Windows 10: Apps Unexpectedly Blurry? Here's a Workaround

There is an apparent bug in recent versions of Windows that causes some desktop apps to appear blurry when they should not be. This issue is visible when your desktop scaling is set to something other than 100% or 200%.

What seems to be happening is that Windows is applying system-level (bitmap) scaling to these apps when it should not. Desktop apps have a manifest file that tells Windows if they are high-DPI aware, and Windows is supposed to perform no scaling in that case. However, this setting seems to be ignored for certain apps.

I can confirm this behavior is present in at least Windows 10 versions 1909 and 2004, that it manifests on multiple systems, and persists even after a factory reset with no third party applications installed.

It even effects Edge Chromium. While the main browser window is drawn correctly, any common dialogs opened by the browser (such as the Save As dialog) will appear blurry.

Not all desktop apps are affected, and the issue is entirely or mostly masked if your display scaling is set to 100% or 200%. Also, Windows has such a generally poor reputation for these things that people may just assume that this is "normal". (It's not.)

There is a fairly straightforward work-around though: Just open any affected app's Properties sheet in File Explorer, then override the high DPI settings in the Compatibility tab. But instead of setting scaling to "System" or "System (Enhanced)", the usual fix for high-DPI challenged apps. set it to "Application". (Normally this should be the default behavior.)

High DPI Compatibility Settings

After this, the application should draw normally again. Hopefully, Microsoft will address this soon.

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:)

 

My new Vista computer sometimes unexpectedly shuts off. Any suggestions?

My new Vista computer sometimes unexpectedly shuts off. Any suggestions?

 

External monitor is blurry

Hi,

The blurry display when using an external display may indicate a scaling issue. If the display of the internal monitor is not compatible with the external monitor, it may render a poor or fuzzy display. As an initial step, we suggest that you try the methods
under the Workaround section provided on this
support article.

Let us know should you need further assistance.

 

Clean Install Workaround for Vista

You may remember this news story on techPowerUp! a couple of days ago relating to the lack of clean installs when using the Upgrade Editions of Vista, which required an old OS to be installed. However, Paul Thurrott has managed to find a workaround for this issue, which ironically lets users do a clean install Vista without any previous version of Windows, albeit a little tedious. Here are the steps:

• Boot from the Windows Vista Upgrade DVD as normal
• When prompted for a product code, leave this blank
• Select the version of Vista you have purchased and let Vista install
• When you boot to your desktop for the first time, run the Vista setup from Windows
• This time enter your product key
• When asked whether you want to do an Upgrade of Custom install, select custom and choose a clean install
• Windows will now install for a second time and you should be able to activate it

Remember, these steps are only advised for use in order to achieve a clean install of Vista, it is only legal to use the upgrade editions if you have previously purchased the appropriate version of Windows.

Source: DailyTech