C
Charles Lavin
Hi --
I have a Windows XP Pro SP3 box that recently installed some automatic
updates, and now I can't get a legible screen out of it.
When the computer boots, it displays the Windows XP splash screen just fine.
The subsequent dialog it displays with the status of the startup is not. For
starters, it's a fraction of the width it's supposed to be. The Windows XP
graphic across the top of the dialog displays OK, except that it's cropped
after the "Wi" in "Windows". All the status messages displayed below show up
in a scrunched, compressed type that's impossible to read.
The login dialog has the same problem. The dialog is a fraction of the width
it's supposed to be. The prompts, the entry fields, even the buttons are all
squashed and pretty much illegible.
When the desktop finally displays, the desktop icons look OK but their
captions are all squashed. The Start button is screwed up. Any menu or
dialog I pull up gives me illegible type. The exception on the dialogs is
the title bar. The text in the title bar always looks normal. But any text
inside the dialog is almost impossible to make out.
I managed to navigate my way through the Desktop Properties and reset the
resolution of the first monitor to 640x480. It didn't help solve the
problem.
I thought about reloading the video drivers, but with this display I can't
tell what I'm doing.
I tried rebooting into Last Good Configuration mode. No help.
I tried rebooting into Safe mode. No help.
I tried rebooting into VGA mode. No help.
I tried connecting via Remote Desktop from another PC. I get exactly the
same results on the Remote Desktop screen (which I can now capture and send
to any interested party).
Near as I can tell, the PC is otherwise working OK. But since I can't see
what I'm doing, it's pretty useless in this condition.
I can open IE and navigate to a Web site. All the prompts, buttons, the
Address bar, etc. are illegible, but if I do manage to type in a URL into
the Address bar without making a mistake, the Web page will load and look
normal.
I can open Word. Again, all prompts, buttons, etc. are illegible, but I
clicked on the first document in the Recent Documents list and the document
came up and was perfectly legible.
How do I go about fixing this?
Thanks,
CL
I have a Windows XP Pro SP3 box that recently installed some automatic
updates, and now I can't get a legible screen out of it.
When the computer boots, it displays the Windows XP splash screen just fine.
The subsequent dialog it displays with the status of the startup is not. For
starters, it's a fraction of the width it's supposed to be. The Windows XP
graphic across the top of the dialog displays OK, except that it's cropped
after the "Wi" in "Windows". All the status messages displayed below show up
in a scrunched, compressed type that's impossible to read.
The login dialog has the same problem. The dialog is a fraction of the width
it's supposed to be. The prompts, the entry fields, even the buttons are all
squashed and pretty much illegible.
When the desktop finally displays, the desktop icons look OK but their
captions are all squashed. The Start button is screwed up. Any menu or
dialog I pull up gives me illegible type. The exception on the dialogs is
the title bar. The text in the title bar always looks normal. But any text
inside the dialog is almost impossible to make out.
I managed to navigate my way through the Desktop Properties and reset the
resolution of the first monitor to 640x480. It didn't help solve the
problem.
I thought about reloading the video drivers, but with this display I can't
tell what I'm doing.
I tried rebooting into Last Good Configuration mode. No help.
I tried rebooting into Safe mode. No help.
I tried rebooting into VGA mode. No help.
I tried connecting via Remote Desktop from another PC. I get exactly the
same results on the Remote Desktop screen (which I can now capture and send
to any interested party).
Near as I can tell, the PC is otherwise working OK. But since I can't see
what I'm doing, it's pretty useless in this condition.
I can open IE and navigate to a Web site. All the prompts, buttons, the
Address bar, etc. are illegible, but if I do manage to type in a URL into
the Address bar without making a mistake, the Web page will load and look
normal.
I can open Word. Again, all prompts, buttons, etc. are illegible, but I
clicked on the first document in the Recent Documents list and the document
came up and was perfectly legible.
How do I go about fixing this?
Thanks,
CL