Black Border Around Display

[DemonDragonJ]

Yesterday, I installed an AMD Radeon HD 6850 video card in my computer, to replace the Radeon HD 4870 video card that it had previously (and, during the time between my old card failing and the new one being delivered from Amazon.com, I used my motherboard's onboard Radeon HD 3300 video chipset), and while the video card functions perfectly well thus far, there has been one minor occurrence that I do not like.

When I installed the new video card, I connected my monitor to it using the same DVI cable that I had been using since I assembled the computer, but I then switched to using an HDMI cable that I had purchased in the same order as the video card, and while the monitor still displayed its recommended (and maximum) resolution of 1,920 X 1,080 pixels, the image was overall smaller, with a 1-inch black border around the screen, similar to the letterboxing that is often seen when playing a widescreen film on a fullscreen display, so I reverted to the DVI input, and the monitor did not have this problem.

I find this phenomenon to be very annoying, but I am not certain what may be causing it, so does anyone here have any advice on the situation? Thank you very much.

[Fuganater]

Tell your monitor to auto adjust. See if that fixes it.

[xr4man]

that's a very easy thing to fix. and i think it's pretty common with the higher end radeon cards.

all you have to do is go into the catalyst control center and find the setting to scale the display. i think i had to move mine up only 1 or 2 points for it to fill the screen.

i don't remember what subheading the display scaler was under, but i know it wasn't hard to find.

[DemonDragonJ]

that's a very easy thing to fix. and i think it's pretty common with the higher end radeon cards.

all you have to do is go into the catalyst control center and find the setting to scale the display. i think i had to move mine up only 1 or 2 points for it to fill the screen.

i don't remember what subheading the display scaler was under, but i know it wasn't hard to find.

That would be great news for me, except that, for some bizarre reason, Catalyst Control Center will not open on my computer. When I first installed the program and drivers for my video card, it worked perfectly, but, then, after my first update of the drivers and other software, it stopped working. Now, whenever I attempt to open the program, nothing at all happens, no matter what method I use to open the file and even after I uninstall and then reinstall the software, so do you have any suggestions concerning how I can finally get Catalyst Control Center to work again on my machine?

In the case that knowing my computer's specifications would be helpful, here they are:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0 gigahertz
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit version
Motherboard: ASUSM4A78T-E with AMD 790GX chipset
Memory: 2 X 2 gigabytes DDR3, 1,600 megahertz (although I am currently running it at only 1,333 megahertz)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black, 7,200 RPM, 500 gigabytes
Video Card: AMD Radeon HD 6850, 1 gigabyte GDDR5
Monitor: ASUS VH242H, 1,920 X 1,080 resolution

[diluzio91]

hmm... thats really odd, use drive sweeper to remove the drivers, and then reinstall them off of a fresh download, when they are installed just open CCC and type in "overscan" into the search bar, adjust the slider that results from the search until you're good.

[xr4man]

yeah do what diluzio said. mine just worked out of the box and i haven't felt the need to update the ccc.

[DemonDragonJ]

What makes this situation even more unusual, and annoying, is that another computer in my house can run Catalyst Control Center with no problems at all, even after I updated the program multiple times. I am not at all pleased by that, as that other computer is only a secondary computer in my household, while my primary computer is the one on which CCC will not work.


hmm... thats really odd, use drive sweeper to remove the drivers, and then reinstall them off of a fresh download, when they are installed just open CCC and type in "overscan" into the search bar, adjust the slider that results from the search until you're good.

Why would I need to uninstall the drivers, when it is only the utility program that will not work? Are you absolutely certain that that solution shall work? I have tired similar solutions before, and they have not worked, so I wish to be absolutely certain before I implement another solution.

[diluzio91]

Why would I need to uninstall the drivers, when it is only the utility program that will not work? Are you absolutely certain that that solution shall work? I have tired similar solutions before, and they have not worked, so I wish to be absolutely certain before I implement another solution.

The drivers are very intimately tied in with CCC. By removing everything (if you do it right you should restart into one monitor with 800x600 resolution) and starting fresh you remove any possibility of a wrench in the works. Coming from a guy who actually finds it easier (on my own machine) to just do a fresh install of windows and use a batch file rather than trouble shoot, Removing the problem program and re-installing it fixes the issue 99.99% of the time.

Side note: a re-install takes me approximately 1 hour... trouble shooting takes me a lot longer. The reason for this is a batch file that installs all my programs in the correct locations, and the fact that the only thing on my c drive is starcraft 2, and windows, everything else is farmed out onto 1 of the 3 mechanical drives in my system.

[DemonDragonJ]

The drivers are very intimately tied in with CCC. By removing everything (if you do it right you should restart into one monitor with 800x600 resolution) and starting fresh you remove any possibility of a wrench in the works. Coming from a guy who actually finds it easier (on my own machine) to just do a fresh install of windows and use a batch file rather than trouble shoot, Removing the problem program and re-installing it fixes the issue 99.99% of the time.

Side note: a re-install takes me approximately 1 hour... trouble shooting takes me a lot longer. The reason for this is a batch file that installs all my programs in the correct locations, and the fact that the only thing on my c drive is starcraft 2, and windows, everything else is farmed out onto 1 of the 3 mechanical drives in my system.

Re-installing Windows on my computer is definitely not a viable option for me, currently, as doing so would be far too tedious and aggravating a task, especially because I also would need to re-install every single program that I have installed on my computer currently and then adjust all of its settings to match my personal preferences. The most convenient option for me in this situation would be to continue to use my monitor's DVI connection and not bother with using the HDMI connection, but I do wish to use it, and this situation shall be an excellent opportunity to practice troubleshooting a problem with a computer, as I plan to make a full-time career of working with computers.

This page here (http://www.hardwareheaven.com/mobility-radeon-drivers-support/186707-problems-installing-catalyst-control-center.html) advises users to delete public key tokens from the Assembly folder after uninstalling Catalyst Control Center, which I plan to do. Do you know if that solution shall work, before I attempt it myself?

[mDust]

This page here (http://www.hardwareheaven.com/mobility-radeon-drivers-support/186707-problems-installing-catalyst-control-center.html) advises users to delete public key tokens from the Assembly folder after uninstalling Catalyst Control Center, which I plan to do. Do you know if that solution shall work, before I attempt it myself?

You linked to an unanswered post. Who knows if that ever worked for him...

I would uninstall the video driver for the MB...and all other video drivers that might still be installed. Remove CCC. Install and run CCleaner (http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download), specifically the registry cleaner. *Don't forget to backup the registry before doing so. It should prompt you.* Download the latest driver and CCC setup from here (http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/radeonaiw_vista64.aspx?type=2.4.1&product=2.4.1.3.48&lang=us&rev=&ostype=Windows%207%20-%2064-Bit%20Edition). Install them and let us know if it's working. Then play some games.

By the way, DVI (I forget which flavor specifically) and HDMI are the same digital signal...just different connectors. So if you can't get it to work for whatever reason, no big deal, just keep the DVI and buy a new HDTV for that unused HDMI cable...no sense in letting it go to waste!

[DemonDragonJ]

I would uninstall the video driver for the MB...and all other video drivers that might still be installed. Remove CCC. Install and run CCleaner (http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download), specifically the registry cleaner. *Don't forget to backup the registry before doing so. It should prompt you.* Download the latest driver and CCC setup from here (http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/radeonaiw_vista64.aspx?type=2.4.1&product=2.4.1.3.48&lang=us&rev=&ostype=Windows%207%20-%2064-Bit%20Edition). Install them and let us know if it's working. Then play some games.

To be certain, I can uninstall the drivers through the Device Manager, can I not? I noticed that when I removed my old video card from my computer, the motherboard's video chipset appeared as a device, despite having never been present prior to that, and after I installed my new video card, the onboard video again disappeared, so I hope that locating and removing the drivers for the old video card and the motherboard's integrated video shall not be too difficult of a task. I am familiar with CCleaner, and use it on a regular basis on my computer to keep it free of unnecessary files and registry entries, so using it shall likely be one of the least difficult stages of this entire process.

Also, would it be best to perform this operation in Windows safe mode, so that no unnecessary programs are loaded and the drivers that I need to remove are not being used? Finally, as a side note, if I were to upgrade my sound card, should I remove the drivers for the old sound card before installing the new sound card, as I shall do with my video card?


By the way, DVI (I forget which flavor specifically) and HDMI are the same digital signal...just different connectors. So if you can't get it to work for whatever reason, no big deal, just keep the DVI and buy a new HDTV for that unused HDMI cable...no sense in letting it go to waste!

Yes, that is true, but the connectors on DVI cable that I have are bulky in size and a shade of white that I find to be unattractive (an off-white, not a pure white, which I would not find to be unattractive), while the connectors on the HDMI cable are sleek, smooth, and black and red in color, which I find to be far more aesthetically appealing. Plus, I wish to support this new connection standard, to help it become more widely adopted.

Now, as one final question, what may have caused Catalyst Control Center to stop functioning originally? I wish to avoid causing the problem to occur again, if I need to re-install Windows when I upgrade to a different motherboard and processor in the future.

[mDust]

... I hope that locating and removing the drivers for the old video card and the motherboard's integrated video shall not be too difficult of a task. I am familiar with CCleaner, and use it on a regular basis on my computer to keep it free of unnecessary files and registry entries, so using it shall likely be one of the least difficult stages of this entire process.
Use Driver Sweeper to remove unnecessary drivers and CCleaner to remove registry trash. They're both very simple tasks.


Also, would it be best to perform this operation in Windows safe mode, so that no unnecessary programs are loaded and the drivers that I need to remove are not being used?
Yes, that is a good idea.


Finally, as a side note, if I were to upgrade my sound card, should I remove the drivers for the old sound card before installing the new sound card, as I shall do with my video card?
Yes. It's not as much of a concern as it was in the days of yore, but it's still a good idea to remove unnecessary drivers to keep potential conflicts to a minimum. A couple years ago I had some outdated video drivers that somehow screwed up when I installed the new one over it...I had no onboard video and thus no video at all. It wasn't fun.

Now, as one final question, what may have caused Catalyst Control Center to stop functioning originally? I wish to avoid causing the problem to occur again, if I need to re-install Windows when I upgrade to a different motherboard and processor in the future.Who knows... AMD/ATI and nVidia are notorious for bad drivers and support software. They don't have any other competition so they can get away with releasing lousy drivers and patches. When it breaks, just uninstall it and get the latest version...or the last known working version.:rolleyes: If that doesn't work, you'll have to google for a solution.

[Puromaani]

Had to register in order to help.

When I reinstalled my windows, at first the Catalyst Control Center would not open up. After installing latest .NET it began working again. So maybe you should check that you have the latest .NET installed.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa496123

About the black border. Go to Catalyst Control Center, "My Digital Flat-Panels", scaling options. Adjust the overscan parameter so that the black border disappears and hit apply.
Overscan is some old thing that comes from how CRT displays used to work.