Windows 7 Desktop Artifacts

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Crispy002

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Sep 3, 2008
Messages
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I seem to be randomly getting some odd artifacts on the rotating backgrounds of windows 7 and occasionally some of the menus. The band seems to blend several of my backgrounds and sometimes have a gadget thrown in the mix as well. Very rarely the actual menu bars and windows are effected. This seems to occur randomly and is usually fixed by a restart. I've updated the drivers a few times, switched graphics cards, and reinstalled the OS. I have NEVER had this issue in the bios or in any games so I'm fairly confident this is a windows problem. There are no artifacts detected using ATI's utility. What do you guys think?
artifacts.jpg
 
GJSNeptune said:
Link to wallpaper? :D
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This is a half compliment--the wallpaper in my first post was the result of extensive modifications to an existing wallpaper (black and white color scheme) using photoshop. I do not have the link to the original artwork nor can I identify the artist. Needless to say, I like my version better :D

Find me some answers on this and I'll see about sending it your way ;)
 
That's not fair!

Tried a different monitor? When you fix it by restarting, did you get the artifacts after a cold boot?
 
GJSNeptune said:
That's not fair!

Tried a different monitor? When you fix it by restarting, did you get the artifacts after a cold boot?
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Haven't tried a different monitor. I don't think it could be the monitor either since the monitor doesn't store images.

As to restarting, I haven't had the artifacts frequently enough to test that out. About 90% of the time a restart (not cold boot) fixes it.
 
Probably not the issue if you're getting it with different video cards but how's the airflow in your case? Are the cards running cool enough?

Maybe the PCI-E slot on your motherboard is just a tad off? Though that'd be hard to troubleshoot.
 
Crispy002 said:
Haven't tried a different monitor. I don't think it could be the monitor either since the monitor doesn't store images.
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You'd be surprised. I won't get into what I experience with my monitor.

Crispy002 said:
As to restarting, I haven't had the artifacts frequently enough to test that out. About 90% of the time a restart (not cold boot) fixes it.
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Er, no. What I meant to ask is when you get the artifacts. If you have them after a cold boot, and restarting "fixes" it, it could very well be the monitor. If you have another you can use, I'd use it for a few days to see if they happen.
 
Interesting. The anomalies are clearly intrusions of other images. There may be a crack in space-time where your computer is located. Have you tried the computer in another room?

Windows 7 draws the background image from data in a certain file. I forget the name of the file, but it holds multiple images, including maybe the clock gadget image. There is probably a lack of error checking, so corrupted data in this file would be dutifully written to your screen without any complaints from Windows. For some reason, this file is being corrupted.

When you reinstalled Windows, did you reinstall any software that has anything to do with managing or tweaking Windows' visuals or icons?
 
Siegfried262 said:
Probably not the issue if you're getting it with different video cards but how's the airflow in your case? Are the cards running cool enough?

Maybe the PCI-E slot on your motherboard is just a tad off? Though that'd be hard to troubleshoot.
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Idling at desktop it's hitting 42C which is about normal for a 5870. I'll see about changing slots if I can get it to happen again.
GJSNeptune said:
You'd be surprised. I won't get into what I experience with my monitor.
......
Er, no. What I meant to ask is when you get the artifacts. If you have them after a cold boot, and restarting "fixes" it, it could very well be the monitor. If you have another you can use, I'd use it for a few days to see if they happen.
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Yes I do get them from cold boot sometimes (only within windows though, not once in the BIOS), and yes, restarting usually fixes it but not always. I've never had an issue with any fullscreen application. The artifact band moves if I switch to the next background, and the artifacts on the clock/start menu will flicker and sometimes disappear on mouseover.
Stone Cold said:
Interesting. The anomalies are clearly intrusions of other images. There may be a crack in space-time where your computer is located. Have you tried the computer in another room?

Windows 7 draws the background image from data in a certain file. I forget the name of the file, but it holds multiple images, including maybe the clock gadget image. There is probably a lack of error checking, so corrupted data in this file would be dutifully written to your screen without any complaints from Windows. For some reason, this file is being corrupted.

When you reinstalled Windows, did you reinstall any software that has anything to do with managing or tweaking Windows' visuals or icons?
Click to expand...
I'll look into this, former overclocking attempts may have corrupted tidbits of the file. All of my visual settings have been adjusted directly through windows and not through a 3rd party program. I do have a program that is capable of this, but I don't use that particular feature.

I have also switched antivirus's today to see if there could be some conflict there.
 
Please share a dxdiag.txt and dispdiag file (run dispdiag from command line and share the resulting .dat file)
 
Have you tried changing back to stock clocks? Your sig has your rig as OC'd...
 
nessus said:
Have you tried changing back to stock clocks? Your sig has your rig as OC'd...
Click to expand...

I should've mentioned that in the OP. I've had the problem occur both at stock and overclocked settings, with no appreciable difference in frequency between either setting.

The 5870 is at stock clocks as well.
 
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