# Computer question of distorted text in Windows 7 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 6, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-of-distorted-text-in-windows-7/682988 "2014-03-06T03:26:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-of-distorted-text-in-windows-7/682988/1 "2014-03-06T03:26:41Z")
I consider myself very computer literate but this problem has flummoxed me. Screenprint: [http://www.johnsonpropertysolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/image-distortion.png](http://www.johnsonpropertysolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/image-distortion.png) See how the text becomes screwy after the first sentence and then gets better again? If I hit ctrl-a and select the entire screen, then deselect, it becomes normal again. But I scroll down and it does it again. I have the latest graphics drivers for this laptop. Any ideas? Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7053 Windows 7 SP1 ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-of-distorted-text-in-windows-7/682988/2 "2014-03-06T03:35:18Z")
It appears to only happen in Firefox 27.0.1 and renders correctly in both Chrome and IE ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-of-distorted-text-in-windows-7/682988/3 "2014-03-06T03:54:00Z")
Ugh. Google is my friend. It didn’t help until I realized, after posting the OP, that it was a Firefox specific problem. (ETA Almost) Solved: Try to disable hardware acceleration in Firefox. ``` Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Browsing: "Use hardware acceleration when available" ``` ETA: It’s way better for sure, but there are still traces of distorted text. My “w” is still weird. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-of-distorted-text-in-windows-7/682988/4 "2014-03-06T04:07:51Z")
Dammit. I feel like a tool, replying to my own post three times now… As I continue to research, I discover new evidence: [http://www.johnsonpropertysolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/second-distorted-text-image-1024x236.png](http://www.johnsonpropertysolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/second-distorted-text-image-1024x236.png) I still have the problem, though less pronounced. See second paragraph above ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-of-distorted-text-in-windows-7/682988/5 "2014-03-06T04:08:51Z")
I am not sure what we are supposed to be looking at here. I do not see anything obviously “distorted” in your PNG image, although some of the black text does look a bit blotchy. The latter problem may be a result of sub-optimal Clear Type settings, which you could easily fix for yourself in Control Panel. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-of-distorted-text-in-windows-7/682988/6 "2014-03-06T04:17:52Z")
Thanks **njtt** , it does appear to be a function of Clear Type and I can correct it using the “adjust Clear Type text” function. It still goes a bit screwy when I adjust text size using ctrl-+ or ctrl --. And I don’t understand why it only happens in Firefox. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-of-distorted-text-in-windows-7/682988/7 "2014-03-06T04:46:02Z")
I have successfully recreated the issue in IE but not Chrome. I think Chrome might just skip over the scales that can’t render correctly on my screen. **njtt** , if you look at the screenshots I posted, then zoom in with ctrl+ you should see the distorted text and weird colors introduced. I alter the scale often on various webpages due to my failing eyesight, and some of them go wonky. I just wish I could solve it for all browsers and scales/resolutions. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-of-distorted-text-in-windows-7/682988/8 "2014-03-08T08:49:46Z")
Oh well. Thanks anyway. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-of-distorted-text-in-windows-7/682988/9 "2014-03-08T16:53:07Z")
> [@Eleusis](#): > > Dammit. > > I feel like a tool, replying to my own post three times now… When you do, it is actually more helpful to the rest of us. I wish more people would follow up with their solutions and trouble shooting procedures. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2014, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-question-of-distorted-text-in-windows-7/682988/10 "2014-03-09T02:21:54Z")
I was going to suggest that it was ClearType related, too. Have you gone through the [tuning mechanism](http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearType/tuner/tune.aspx)? It will show you a bunch of different samples of text, asking you which ones look better.