Windows 8.1 Graphics Issues

[corn_chowder]

Anyone else experiencing issues with resolution on their monitor(s)? I have dual monitors, one LED HD display and one regular LCD display. Prior to 8.1 (8.0) everything was working fine, now it looks like the graphics on the LED display are off.

I have a ATI Radeon graphics card that uses the Catalyst Control Center, but when I try to play around with settings in that software now, there aren't any options to mess with the resolution. Right now the display doesn't look as clear and there's a black border around the picture (whole screen isn't being used).

Any ideas? I've been searching online for the last half hour or so and haven't seen anything.

Thanks!

 

[matthoms]

I just installed 8.1 on my laptop today. When I shut my screen and open it back up, my screen doesn't turn on. I have to do a full restart in order to get the screen to turn on. Also, the brightness on the screen is a max for some unknown reason. I can't turn it down using the brightness keys on my keyboard and the charm menu brightness part doesn't turn down my brightness either. It was working just fine before the 8.1 update, now I can hardly use my laptop because I can't see it unless I restart it.

 

[Eric J F]

I've noticed something similar. I have an LCD monitor connected with an analog cable to a Radeon HD 6310-equipped HP netbook. This morning when I upgraded from W8 it seemed the display wasn't as good. Some of the colors (especially Start Screen tiles) are oversaturated, and some text isn't as crisp.

I lost a lot a while back when I took my digitally-connected desktop off the same monitor and hooked up this netbook, but I was surprised to see further degradation going to W8.1.

It looks like I'm on the same driver, but I'm still only using the display driver and not all the other AMD stuff like the control center and the 3D or audio.

 

[matthoms]

My colors on my start screen and wording aren't as crisp as the colors and wording on my Surface RT. The only way that I can work with my laptop now is to force restart it after shutting the lid. Restarting or shutting down doesn't work. I have to force it to turn off, turn it back on, then I get my display back. No idea what could have caused this, but if this keeps happening, I might have to abandon my laptop and get a new one or just be stuck only using my RT, which I'd really prefer not to since I have over 400GB worth of data on my laptop and only a 32GB RT.

 

[Eric J F]

Matthoms:

Did you try completely uninstalling your display driver, restarting, and reinstalling? I'm going to do that and see if anything changes. Also, check the opening/closing the lid and advanced settings in Power Options, maybe something got messed up.

 

[matthoms]

I don't know how to uninstall the display driver. I did go into the advanced settings to see the power options for my laptop though. Settings are all the same as I personally set them before the 8.1 upgrade.

 

[corn_chowder]

Guys,

After some research last night, I think I found the issue. Unfortunately for me, my graphics card (ATI Radeon 4800) is considered a "Legacy" card and therefore is not supported in 8.1. Looks like I have to get a new graphics card :eck:

 

[matthoms]

I have a similar one. I have a AMD Mobility Radeon HD 5000 Series and Intel HD Graphics card in my laptop. I can't switch them out. Do you happen to know if these are supported in 8.1?

 

[SlingLaker9811]

I have a similar one. I have a AMD Mobility Radeon HD 5000 Series and Intel HD Graphics card in my laptop. I can't switch them out. Do you happen to know if these are supported in 8.1?

download the latest driver from AMD's site...

 

[matthoms]

I have the latest driver updates already. I went to this page Downloads and clicked download now for auto detect and download. It said I have the latest version. I also downloaded version 13.9 on 9/18/2013 from this link AMD Radeon™ Video Card Drivers I don't know what else I can really do besides get a new laptop or downgrade (if possible) to 8.0.

Any suggestions on what to do?

 

[Eric J F]

I'm on 13.9 also, but the display isn't bad enough to change anything (although it is a good excuse to get a Surface Pro 2!)

Try completely uninstalling the display driver in Control Panel/Device Manager/Display/Driver. Perhaps the default Windows driver is better. Make sure you restart after uninstalling; sometimes the previous driver reinstalls itself, too.

 

[matthoms]

If I restart my computer, I won't be able to see my screen because it stays black. I'd have to restart, then force shut down, then start my laptop back up in order to see the screen. I'm not sure If this would work properly.

 

[Eric J F]

Connecting to an external monitor probably wouldn't help in this situation, since it would do the same. Beyond rolling back to 8.0 or a new computer, I don't have any other ideas. Maybe someone more experienced has a better idea.

Good luck!

 

[matthoms]

Is there a way to roll back to 8? If so, I'm totally okay with doing that. My laptop originally ran Windows 7. I went to 8 and it worked fine. 8.1 is when the problem started. I talked to some Microsoft support people, they said that that was the problem, my laptop just can't run 8.1. If I can go back to 8 I'd prefer that, I just don't know how.

 

[Eric J F]

Since it came more like a service pack I'm not sure how to do it. You might try MS tech chat and also Google it.

 

[Eric J F]

I found this in a quick Google search; make sure you validate this info, though!
--------
If you already have Windows 8 installed on your device, then you most likely upgraded to Windows 8.1 with the free patch.

If this is how you installed it, then uninstalling Windows 8.1 is as simple as doing a System Restore or a System Refresh (Settings->Change PC Settings->General->Refresh or Restore). Keep in mind that you will need a bootable Windows 8 disk, either a DVD or a memory stick to do this.

 

[Eric J F]

I reinstalled my display driver and things look normal again.

Even though Device Manager said I was running the latest driver I went ahead and did it anyway. I used the same AMD 13.9 (which says is 8.1 compatible) and during installation it said the driver was NOT installed. I only installed the display driver (as I mentioned above) so I got a few error messages, but it definitely seems better now.

 

[matthoms]

I'll definitely give that a shot before uninstalling windows 8.1

 

[Eric J F]

Matthoms:

I reported the reinstall fix in a Microsoft discussion forum where people were complaining about similar display problems and someone just replied that it solved their issue. If it's not too late and you can figure out how to do it under your circumstances, it might be worth a try. You've got nothing to lose!

 

[matthoms]

Matthoms:

I reported the reinstall fix in a Microsoft discussion forum where people were complaining about similar display problems and someone just replied that it solved their issue. If it's not too late and you can figure out how to do it under your circumstances, it might be worth a try. You've got nothing to lose!

I will definitely give it a try!