Computer Problem

[gregintenn]

4 hours ago, n0rlf said:

Ok, how long have you had windows ten installed? 

About a year I think.

[n0rlf]

So this has started after you did an update to windows or think it did one automatically? If so then yes a roll back to the last know good configuration might help. 

[gregintenn]

25 minutes ago, n0rlf said:

So this has started after you did an update to windows or think it did one automatically? If so then yes a roll back to the last know good configuration might help. 

I tried this once, but there was only one date available to choose from. I tried it, and it didn't help. Maybe you could walk me through how to do it correctly?

[Garufa]

2 hours ago, gregintenn said:

I tried this once, but there was only one date available to choose from. I tried it, and it didn't help. Maybe you could walk me through how to do it correctly?

Don’t try it again.  It will not fix the problem.

Time to uninstall your graphics driver.  I’ll throw up some instructions to do that in a little while when I get on a proper computer.  If that doesn’t work it goes back to a hardware problem (or not enough fiddling with adjustments).

[n0rlf]

51 minutes ago, Garufa said:

Don’t try it again.  It will not fix the problem.

Time to uninstall your graphics driver.  I’ll throw up some instructions to do that in a little while when I get on a proper computer.  If that doesn’t work it goes back to a hardware problem (or not enough fiddling with adjustments).

This. Doing it again will not help. Sorry.

[Garufa]

To uninstall the graphics driver and let Windows load a new one:

1.  Right-click Widows icon in the lower left had corner then click "Computer Management"
2.  Click on Administrative Tools.
3.  In Computer Management, click on Device Manager in the left pane.
4.  In the right pane click on Display adapters to show what kind of graphics card you have.  At this point you have two choices:  1)  go to the manufacturer's website of the adapter and download their latest driver or 2) uninstall the current driver and let Windows automatically reinstall a generic one.  I am recommending option 2.
5.  Right click on the display adapter device and click "Uninstall device".  Reboot.

If that does not work, like I said, hardware problem or monitor adjustment difficulty.  If you can't see anything at all then don't blame me.

If this does fix the problem then it's up to you if you want to mess with downloading a new driver from the manufacturer's website.  Unless you're into hardcore gaming or the graphic arts, the generic driver may just work fine.

 

Edited December 8, 2017 by Garufa

[gregintenn]

I appreciate your help and detailed explanation more than you know. Sadly, there was no change.

[jgradyc]

One of the problems with Windows 10 is that it doesn't work well with older computers. Is this a desktop computer? How old is it? If it's several years old, you could probably buy a newer used graphics card for $8-$20 on eBay. 

Edited December 8, 2017 by jgradyc

[gregintenn]

8 hours ago, jgradyc said:

One of the problems with Windows 10 is that it doesn't work well with older computers. Is this a desktop computer? How old is it? If it's several years old, you could probably buy a newer used graphics card for $8-$20 on eBay. 

It is a several year old desktop. Perhaps I could go back to windows 7 somehow?

[dralarms]

7 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

It is a several year old desktop. Perhaps I could go back to windows 7 somehow?

Probably could do that. I did that on a laptop I had put windows 10 on and at the time hated it so I went back to 7

Edited December 8, 2017 by dralarms

[jgradyc]

If you have your original license key that came in the paperwork when you bought the computer, you can reinstall Windows 7. You might have a DVD with Windows 7 on it, but more likely, it was something you had to request after you bought the desktop. Most computers shipped without a physical copy of Windows on DVD to save a few pennies since most users would never use it. 

You can buy a license key on eBay. There are torrents where you can download Windows 7, but it will only work a few days before you have to register it with the license key.

FWIW, you can buy a decent entry level laptop for about $250 in the after Christmas sales. I routinely buy a new laptop every two years. 

 

[gregintenn]

22 minutes ago, jgradyc said:

If you have your original license key that came in the paperwork when you bought the computer, you can reinstall Windows 7. You might have a DVD with Windows 7 on it, but more likely, it was something you had to request after you bought the desktop. Most computers shipped without a physical copy of Windows on DVD to save a few pennies since most users would never use it. 

You can buy a license key on eBay. There are torrents where you can download Windows 7, but it will only work a few days before you have to register it with the license key.

FWIW, you can buy a decent entry level laptop for about $250 in the after Christmas sales. I routinely buy a new laptop every two years. 

 

There's a good one in the attic if I'm not mistaken. I may just grab it one of these days.

[Garufa]

12 minutes ago, gregintenn said:

There's a good one in the attic if I'm not mistaken. I may just grab it one of these days.

Going back to Windows 7 is not going to fix the problem.

 

[dralarms]

42 minutes ago, Garufa said:

Going back to Windows 7 is not going to fix the problem.

 

If he goes and Uninstalls windows 10 and let's the computer roll back all the drivers to windows 7 it should work. 

[Garufa]

16 minutes ago, dralarms said:

If he goes and Uninstalls windows 10 and let's the computer roll back all the drivers to windows 7 it should work. 

No, it won’t but it’s Greg’s call.

[Omega]

2 minutes ago, Garufa said:

No, it won’t but it’s Greg’s call.

?  Unless it is a hardware issue, putting Win7 on it should take care of it. Win7 has been around long enough to have a robust collection of compatible drivers.

[Garufa]

6 minutes ago, Omega said:

?  Unless it is a hardware issue, putting Win7 on it should take care of it. Win7 has been around long enough to have a robust collection of compatible drivers.

Perhaps I missed the part of this thread where Greg says he had Win 7 then suddenly Win 10 was loaded and the screen got goobered.   

 

[dralarms]

23 minutes ago, Garufa said:

Perhaps I missed the part of this thread where Greg says he had Win 7 then suddenly Win 10 was loaded and the screen got goobered.   

 

Well he did say it was an "older" computer that has windows 10 on it, we just "assumed" it had been upgraded since microcrap was giving the upgrade away for free to everyone. If it wasn't upgraded then I'm wrong and will step out gracefully and let you deal with it

[jgradyc]

He said it was an older computer. Windows 10 was installed about a year ago. The display problem started recently. Since Windows 10 releases a new build every few weeks, it could be a problem with the update being incompatible with the old driver for the graphics card. Or, the graphics card could have failed. Either way, a fix would be to replace the graphics card with a used, but newer graphics card. Or, just replace the computer. I'm not a fan of fixing older computers when you can buy a new last year's model on clearance cheap. 

By cheap, I mean less than $300 for a laptop. I haven't used a desktop computer in nearly ten years.

[gregintenn]

Sorry I wasn't more clear about this. I had Windows 7. and installed the free Windows 10 upgrade whenever that was. All was well until weekend before last.

Edited December 9, 2017 by gregintenn

[Omega]

Might be my thin tinfoil hat, but I tend to believe that MS does this stuff on purpose to get you to buy new hardware.  For most users, version upgrades are not needed, and "free" upgrades need to be looked upon with suspicion.  Win XP was a very good operating system,  the best Win version until Win 7 came out, Win 10 has nothing on 7 IMHO, unless you have a touchscreen.  I tend not to buy new computers until they break, and then only if parts are not available.  But for the last couple years, I've been using a tablet for all but my heaviest workload, so when I do turn on my laptop, it takes some time to run through the updates, which I verify before downloading, Win10 was specifically blocked.

[Murgatroy]

I picked up a cheap machine from Walmart this summer for like $250. It is a bare bones machine and uses laptop RAM, but a $30 video card in it and it can run pretty decently for my daughters needs.

 

I have higher end machines, but stripped desktops are pretty affordable anymore.

[dralarms]

10 hours ago, gregintenn said:

Sorry I wasn't more clear about this. I had Windows 7. and installed the free Windows 10 upgrade whenever that was. All was well until weekend before last.

There was a stupid update about then. Bad thing is you can't turn off the stupid updates. Even if you keep it off the Internet unless you are using it windows will update in the background 

[Omega]

1 hour ago, dralarms said:

There was a stupid update about then. Bad thing is you can't turn off the stupid updates. Even if you keep it off the Internet unless you are using it windows will update in the background 

You can stop it, but you almost have to be expecting it, like the "free" Win10.  I was off the net with my PC long enough to hear about that so I researched how to permanently stop it.  Seems there is no good way to rollback that update either, so a full reinstall of the previous edition is almost necessary. 

[Dolomite_supafly]

What brand of computer?

If it is a Dell you can easily restore it back to factory fresh. They have a ghosted copy of the original install that you can go back to on Dells.