connections, and since it was the same brand its not really a surprise that the other monitor I tested on had the same issue. Image size was supposed to be "Just scan" instead of "Wide" under the setup menu for my Samsung monitor.
Milena M458
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2.7K Posts
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July 31st, 2015 10:00
I will recommend you to test the system with a different monitor or a TV that way we will make sure is not a hardware issue.
EpicWestern
6 Posts
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August 3rd, 2015 11:00
I tested on a different monitor and got the exact same problem.
A couple more specifics:
- The taskbar and recycle bin icon started mostly off the screen on both monitors
- Under Action Center it lists igfx.exe as the app giving me the non-optimal resolution message.
EpicWestern
6 Posts
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August 4th, 2015 15:00
UPDATE:
So I've continued testing different configurations of my video cards, and uninstalled/reinstalled the video drivers multiple times. Here's one especially weird thing:
The microsoft basic display adapter works. When both intel HD graphics and the nvidia geforce driver are disabled it has my driver listed as "microsoft basic display adapter" which has clear sharp text with the taskbar and desktop icons correct aligned onscreen. It seems like a bit too much of a coincidence that nvidia and intel drivers would both have the same exact error. So any troubleshooting tips from here would be appreciated.
Milena M458
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2.7K Posts
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August 6th, 2015 13:00
Try connecting the monitor on both video cards (integrated and NVidia) to see which one is the one failing.
As well you can try to perform a system restore to a day when the system was working properly.
And if after that the issue persists I will recommend you to perform an Alienrespawn.
EpicWestern
6 Posts
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August 13th, 2015 14:00
I've tried connecting to both ports but both the NVidia and Intel cards/drivers seem to be failing in the exact same way which is very strange to me.
Also something important worth mentioning is that I'm getting a single beep during startup, which according to the beep code table is a possible motherboard failure? I can also tell by the fuzzy text and alignment during the alienware startup screen that my windows text will also be fuzzy.
Also, if I'm understanding correctly the NVidia card uses the Intel GPU somehow. So I'm wondering if its not even possible to fully disable my Intel card. I feel like the issue has to be Intel and not either hardware, NVidia, or windows because otherwise it makes no sense that the microsoft basic adapter would actually work correctly.
EpicWestern
6 Posts
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August 20th, 2015 13:00
UPDATE:
I tested using a DVI to VGA converter (analog) and my picture is fine. I believe this explains why the microsoft adapter worked, it sent an analog signal instead of a digital(DVI, HDMI) to my monitor.
I'd still prefer a digital connection, so if anyone has an ideas why an analog connection would work but a digital wouldn't it would be appreciated. Also still getting a single beep during startup.