Unreadable Characters Associated Sometimes With Video Blackout


S

StevePen0691

Active member
Local time
12:45 PM
Posts
6
OS
Ver 23H2 (OS Build 22631.2792)
This has all the classic signs of a video driver needing updating.

I can go for days without this happening, but there will be probably a temporary black screen, maybe coming back on its own, maybe coming back after a Ctrl+Alt+Del + cancel.

The characters on the taskbar and browser chrome will be "hatched" or "jagged", basically unreadable. Some other apps don't show this. Today, the readability of characters was actually alternating from readable to unreadable.

Recently it's been happening more frequently. Trying to think what might have changed. One thing is having external USB HDD now constantly attached (used for occasional backup), so I have disconnected to see if that's making it happen more often

The cure/workaround is a simple machine restart. The real cure will be if there is a driver issue.

  • Updates up-to-date
  • sfc /scannow run -- no issues
  • security: Windows Security scan results attached. Malwarebytes scan also shows no malware
  • Event Viewer: looked at various logs for any errors and hardware events and saw nothing: perhaps there is something I need to specifically look for
  • Executed Get-WindowsDriver -Online (using PowerShell 7.3, which I use for web dev build scripts). Output saved to attached text file. There are 3 with Class Name "Display" but not sure if the version numbers shown are up-to-date. In the past (pre-Win 10) the user had to make the extra effort to ensure device/HW driver up-to-date, but I'm assuming Win 11 does this much better.

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Windows Build/Version
Version 22H2 (OS Build 22621.819)

Attachments

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Ver 23H2 (OS Build 22631.2792)Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G1 CPU @ 1.00GHz 1.1...12 GBNVIDIA GeForce MX130
OS
Ver 23H2 (OS Build 22631.2792)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Acer C27-962
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G1 CPU @ 1.00GHz 1.19 GHz
Motherboard
Acer Aspire C27-962(NV8) v 1.0
Memory
12 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce MX130
Sound Card
RealTek Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Intel UHD Graphics
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 (68 Hz)
Hard Drives
Kingston (RBUSNS8154P3512GJ1) 512 GB
Keyboard
Acer KBRFCR
Mouse
Acer MORFLDO
Internet Speed
75 Mbps
Browser
mostly Google Chrome, had been Edge Chromium
Antivirus
Winsys + Malwarebytes
Other Info
Intel Wireless-AC 9462
StevePen0691 said:
In the past (pre-Win 10) the user had to make the extra effort to ensure device/HW driver up-to-date, but I'm assuming Win 11 does this much better.
Click to expand...
Sounds like it's your display driver. OEMs such as Intel submit drivers (including BIOS updates) to Microsoft who in turn, once they have tested and approved them, will offer them through Windows Update. These will appear in the Optional updates section, have a look there for for those Display drivers.

1669203909872.png
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
Yeah, I should have mentioned that I was aware of Advanced Options > Optional Updates where those drivers are. I looked at that some time ago, found there were hardware and other drivers, installed them.

Just checked them and it says there are no updates at this time.

Thanks.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Ver 23H2 (OS Build 22631.2792)Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G1 CPU @ 1.00GHz 1.1...12 GBNVIDIA GeForce MX130
OS
Ver 23H2 (OS Build 22631.2792)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
Acer C27-962
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1035G1 CPU @ 1.00GHz 1.19 GHz
Motherboard
Acer Aspire C27-962(NV8) v 1.0
Memory
12 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce MX130
Sound Card
RealTek Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Intel UHD Graphics
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 (68 Hz)
Hard Drives
Kingston (RBUSNS8154P3512GJ1) 512 GB
Keyboard
Acer KBRFCR
Mouse
Acer MORFLDO
Internet Speed
75 Mbps
Browser
mostly Google Chrome, had been Edge Chromium
Antivirus
Winsys + Malwarebytes
Other Info
Intel Wireless-AC 9462
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