Vista Issue - Graphics perhaps? Help please!

T

Tinmansm

New Member
Hi there,

My friend is having a computer issue and I am her computer techie friend trying to help her fix it. I'm in a different city than she is, so sadly I can't see what the problem is, but I am computer savvy enough to know how to gain information from her.

The problem: She said that the other day she clicked on a pop up (sounds like a vista-related pop up) that said something about a Hard Drive or Hardware…she wasn't 100% sure. She clicked 'continue' on the pop up and ever since those settings (for whatever it was) went into place, her visual graphic settings have been messed up.

It seems like her wallpaper is streched and larger than before (dosen't all fit on the screen) and her text and such when she surfs the net is larger than normal. She defined it as being "big and strechy".

She is using an HP laptop on Vista.

We tried messing with Display and Wallpaper settings -- tried all the different options (resolution, etc) and had no luck. Furthermore, we tried a restore….but the restore was unsuccessful.

On what is likley an unrelated note (but I'll throw it in anyways), her HP Recovery drive is getting pretty full. She thinks it has something to do with it since it hasn't been like that, but I don't think it relates to the graphics problem.

Any idea why her desktop background wallpaper is big and strechy and why her text when surfing the internet is so large?

Thanks for your help in advance.
 

My Computer

System One

try increasing the refresh rate, or updating/reinstalling the display driver, or roll back the display driver, and as a last resort, you could restore the computer to an earlier date.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Aleinware Area-51
    CPU
    core 2 extreme x9000 2.8 Ghz
    Memory
    4 Gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    (2) Nvidia 8800m GTX in Sli
    Sound Card
    Onboard RealTek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    42" JVC LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p 32 bit
    Hard Drives
    (2) seagate 7200rpm in RAID 0
    (1) maxtor external 1 terabyte firewire
    Case
    laptop
    Keyboard
    a really spiffy backlit one that i can change color ;>)
    Mouse
    logitech Anywhere Mouse and built-in touchpad
    Internet Speed
    Cable
Run System restore again but this time in safe mode. It usually results in an unsuccessful restore when run in normal windows mode.

Before you try that though, see if there is any other display settings;
What graphics card is she using? Does she know how to access its control panel?
If not it could be an intergrated card so then maybe try the system restore option (safe mode).
If this dont work post back
More info regards the make and model of the pc would help us trouble shoot better
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Wired2fire custom evolution
    CPU
    Core2Extreme X6800 @ 2.93ghz
    Motherboard
    Nforce 4 SLI 16x
    Memory
    Corsair DDR2 800mhz x 4gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX Nvidia 260gtx SLI
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster Audigy 4
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 24inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Cavier 500gb
    Western Digital Raptor 150gb
    PSU
    Tagan Turbojet 950w
    Case
    Silverstone Timjin
    Cooling
    Fan custom modified
    Keyboard
    Saitek Gamers Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX518
    Other Info
    Its getting old, been upgrading it over the past few years, mainly the ram and the gpu's. Will hold out till some next year before I build another one.
Thanks for your reply.

How do I do a system restore in Safe Mode....are you talking to just start up the computer in Safe Mode? (Load with F8, if I recall?) and then do it that way?

Thanks in advance...
 

My Computer

System One

Hello Tinmansm, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Correct you would keep tapping F8 during boot for Safe Mode.

METHOD TWO in the tutorial below can also help show you how to do a System Restore at boot as well.

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Sounds like it changed to the default vista driver(driver failure), which made the resolution 800x600 making it seems massive on the screen...instead of the standard 1200x800(usual for 15 in laptops). If it is an HP laptop it is a good chance it is an ATI graphics card. Go to the ATI website and redownload the drivers and control panel...then...restart. If it is an nVidia card...do the same with the nVidia website.

This should hopefully fix your problem....i have had experience that sytsem restore doesnt always fix this since it happened once...restoring back to where it was will just happen again.

Hope this helps.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion DV7-1129wm Entertainment PC
    CPU
    AMD Turion X2 RM-72 Dual Core @ 2.1GHz
    Memory
    2 x 2 GB Hyundai DDR2 400 MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200 @ 256 MB
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio/SRS Premium Sound/Altec Lansing
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Laptop Screen
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900 laptop, external 17 in LCD 1024 x 768
    Hard Drives
    WD Scorpio Blue 320 GB SATA 5400 RPM
    Toshiba 68 GB SATA 5400 RPM Second Drive (backup)
    PSU
    8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
    Case
    Laptop with "light up" HP Logo on outside
    Cooling
    Insane air coming out of Targus dual fan cooler
    Keyboard
    Full Keyboard with numpad
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3000 / Touchpad
    Internet Speed
    Comcast Cable 20 MBps
    Other Info
    Used Primarily for CAD design using SolidWorks 2010.
    Also I love to watch HD movies using the HDMI output(Netflix).
    Linked to my Xbox 360 for Windows Media Center
    3 USB ports + USB/eSata
    HP Remote for Windows Media Center and Quickplay
    Internal Dual Layer DVD+/-RW
    External HP Lightscribe Dual Layer DVD+/-RW
    HP Webcam and Microphone
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