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General discussion

Pages not rendering correctly in Windows Vista...

Feb 7, 2007 12:17AM PST

HP Pavilion a1748x
AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core Processor 3800+
Windows Vista Home Premium

With the above system pages have dropped the green background from the current post being read... also in the left sidebar when selecting a forum in Win XP it had a green background. In viewing a thread the green unread icon does not change to grey color until moving to the next post. Without the green background and change of icon color immediately it's very hard to determine where you are, especially in a long thread with many posts.

Reporting my observation as a new user of Vista. Confused

Glenn

Discussion is locked

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Sample...
Feb 7, 2007 12:31AM PST
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Is this happening to others using Vista operating systems?
Feb 9, 2007 4:59AM PST

Windows Vista

Still not receiving the green background in post being read nor in the thread itself... neither is green background being shown in the left sidebar when a particular forum is moused over.

Would like to hear if others are having this issue. It's hard to keep track of one's location in the review without the coloration. Sad

Glenn

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Somewhat...
Feb 9, 2007 5:17AM PST

The message marking icon part has happened to me on a fairly regular basis, alternating between instantly turning grey and waiting until a few page loads later. I attributed it to the ongoing message marking problems we've been having and have been ignoring it whenever possible.

The rest has only happened to me a couple times, which turned out to be a result of the page not loading fully when it hung on a third-party advertising server. Adjusting my ad blockers and HOSTS file seemed to do the trick, something I needed to update anyway. For me it has not been OS specific, though, with both my XP and Vista installations experiencing similar occurrances.

Are you experiencing this perpetually or just intermittently?

John

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(NT) John, this has been consistently so with me.
Feb 9, 2007 6:47AM PST
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Bump... is anyone else having...
Feb 16, 2007 2:34AM PST

this problem using Windows Vista and 64-bit processor. I simply cannot keep track without the light green background.

Any chance of a fix for this?

Glenn

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Glenn not too sure I see what you mean
Feb 16, 2007 3:01AM PST

The light green background is there, it shows it in screen shot. Are you not seeing it?

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Lee...
Feb 16, 2007 6:04AM PST

That's it exactly... I see no light green background which makes is very difficult to navigate and know where you are especially in a long thread. This first happened when I got a new system that has Vista 64-bit. My old XP system still performs correctly but it will soon be gone.

If this is only happening in Vista, I hope something can be done to correct the problem.

Thanks,

Glenn

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Maybe I am not being clear...
Feb 16, 2007 6:12AM PST

Lee, its the background green that appears in the current message being read at the top of the screen and also background on that item in the thread. My example above did not have that background green showing. If its still unclear, send me an e-mail.

Thanks!

Glenn

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In your screenshot...
Feb 16, 2007 9:30AM PST

There have been a couple occasions where it did not load properly for me, but in your screenshot the green 'background' is there. Try clicking the link to load your screenshot and see if you can see the green background...it may be a problem with your monitor not displaying colors properly.

John

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Thanks John...
Feb 16, 2007 10:32PM PST

Are you telling me your view of my screen shot has a light green background in your comments at the top of that thread. That is plain white when I view the actual thread and the screen shot. I cannot understand why that screen shot does not appear as I uploaded it on ImageShack. Confused

My system is new HP Pavilion with HP 19" Flat Panel Monitor. I have looked and tinkered with the screen colors as you suggested but see no change. To the best of my knowledge I am having no problems with color on any other sites visited. I simply don't understand it!

My screen is all white except for the read status circles at the beginning of each posted thread. This being true I have a devil of time moving around and knowing where I am in a thread.

This is stranger than fiction. Wink Sure hope a solution can be found as it's driving me crazy.

Glenn

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You've got that right...
Feb 17, 2007 1:00PM PST

This certainly is a strange one. When I view your screenshot, uploaded to ImageShack, I do indeed see the green 'hilighting.' Your browser and computer are obviously loading the site properly since the screenshot looks fine on my end, so it's definitely a display issue. The only other thing I can suggest is updating the drivers for your graphics card and see if that corrects it. According to your computer's specs you have a GeForce 6150 LE graphics chip, so you'd want this driver for Vista x64. Hopefully you'll be seeing green instead of red. Wink

John

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Ahhh... thanks John!
Feb 20, 2007 1:02AM PST

I have been away a few days and just viewed your comments. Thanks for being very specific... you may very well have found my problem. Give me some time since that is a huge download... I am presently using dial-up.

May wait for a visit from my brother... with high speed he can download much faster. Thanks again I really appreciate all you did! Will let you know the results in time. Grin

Glenn

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John... am in trouble big time with this Nvidia driver
Feb 20, 2007 10:37AM PST

There is a problem installing the driver and do I ever need help! Since this is not the proper forum you can instruct me whether to move the issue to another forum.

This is a quick overall of the situation:

1. Followed Nvidia's instructions not using "Download Accelerator"
2. Disabled virus protection and other running programs.
3. Before installing new drivers uninstalled "NVIDIA Display Drivers" in Control Panel.

Definitely downloaded correct 97.46 Nvidia driver for Vista X64. It started to install but would not complete the process stating it was being installed on a non-64-bit system... which of course is not correct.

Nothing to do but reboot... then three (3) RunDll popup error windows came in succession on the same screen as follows.

1. Error loading C:\Windows\System32\NvCpl.dll
2. Error loading C:\Windows\System32\Nvsvc.dll
3. Error loading C:\Windows\System32\NvMcTray.dll

All three noted "The specified module could not be found". After clicking off the error windows the reboot continues normally.

I am a little bewildered and don't know what to do. It appears something was removed in the uninstall of the old driver that should have remained. Problem is how to get the above back. I am very confident this procedure was performed exactly in accordance with Nvidia instructions. It would appear I now have no Nvidia drivers installed. Need your help and recommendations in sorting the issue. I think we did nothing wrong... so either Nvida gave bad directions or Vista somehow threw in a monkey wrench. Sad If there is a way to recover or secure the above missing dll's the install might work but cannot be sure that is all that's missing. If needed I can be reached via e-mail through my CNet profile.

Thanks!

Glenn

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Ouch!
Feb 20, 2007 1:01PM PST

Honestly, either one could be at fault. The 64-bit version of Vista is overzealous concerning the rejection of third-part drivers due to compatibility and signature validation concerns, so it could be the culprit. Equally likely, however, is the driver itself, for Nvidia has been plagued with compatibility issues in their Vista-compatible drivers the past few months, resulting in a major compaign designed to overcome the current performance and stability bugs. My suggestion would be to perform a System Restore, reverting you back to the original drivers, and then giving it another shot. If it fails once again, perform another System Restore and then contact Nvidia technical support to report the problem...if it's not already a known issue on the list waiting to be addressed I'm sure they would like to know the details of it.

Best of luck.
John


P.S. Since the thread's already rolling we can just continue it here if you like...it doesn't really matter to me. On the other hand, if you don't like the sound of my typing you can ask for others to join in the conversation in the Vista forum. Happy

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Thanks for suggestions...
Feb 20, 2007 11:07PM PST

I will try the System Restore soon but have fingers crossed that it will work as designed... hope its not another issue. Will let you know how it goes!

Thanks again.

Glenn

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John, I think System Restore worked...
Feb 21, 2007 12:25AM PST

At least "NVIDIA Drivers" is back in the programs list. Am unable at the moment to find the actual driver description to check the date.

When I calm down a bit, it may be that I'll try another download of the new dll to try again. Right now I need a sedative and to recuperate. Wink

Thanks for your help!

Glenn

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Update and final solution... I think!
Feb 21, 2007 2:23AM PST

Restore is fine and back to pre-install of the wrong driver. The problem was caused by ignorance on my part and confusion as to my system.

I have a 64-bit processor but as I just discovered by accident by poking around the Vista operating system is actually 32-bit. Sure makes a difference! Wink I am downloading the 32-bit as I write and may get the nerve to try it soon. Sure would like to get the light green background in the forums as it is on XP.

Thanks for your help. Am very sorry for all this confusion when I should have known better.

Have a great day! Grin

Glenn

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I believe.......
Feb 21, 2007 3:47AM PST

it is designed that way to confuse us!

Sorry to intrude, I was reading with interest, then horror when I read your post about installing the new driver. I have never updated any of my drivers on this 4 year old Dell. The very thought frightens me to death. Happy

But about 32 bit and 64 bit, I am positive computer makers, software designers, and chip makers do this on purpose. I'm sure I would have fallen into the same trap as you, and downloaded a 64 bit driver for a 64 bit OS when I should have downloaded a 32 bit driver for a 32 bit OS. Or vice versa.

Thanks for doing all the hard work for me. I'm learning, and its much appreciated, Devil

Mark

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Welcome in Mark
Feb 21, 2007 7:58AM PST

I suppose the most important thing to come out of this is we learned some things. Hopefully this experience will help someone with the same problem. What started as a solution to improperly rendering of CNet forum pages turned into some wild ride. Although cautious by nature I still failed to pick up on the 64 and 32-bit operating system difference when the processor was 64-bit.

Still I keep coming back for more... downloaded the correct Nvidia driver this afternoon and will try once again. Be ready to come pick me up! Wink Hopefully something good will come of this and the CNet pages will render correctly. I think you are right that it is designed that way to confuse us! Keep your fingers crossed, mate!

Glenn

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Ahhh.. AT LAST! Pages are rendering correctly...
Nov 25, 2007 8:11AM PST

after months since February 2007 wading through threads somewhat in the dark. Now I am seeing all posts contents in a thread with a "light green" background as well as the individual link being viewed that is also highlighted with the light green background.

This only corrected this afternoon and reverted once to no background color but is now back up as I write. This has to be forum software related and affected Vista... never was an issue with XP.

Reporting this if anyone else had the problem running Vista.

Glenn

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Update... this improvement is not holding :(
Nov 30, 2007 8:26AM PST

Sometimes the nice light green is seen and sometimes it is not. Changes about every day. Today it was all white and no green... this afternoon it began rendering correctly.

This happens without rhyme or reason and just suddenly changes. I miss the nice appearance when not viewing the thread as designed. Makes browsing the forums more difficult.

I felt it necessary to clear up my original euphoria!

Glenn

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Update and the latest with this issue...
Jan 28, 2008 9:53AM PST

As previously reported the light green background in thread links does not show making it difficult to know where one is in the thread.

Just recently I am finding the color rendering correctly after the computer AWAKENS FROM HIBERNATION. Have observed this for days and it is always consistent in responding this way.

I am using:
Vista Ultimate
Firefox 2.0.0.11
HP Pavilion a1748a System

Anyone have any ideas why this occurs only after hibernation? This is annoying and inconvenient since mostly I visit the forums before the computer hibernates; therefore, I never get to view the pages in color as designed. Am also curious if other users of Vista Ultimate have this same issue and especially those with HP machines.

Glenn

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Won't guess about hibernation, but ...
Feb 1, 2008 2:51AM PST

I expect you are running with 24 True Color color palette. See what happens if you reduce it to 16 bit High Color.

On second thought I guess I will guess about hibernate -
Does your system event log show any errors?
\Start\Control Panel\System and Maintenance\AdministrativeTools\Event Viewer

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This is solved... at last and finally...
Feb 21, 2008 8:37AM PST

Recently installed an ATI Video card replacing the factory supplied low end card and all is well. Such a simple matter to take over a year to find the cause... just another example of cheap and inferior hardware being installed in factory made units.

For whatever it's worth Hewlett-Packard did this in a HP Pavilion Desktop Model a1748x that was produced late 1976 or early 1977. Anyone else having this problem may want to look into the issue from a hardware standpoint.

Thanks to all.

Glenn

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Thanks, wish I had read your solution...
Feb 23, 2008 9:03AM PST

earlier. Now the issue is moot since the upgraded video card has solved the problem. Perhaps your advice will assist others experiencing issues such as this. Grin

Glenn