Display has changed since Windows Tech Support

[PLZuchowski]

I had been having problems with my MS Word documents visibly shaking, going blurry, screen going temporarily black and hashmarks in my cursor for quite some time.  So, on August 27, I contacted Microsoft Tech Support.  The gentleman who was helping me did something to my display settings (I don't know what!), and now all of my text on my laptop is "messed up".  It's, like, the wrong font, it's faded out and too light, the bold letters look like they have hash marks in them - it almost looks like an old typewriter when the ribbon needed changed, or when your printer is out of alignment or needs new ink.  I went into my display settings, but there is no reset button in there.  So, I went back on MS Tech Support, and they tried reinstalling my Windows 11 AGAIN (for the second time that day!)  But, no matter what they did, they were unable to fix the problem :(((  I love my HP laptop, and I don't want to have to buy a new one, but I am going blind trying to read anything on my PC, including labels, text, online - even this page!  Please, please, please, can you help me get back to my factory settings or the way they were before 2 days ago?!?  MS said they were at the end of their rope, and I would have to contact the manufacturer or take my PC to the repair shop.  But, I'm telling you, my display was FINE before Tuesday when I got MS Tech Support - except for the problem with MS Word shaking.

[Raj_05]

Hi @PLZuchowski,

Welcome to HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.

It sounds like the display settings on your HP Notebook 15 might have been adjusted in a way that's affecting the text rendering, and reinstalling Windows hasn't helped restore them. There are several things we can try to correct the display and text appearance issues, and help you get your laptop back to a comfortable state.

Steps to Correct Display and Font Issues.

Check Display Resolution Settings:

• Go to Settings > System > Display.
• Make sure the Display resolution is set to the recommended value (usually 1920x1080 for full HD screens, but check what is recommended for your model).
• Check the Scale setting (e.g., 100%, 125%, or 150%) and try adjusting it to see if it improves the text clarity.

ClearType Text Tuning:

• Windows has a built-in feature called ClearType that can help sharpen and improve the appearance of text.
• Go to Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Fonts > Adjust ClearType Text.
• Follow the steps to tune your text display for better readability. This might resolve the issue with faded, thin text.

Reset Graphics Driver Settings:

• Sometimes, a misconfiguration in the graphics settings can cause display issues.
• Right-click on the desktop and select Graphics Properties or Display settings (depending on your graphics card manufacturer, it might be Intel, NVIDIA, or AMD).
• Look for an option to reset the graphics settings to default or recommended settings.

Update or Reinstall Graphics Drivers:

• Update your graphics drivers: Go to Device Manager > Display adapters. Right-click on the graphics adapter (Intel/NVIDIA/AMD) and choose Update driver.
• You can also visit HP’s support website, search for your laptop model, and download the latest graphics driver directly from HP.

Change Advanced Display Settings:

• Go to Settings > System > Display, and scroll down to Advanced display settings.
• Ensure that the Refresh rate is set to a recommended value (usually 60 Hz for most laptops).

Reset Display Settings:

• If none of the above steps work, you can try to Reset this PC under Settings > System > Recovery > Reset this PC. Select the option to Keep my files but restore all settings to factory defaults.

Adjust Fonts Settings:

• Go to Control Panel > Fonts > Font Settings, and click on Restore default font settings.

Note:

• Windows Font Smoothing: Go to Settings > Ease of Access > Display and make sure that the "Make text easier to read" setting is turned on for smoother fonts.
• External Monitor Test: If you have access to an external monitor, try connecting your laptop to it to see if the issue persists. This will help determine if the problem is with your display or the graphics settings.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

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Alden4

HP Support