Display anomalies in Windows 10 v.1803

[NBurg3]

[Microsoft MVP asking on behalf of a number of users]

After upgrading to Windows 10 v.1803, some users of Windows Live Mail are seeing strange display artefacts. Here is an example showing a modal dialogue where the window contents are reflected across a NE-SW diagonal:

Some of the affected users have responded with a few details of their environment. They are using different makes and models of computer, different builds of Windows 10, different versions of Windows Live Mail and different display adapters. However, the display adapters are all various varieties of Intel integrated graphics and they all have driver v. 8.15.10.2697 01/10/2012 installed. The few details I have managed to collate so far are shown here: https://1drv.ms/x/s!Aofky0_NNFsnlY0VKx5M92CIF3iVkw https://1drv.ms/x/s!Aofky0_NNFsnlY0VKx5M92CIF3iVkw

8.15.10.2697

Do Intel have any suggestions for mitigation? Windows Live Mail - a legacy Win32 application - is rendered useless for these users, who all rely on it for their email management and other functions.

STOP PRESS: I've just received notification that the same reflection artefact occurs in PowerPoint for one user. I'll try and get further details ...

[NBurg3]

I was disappointed not to have had a single response to this enquiry. I would have thought that such a weird fault would have elicited a bit more interest. Never mind.

A bright contributor - https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/profile/5a28966a-b91d-48cd-b032-4904c58c92d0 drummachine - at the Microsoft Community site came up with an unorthodox but effective solution for users affected by this fault. These are ones using older Intel integrated graphics with driver 8.15.10.2697. The solution is to obtain a copy of the previous version of the library called d3d10level9.dll and place it in the same folder as the affected program's executable. For Windows Live Mail, this would be the one called Windows Live\Mail in the program files directory. For PowerPoint, this would be the appropriate Microsoft Office directory within program files. At the time of writing, the required file was available for download here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjqRjvofA4OdbvIU0tRBKqMM9G0 d3d10level9.zip

I wonder whether anyone at Intel would care to comment on the fault or its remedy.

[AlHill]

Noel,

Look at the data you collected and then look way, way down this page under "legacy".

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005526/graphics-drivers.html Supported Operating Systems for Intel® Graphics Products

You will find that NONE of the graphics are supported and are 10 to 12 years old.

So, you want to know why there is an anomaly in a legacy 32-bit application that has long outlived its usefulness using graphics from chipsets that are 12 years old on a modern operating system using Microsoft's own generic driver? Think about it a bit.

Personally, I think you should be happy that it works at all.

Tell the users to upgrade their hardware to something that is supported on Windows 10.

Doc

[NBurg3]

Al, my field is email. I don't really know the first thing about graphics. I suspect that the users who have experienced this extraordinary phenomenon don't either, with the exception of the one who found the workaround. They were just surprised that something that had been working faultlessly suddenly stopped working after a Windows upgrade. I don't suppose that many of them are concerned about advanced graphics capabilities like those needed for 3D or gaming, for example - if they did, they wouldn't still be using outdated hardware. They just expect the programs they use to work.

I'm typing this on my workhorse machine - a bog-standard Toshiba laptop anno 2010, which soldiers on through update after update and upgrade after upgrade. No, I don't expect it to last for ever, but I hope I can be spared the expense of renewing it for a bit longer. If I took my 1973 Ford to the garage and told the mechanic that it wouldn't start, I wouldn't expect him simply to tell me to buy a Honda - which is analogous to your solution.

I'd rather hoped that someone in the Intel community would at least have some interest in this bizarre fault, regardless of the components involved. I'm sorry to be proved wrong. I'm full of admiration for the user who determined that it was a change in the Direct 3D 10 to Direct 3D 9 translator that caused the fault, and that reverting this change remedied it. I haven't a clue what Direct 3D is or why I need it.

Still, I'm grateful for your response.

[AlHill]

My response about upgrading the hardware is very important. Old hardware is not supported. Even Microsoft is abandoning old software at a furious pace. They are even abandoning old forums.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/feedback/forum/fdbk_news/product-support-forum-changes-on-microsoft/b1f5c5a4-7d66-4579-83bf-2b6ba599baaa Product support forum changes on Microsoft Community - Microsoft Community

Microsoft even refuses to run anything less than windows 10 on 7th gen and later processors.

So, your Ford - Honda analogy is very flawed.

And, someone from the Intel community (me) did have an interest.

Doc