Screen Shows Double

[Watkinspi]

Dell Laptop. When I turn on computer, I get double desktop on screen. Screen is almost spit into 2 desktops. 1st time it happened, it resolved itself after turning on and off several times. 2nd time, went to Dell support. they remotely"fixed" it. 3 days later, it happened again. I resorted to a Restore point and got it back to normal. any suggestions?

 

[mickey megabyte]

hi Watkinspi, and welcome to sevenforums,

i don't believe i've seen anything like what you describe.

could you upload a screenshot?

 

[Watkinspi]

Can't do it until it happens again. Basically, 2/3 of left side show my desktop. right 1/3 shows duplicate. Almost like two windows. Everything boots up fine, just shows double. And resolution reduces, so barely can read.

 

[mickey megabyte]

very strange...sorry i've got no idea.

hopefully somebody else will be along soon with a suggestion.

 

[Lordbob75]

Obviously a graphics card problem, but I have never heard of this before. Could be incompatible driver update, some program you installed, or something else.

~Lordbob

 

[Hopalong X]

Right click on the desktop and select properties. Go to the settings tab and see how many monitors are enabled. I'm willing to bet that you will have two stacked on top of each other. To disable the top monitor, select it in the window and uncheck the box "Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor".

"You sir, are a great man. That worked like a charm. Thanks a lot."

This fellow had one on top of the other but sounded similar otherwise. He did have two monitors in properties when he should have had one.

Mike

 

[Watkinspi]

Thanks for the idea. I checked it. only 1 monitor listed. But that could be because I restored. If it does it again, I will check that first.

 

[mickey megabyte]

great idea, hoppy.

i would never have thought of that in a million years, and i use dual monitors most days...

 

[Hopalong X]

I found it with Google after about 15 minutes of searching. It was the only thing I found.
Every other article is how to make it do it on purpose!!! :shock: :banghead:
Go figure!

Mike

 

[Kari]

Thanks for the idea. I checked it. only 1 monitor listed. But that could be because I restored. If it does it again, I will check that first.

Speaking for Hopalongs suggestion is also that you mentioned Dell support could remotely fix your issue. If it were a faulty GPU, there's nothing they could do remotely.

 

[SledgeDG]

too bad we don't have a screen shot. It almost sounds like the screen isn't centered correctly. I remember from old CRT monitors if you go too far with the left-right adjust button, the screen kind of flips over and shows said behavior in some parts.
So my approach would be playing with the video drivers screen settings

-DG

 

[A Guy]

Next time it happens, press the menu button on your monitor. See if the menu looks normal or has the same issue. If it is normal, it's not a monitor problem. If, however, the menu is also split, you have a hardware issue. A Guy

 

[mickey megabyte]

it's a laptop, A Guy...

 

[A Guy]

it's a laptop, A Guy...

DOH! :shock:

Then if a 2nd monitor is available, see if the problem displays on the 2nd monitor. I know this is an intermittent problem, and this will be much more difficult to diagnose as it is a laptop as well.

A Guy

 

[Watkinspi]

problem is back. I checked graphics properties and it shows "Notebook - single display". My screen resolution shows my display is a "Digital Flat Panel"

I am not a tech person at all, so I apologize in advance for my questions: I did a system Restore and it fixed the problem at the time. Now the problem is back. What does this indicate? Bad hardware, i.e. graphics card? Software glitch? Driver problem?

 

[Hopalong X]

Get a screen shot and post it next time please. It might help some of the guys.

You can try reinstalling/updating the video driver. A couple of guys already suggested this but it is a guess.

I haven't found anything new to help but what I posted earlier and you already found didn't help.

Sorry I'm a bit useless on this one.
Mike

 

[Watkinspi]

How do I post a screen shot?

 

[A Guy]

How do I post a screen shot?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/9733-screenshots-files-upload-post-seven-forums.html

Do you know how to make a screenshot?

A Guy