On the PC And DevicesLock Screen page, you can choose a picture to display in the background by tapping or clicking the picture you want to use. If you want to use a picture from somewhere else on your computer, select Browse, and then use the options provided to navigate to and choose the picture you want to use. When you browse for pictures, the default folder is This PCPictures. You can also search in the following ways:

Some apps, those referred to as lock screen apps, can run in the background and show quick status and notifications even when the screen is locked. Typically, the messaging, mail, and calendar apps are configured to display quick status information by default. Other apps installed on the computer might also be able to show quick status and notifications on the lock screen. Tap or click the Add option (which appears as a plus sign) to display a list of these apps and then tap or click an app to add it. To remove a lock screen app, tap or click the app and then tap or click Don’t Show Quick Status Here.

Some apps, like Calendar and Weather, can display a detailed status on the lock screen, but normally only one app can actively display detailed status at a time, and that app is listed under Choose An App To Display Detailed Status. If no detailed status app has been added, tap or click the Add option (which appears as a plus sign), and then tap or click the app you want to add. To remove the detailed status app, tap or click the app, and then tap or click Don’t Show Detailed Status On The Lock Screen.

On the AccountsYour Account page, you can choose an account picture to display. A silhouette graphic is used by default, but any picture can be added as an account picture. If you want to use a picture from somewhere else on your computer, tap or click Browse, and then use the options provided to navigate to and choose the picture you want to use.

If the computer has a camera, you can create an account picture by clicking Camera and following the prompts. You also use the AccountsYour Account page to manage the logged-on account. If the logged-on account is using a Microsoft account, you can use the options provided to switch to a local account, and you can also use the options provided to switch from a local account to a Microsoft account.

The settings on the AccountsSign-In Options page allow you to create or change a picture password for the logged-on user (if allowed in Group Policy). You also can control whether a user must enter a password when waking the computer. For more information on working with user accounts, see Chapter 5.

You can personalize colors on the account’s Start screen by completing the following steps:

The Search page in the Search And Apps section allows you to personalize the way search works. Windows 8.1 tracks a history of your searches, and it can use this search history to show the apps that you search most often at the top of your search results and to save searches for future suggestions. Use the Search History options to modify the way this works or to delete the current search history.

Certain apps are configured for quick sharing, allowing you to quickly share photos, documents, or other items. The Share page allows you to personalize the way sharing works. Windows 8.1 tracks a history of the apps that you use for sharing and can display these apps in a prioritized list. Up to five apps are in the list by default. Tap or click the Items In List drop-down box to select a different number of apps. Tap or click Clear List to clear and reset the list.

Certain apps, such as Mail and People, are configured for sharing automatically. Options are provided to turn sharing on or off for each app individually. Simply tap or click the related button to switch sharing on or off.

Many apps can display notifications, which can be controlled from the Notifications page in the Search And Apps section. Top-level notification controls include:

Tap or click the control to turn the related notifications on or off. In addition to being able to turn notifications on or off for individual apps, you can also set quiet hours to stop notifications during certain hours of the day.

Apps can use your name and account picture by default. You configure these and related settings on the General page in the Privacy section. Simply tap or click the related button to specify whether you want this information to be available to apps.

Apps can use the computer’s location to provide relevant content by default. On the PrivacyLocation page, you can control the availability of location data to apps. You can disable app access to location data completely by setting Let Windows And Apps Use My Location to Off. Alternatively, you can enable access for specific apps by setting Let Windows And Apps Use My Location to On and then using the additional options provided to specify which apps can use the location data.

Apps can use the computer’s webcam by default. On the PrivacyWebcam page, you can control the availability of the webcam to apps. You can disable app access to the webcam completely by setting Let Apps Use My Webcam to Off. Alternatively, you can enable webcam access for specific apps by setting Let Apps Use My Webcam to On, and then using the additional options provided to specify which apps can use the webcam.

Apps can use the computer’s microphone by default. On the PrivacyMicrophone page, you can control the availability of the microphone to apps. You can disable app access to the microphone completely by setting Let Apps Use My Microphone to Off. Alternatively, you can enable microphone access for specific apps by setting Let Apps Use My Microphone to On, and then using the additional options provided to specify which apps can use the microphone.

When the currently logged-on user has a Microsoft account, you can control the way settings are synchronized between devices on the SkyDriveSync Settings page. Settings that can be synchronized include the following:

The Sync Your Settings On This PC option is the top-level control. Turn this setting on or off depending on whether you want settings to be synchronized between devices.

When synchronization is allowed, use the additional options provided to control the type of settings that are synchronized. Because Windows 8.1 also can recognize when a computer is on a metered connection, such as a cellular network, you can turn syncing on or off over metered connections and specify whether syncing is ever allowed when the metered connection is roaming.

In the Administrative Templates for Computer Configuration, under Windows ComponentsSync Your Settings, you’ll find the following settings for controlling how settings can be synced:

In File Explorer, you can create shortcuts for the desktop, folders, and startup applications by logging on to a user’s computer and creating shortcuts in the appropriate locations. In Group Policy, you can create shortcuts for desktops, startup applications, and more by using Shortcuts preferences, and these preference items are applied automatically to all users and computers that process the related Group Policy Object.

To configure Shortcuts preferences, follow these steps:

Figure 3-2. Create a shortcut by using a preference item.

In the Location list, you’ll find a list of special folders that you can use with shortcuts. Table 3-1 provides a summary of these folders.

Shortcuts can point to local and network files, as well as to remote Internet resources. Shortcuts for working with local or network files are referred to as link shortcuts. Shortcuts for working with remote Internet resources are referred to as URL shortcuts.

A link shortcut is usually used to start an application or open a document rather than access a URL in a browser. Because of this, link shortcuts have different properties than URL shortcuts. The properties are summarized in Table 3-2. If you set any property incorrectly or set a property that isn’t supported by a linked application, the shortcut might not be created or might not work as expected. In this case, you need to correct the problem and try to create the shortcut again.

One of the most valuable options is the Arguments property. You can use this property to set arguments to pass in to an application that you are starting. By using this property, you can create a shortcut that starts Microsoft Word and opens a document by setting the target path for Word and the argument for the document to open.

When you add shortcuts to the desktop or menus, you can specify a sequence of keystrokes that activates the shortcut. The keyboard shortcut sequence must be specified with at least one modifier key and a key designator. The following modifier keys are available:

Modifier keys can be combined in any combination, such as Alt+Ctrl or Shift+Ctrl, but the combination shouldn’t duplicate key combinations used by other shortcuts. Key designators include the alphabetic characters (A–Z) and numeric characters (0–9), as well as End, Home, Page Up, and Page Down. For example, you could create a shortcut that uses the sequence Shift+Alt+G.

When you create shortcuts for applications, the applications normally have a default icon that is displayed with the shortcut. For example, if you create a shortcut for Windows Internet Explorer, the default icon is a large E. When you create shortcuts to document files, the Windows default icon is used in most cases.

If you want to use an icon other than the default icon, you can use the Icon Location property. Normally, the icon location equates to an application name, such as Iexplore.exe or Notepad.exe, and the icon index is set to 0. Windows has to be able to find the executable file in the path; otherwise, the icon can’t be set. Because of this, be sure to enter the full path to the executable file.

The working directory sets the default directory for an application. This directory is used the first time that a user opens or saves files.

URL shortcuts open Internet documents in an appropriate application. For example, webpages are opened in the default browser, such as Internet Explorer. With URL shortcuts, you can’t use the Arguments, Start In, Run, or Comment properties.

Administrator-installed or user-installed applications that run in the background can be managed through the Startup folder. Startup programs that are made available only to the currently logged-on user are placed in the Startup folder that is located within the profile data for that user (%UserProfile%AppDataRoamingMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms), and startup programs that are available to any user that logs on to the computer are placed in the Startup folder for all users (%SystemDrive%ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuPrograms).

To add or remove startup programs for all users, follow these steps:

To add or remove startup programs for a specific user, follow these steps:

Using Group Policy preferences, you specify applications that should be started after a user logs on by creating shortcuts in the AllUsersStartup and Startup folders. The AllUsersStartup folder sets startup applications for all users that log on to a system. The Startup folder sets startup applications for the current user.

When you create a shortcut for a startup application, the only options you need to set in most cases are Name, Target Type, Location, and Target Path. Occasionally you might also want to set a working directory for an application or specify startup arguments.

If you later want to remove a startup application, you delete it by creating a preference with the action set to Delete.

The taskbar is one of the least appreciated areas of the Windows desktop. Users and administrators tend to pay very little attention to its configuration, yet we use it day in and day out, relying on it for quick access to just about everything we do with the Windows operating system. If you find that users are having frequent problems accessing Windows features or running applications, you can help them by tailoring the taskbar to their needs. The Windows taskbar can contain several toolbars to assist users in different ways.

Sometimes you can provide tremendous productivity increases simply by adding a frequently used item to the taskbar. For example, most people spend a lot of time finding and reading documents. They browse the web or their corporate intranet to find the latest information. They open documents in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or other applications, finding documents individually or also starting applications to read those documents. By adding an Address bar to the taskbar, users can access documents directly and start the appropriate application automatically. They just need to enter the document path and press Enter. As time passes, the history feature of the Address bar tracks more and more of the user’s previously accessed documents, making it easier to find the information the user needs.

Windows 8.1 allows you to pin commonly used programs directly to the taskbar. You can do this whenever you are working with the Start screen. Simply press and hold or right-click an item you want to add to the taskbar, and then tap or click Pin To Taskbar. After you pin an item to the taskbar, you can change the item’s position on the taskbar by tapping or clicking and dragging the program’s icon. To unpin an item, press and hold or right-click the item on the taskbar, and then tap or click Unpin This Program From Taskbar.

By default, the taskbar appears at the bottom of the screen and is sized so that one row of options is visible. As long as the taskbar’s position isn’t locked, you can dock it at any edge of the Windows desktop and resize it as necessary. To move the taskbar, simply tap or click it and drag it to a different edge of the desktop. As you drag the taskbar, the taskbar will appear at the edge of the Windows desktop, and when you release the mouse button, the taskbar will remain in the new location. To resize the taskbar, point to the taskbar’s edge, and then drag it up or down.

When you want to control the visibility of the taskbar, you have several options. You can enable the Auto Hide feature to hide the taskbar from view when it’s not in use. You can lock the taskbar so that it can’t be resized or repositioned. You can also make the taskbar appear in a specific location and with a specific appearance. After the taskbar is positioned and sized the way a user wants it, you should lock it. In this way, the taskbar has a fixed location, and users don’t have to hunt for it.

To configure the taskbar, follow these steps:

The notification area or system tray is the area on the far right of the taskbar that shows the system clock and notification icons from applications. The two standard notification icons are for Action Center and the Network console. When you point to icons in the notification area, a tooltip provides information about the state of the application. To control an application in this area, press and hold or right-click the application icon to display a menu of available options. Each application has a different menu of options, most of which provide quick access to routine tasks.

You can optimize the notification area by setting properties that control whether system icons—such as for the clock, speaker volume, and network—are displayed and whether application icons are displayed or hidden.

The notification area can display both application and system icons. Icons for applications appear in the notification area for several reasons. Some programs, such as Action Center, are managed by Windows itself, and their icons appear periodically when notifications are pending. Other types of programs, such as antivirus programs, are configured to load at startup and then run in the background. You can often enable or disable the display of icons through setup options for the related applications, but Windows 8.1 provides a common interface for controlling icon display in the notification area. You can specify whether and how icons are displayed on a per-application basis.

To control the display of icons in the notification area, follow these steps:

Toolbars available for the taskbar include:

To display or hide individual toolbars, follow these steps:

You can create personal toolbars for users as well. Personal toolbars are based on existing folders, and their buttons are based on a folder’s contents. The toolbars that you might create most often are ones that point to shared folders on the network. For example, if all users have access to CorpData, a shared folder in which corporate information is stored, and UserData, a folder in which personal information is stored, you can add toolbars to the taskbar that point to these resources. When users want to access one of these folders, they can simply tap or click the corresponding toolbar button.

You can create personal toolbars by completing these steps:

Several types of themes are available, and some themes are installed with the operating system. To apply a theme, follow these steps:

Figure 3-4. Use the Personalization console to access dialog boxes for configuring themes, display settings, and more.

To restore the original desktop theme, follow these steps:

When you apply a theme to the Windows desktop, many different system settings can be affected. Typically, users might like a theme but dislike a specific aspect of it, such as the sounds. To fix this, you can change the system setting that the user doesn’t like and then save the updated theme so that he or she can restore it in the future.

You manage themes by using the Personalization console, which you open by pressing and holding or right-clicking an area of the desktop and then tapping or clicking Personalize.

In the Personalization console, the primary settings that themes affect are as follows:

Themes that users install from other locations can take up a lot of space on the hard disk. To delete a theme and remove the theme-related files, follow these steps:

Windows 8.1 provides multiple sets of background images and groups these images into named sets according to the folders in which the image files are stored. On the computer’s hard disk, background images are stored in subfolders of the %WinDir%WebWallpaper folder. Each folder represents a named set. For example, images in the Landscapes folder are displayed in the Landscapes set of background images.

Background images can be created as .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .dib, and .png files. If you add an image in one of these formats to any of the subfolders in the %WinDir%WebWallpaper folder, the image will be available as part of that set. If you want to create a new set, simply create a folder under the %WinDir%WebWallpaper folder and add the appropriate images to this folder.

To set the background for the desktop, follow these steps:

By default, only the Recycle Bin is added to the desktop. Double-tapping or double-clicking the Recycle Bin icon opens a window where you can view files and folders that you’ve marked for deletion. By tapping or clicking Manage and then selecting Empty Recycle Bin, you permanently delete all the items in the Recycle Bin. By tapping or clicking Manage and then selecting Recycle Bin Properties, you can control how the Recycle Bin is used. Each volume on an internal disk has a Recycle Bin folder. If you tap or click the related folder, you can set the maximum size of the Recycle Bin on that volume or specify that files should be removed immediately when deleted.

Other common desktop icons you can add to the desktop are as follows:

You can add or remove common desktop icons by following these steps:

You can hide all desktop icons by pressing and holding or right-clicking an open area of the desktop, pointing to View, and selecting Show Desktop Icons to clear the command. If you repeat this procedure and select Show Desktop Icons a second time, all the hidden desktop icons are restored.

If you no longer want an icon or a shortcut on the desktop, press and hold or right-click it, and then tap or click Delete. When prompted, confirm the action by tapping or clicking Yes. Note that if you remove an icon representing a file or folder from the desktop, the file or folder (and its contents) is deleted.

Figure 3-6. Use the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box to select the desktop icons to display and set their appearance.

Password-protecting a screen saver deters unauthorized users from accessing a computer, which can protect both the personal data of the user and the intellectual property of an organization. As an administrator, you should ensure that the computers you deploy have password-protected screen savers enabled.

You can password-protect a screen saver by performing the following steps:

A computer that is running Windows 8.1 and that performs background tasks or network duties such as print services should not be configured to use a complex screen saver, such as 3D Text. Instead, the computer should be configured with a basic screen saver, such as the Blank screen saver. You can also modify the settings for advanced screen savers to reduce resource usage. Typically, you do this by reducing the redraw and refresh rates of the advanced screen saver.

To reduce screen saver resource usage, follow these steps:

Many newer monitors have energy-saving features that cause them to shut off after a certain period of inactivity. Enabling this feature can reduce the organization’s electricity bill because monitors typically use a lot of electricity to stay powered up. On some systems, this feature might have been automatically enabled by the operating system during installation. This depends, however, on the operating system properly detecting the monitor and installing any necessary drivers.

On a portable laptop computer running on batteries, saving energy is especially important. By configuring the monitor to shut off when the computer is idle, you can save the battery life and extend the available battery time for when the laptop is unplugged.

To manage a monitor’s energy settings, follow these steps:

Windows Aero is an enhanced interface that provides features such as the transparent taskbar background, live previews, smoother window dragging, animated window closing and opening, and more. As part of the setup process, Windows 8.1 runs a performance test and checks the computer to find out whether it meets the requirements to take advantage of optimized appearance features.

XDDM and VGA drivers cannot be used with Windows 8.1. The display hardware must support Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.2 or later. If the hardware doesn’t, the computer will use the Microsoft Basic Display Driver.

Display drivers that support WDDM 1.2 will offer improved performance over earlier drivers while also reducing the overhead needed for temporary surfaces in local and system memory. WDDM 1.2 supports Direct3D implemented in a graphics processing unit (GPU) with at least 128 megabytes (MB) of graphics memory. Although individual nodes in a physical adapter can reset GPU timeout detection and recovery behavior, preemption of GPU direct memory access (DMA) packets cannot be disabled.

WDDM 1.3 adds support for wireless displays. WDDM 1.3 also supports improved resource sharing between integrated and discrete GPUs. These latter changes can provide a solid display performance boost for hybrid systems that have both integrated and discrete GPUs.

On compliant systems, Windows 8.1 uses the Aero desktop by default to enable advanced display features and options, including Snap, which allows you to arrange windows side by side, and Shake, which allows you to temporarily hide all open windows except the one you are working with. To snap an active window to the side of the desktop by using the keyboard, press either the Windows key + Left Arrow or the Windows key + Right Arrow. To shake, drag the title bar of the window you want to keep open back and forth quickly. Then to restore the minimized windows, shake the open window again.

To configure color options for the display, follow these steps:

To better support the visually impaired, Windows 8.1 includes several Ease Of Access themes, including High Contrast #1, High Contrast #2, High Contrast White, and High Contrast Black. When you use these themes, the options of the Color And Appearance page change, and you can override the default color settings for individual graphical elements, such as the window background color, text color, and active window color. To do this, follow these steps:

Regardless of whether users have 27-inch widescreens or 19-inch displays, you might find that users have difficulty reading text on the screen. Often, the readability of text on the screen decreases when you increase the display resolution, which results in the text on the screen becoming smaller. To understand why this happens, you need to understand how DPI works.

When you print documents on a printer, the number of dots per inch (DPI) determines the print quality. Generally, the higher the DPI, the better the quality of the printed document because images and text look crisper as you use more dots per inch. For example, a high-resolution picture printed at its normal size using 1,200 × 600 DPI generally looks much better than the same picture printed at 300 × 300 DPI. However, if you use scaling to print a 2 × 3–inch picture at 6 × 9 inches, you often get a poor result because the scaled image looks grainy.

For Windows-based computers, 96 DPI is the default for most monitors, and Windows 8.1 displays all UI elements, including text, at 96 DPI by default. When you change the display resolution, you change the scaling at which UI elements are displayed. For example, if a monitor has an optimal resolution of 1,920 × 1,200 and you use a display resolution of 800 × 600, the UI elements will seem large and grainy because you’ve caused the display to scale 800 × 600 pixels into a space optimized for 1,920 × 1,200 pixels.

Generally, you can determine the optimal resolution by multiplying a monitor’s screen width by 96 and a monitor’s screen height by 96. For example, a 24-inch widescreen monitor might have a screen that is 20 inches wide and 12.5 inches high. If so, the optimal display resolution is 1,920 × 1,200. However, at that size, text and UI elements on the screen might seem small, and you might need to make adjustments to improve readability. One way in which you can make adjustments is through an application. For example, in Word, users can use the Zoom combo box to scale text to a readable size.

Windows allows you to change the size of text for specific UI elements, including the text for title bars in dialog boxes, menus, message boxes, palettes, icons, and tooltips. When you increase or decrease the size of text in a specific part of the UI, you can improve readability. Each account on a computer has a separate setting for text size. You can specify text size for UI elements by completing the following steps:

Windows also allows you to use scaling to increase the size of text and other items on the screen. When you use scaling in this way, Windows magnifies the size of text and UI elements to the scale you choose. Each account on a computer has a separate setting for scaling. You can specify the scaling to use for text and UI elements by following these steps:

Video settings control screen resolution, color quality, refresh rate, hardware acceleration, and color management. This section focuses on making sure that Windows 8.1 has correctly identified the video card and monitor, and on optimizing various video settings.

Checking the current video adapter and monitor

Every computer has a monitor driver and a video adapter driver. The monitor driver tells Windows about the capabilities of the monitor. The video adapter (or display) driver tells Windows about the capabilities of the graphics card.

Proper display is dependent on the computer using accurate information about the video adapter and the monitor. Different driver files are installed depending on which video adapter and monitor models Windows 8.1 detects on a system. These drivers are extremely important in determining which display resolutions, color depths, and refresh rates are available and appropriate for the system. If the adapter and monitor aren’t detected and configured properly, Windows 8.1 won’t be able to take advantage of their capabilities.

Current settings for the video adapter or monitor can be wrong for many reasons. Sometimes Plug and Play doesn’t detect the device, and a generic device driver is used. Sometimes Windows Update installs an old driver. At other times, Windows 8.1 detects the wrong type of device, such as a different model. In this case, the device will probably work, but some features won’t be available.

You can determine the current video adapter and monitor as configured for a computer in software settings by completing these steps:

1. Press and hold or right-click an open area of the desktop, and then tap or click Screen Resolution.

2. On the Screen Resolution page, shown in Figure 3-9, the currently identified monitors are listed in the Display list. The resolution and orientation are listed in the Resolution and Orientation lists. If the correct monitor isn’t displayed or you want to examine the monitor settings further, see the Changing the monitor driver section later in this chapter.

3. Select a monitor in the Display list, and then tap or click the Advanced Settings link. The video adapter for the monitor is listed. If the correct video adapter isn’t displayed or you want to examine the driver settings further, see the next section, Changing the video driver.

4. Tap or click OK twice.

Figure 3-9. Check the monitor and video adapter configuration.

Real World

Another way to determine the current video adapter and monitor as configured for a computer in software is to run the DirectX Diagnostic Tool by typing dxdiag in the Everywhere Search box and pressing Enter.

Both of the techniques discussed in this section assume that the correct drivers are installed, however. Neither of these techniques will tell you whether the correct information is being displayed. See Changing the video driver for details on how you can confirm that the correct drivers are installed.

As I stated previously, every computer has a monitor driver and a video adapter driver. The monitor driver tells Windows about the capabilities of the monitor. The video adapter (or display) driver tells Windows about the capabilities of the graphics card.

Clearly, the monitor driver and video adapter driver have important roles on a computer. When you are installing video components or updating a computer, you should be sure that the computer has drivers that have been tested in your environment and proven to be reliable. If you suspect a problem with the drivers, update the drivers if possible. If you suspect the problem is due to the configuration of the computer, start the computer in safe mode and then modify the default settings.

Before you start detailed diagnostics and troubleshooting, determine what programs the user has been running. Programs created for early versions of Windows might cause compatibility issues. Close all running programs and check questionable programs to find out what display mode they are using. If a program requires an alternative display mode and switching into and out of this display mode is causing problems, you might be able to configure compatibility settings to resolve the problem. Press and hold or right-click the application shortcut, and then tap or click Properties. In the Properties dialog box, select the Compatibility tab. On the Settings panel, choose the appropriate option, such as Run In 640 x 480 Screen Resolution. If you are unsure which compatibility settings to use, press and hold or right-click the application shortcut, tap or click Troubleshoot Compatibility, and then follow the prompts in the Program Compatibility Wizard.

Many problems with monitors have to do with the connection between the monitor and the computer. If the monitor displays blotches, color spots, diagonal lines, or horizontal bars, or has other similar display problems, you’ll want to check the monitor connection first. After you are sure the connections are all right, turn the monitor off for at least 10 seconds, and then turn the monitor back on. If you still are experiencing a problem and think that the problem has to do with the monitor itself, you can try to resolve it through additional troubleshooting.

Monitor flicker or jitter or a shaky image can be caused by configuration issues in addition to positional issues. If the monitor refresh rate is causing the problem, you can resolve it by changing the refresh rate settings, as discussed in the Customizing display appearance section earlier in this chapter. If a positional issue is causing the problem, you can resolve the problem by moving the cables and devices that might be causing electromagnetic interference, including power cables for other devices, large speakers, or desk lamps. If the problem persists, make sure the monitor has a shielded cable and that it is positioned away from air-conditioning units, large fluorescent lights, and so on.

If the monitor has built-in controls, check for an auto-tuning setting. Often, this will be a separate button, and when you press this button, the monitor will automatically adjust itself.

If blotches of color, color spots, or lines are the problem and resetting the connections doesn’t work, you might need to perform a monitor degauss. This operation removes the buildup of stray magnetic fields around the monitor, which can distort the video image. Some monitors autodegauss by turning the monitor off and then on, some have a manual control only, and some combine both of these features. You might find a control labeled Degauss, or there might be a menu option within the monitor’s software controls. While the monitor is degaussing, the screen might become distorted temporarily. This is normal behavior during the degauss process. If you manually degauss, wait 15 to 20 minutes before attempting a second degauss.

If problems persist, connect the monitor directly to the computer. Remove any extension cables connected between the monitor and the video adapter. Also, remove any antiglare screens or other similar devices that cover the monitor’s screen. Check the video data cable for bent, broken, or missing pins. Although some pins are missing as part of the design, other pins that are missing or bent will cause display problems. If there are bent pins and the pins are repairable, turn the monitor off, unplug the monitor from the power source, and use tweezers or pliers to straighten the pins.