Strange desktop artifact
By
Bloodspeaker,
Posted on: 2012-05-16 17:54 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
It looks like the extreme right hand side of another window which hasn't correctly sent its repaint event when it closed down or was moved. You may find if you open other window fully covering it that it will clear when you close that.
There's not enough of it visible to tell what is creating it but you are looking for something else which opena a window at that exact position and size. I'd suspect a dialog box - possibly from AV or other antimalware tools or some nag screen from some other application.
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I don't use realtime virus protection, so it's not my AV. And the only time this artifact appears is after I've run CoX. I don't even need to connect, just load it up and the artifact appears. Moving windows over the artifact does nothing. Refreshing the desktop does nothing. Changing the desktop image and screen size does nothing. As long as I don't load CoX, I go weeks without the artifact appearing. The instant I load it, I'm stuck with the artifact until I reboot.
It really is mystifying. Largely benign, but mystifying.
There is one thing which might account for it, though I don't know what the mechanism would be. When I migrated my files to a new computer, I didn't do a fresh install of CoX. I purchased CoX online, so I didn't want to have to re-download dozens of gigs of files and updates from scratch. I copied the files over, then tricked the NCSoft launcher into resetting its registry entries by telling it to download all the files, then shutting it down just before it did. Is this a possible culprit?
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Does the artifact cover all other windows? Does it also cover the Task Manager, if you try to move it over the artifact?
What about on the UAC elevation screen (assuming you didn't disable the secure desktop), can you move that dialog on top of the artifact?
If nothing will cover it, then it's definitely not a window or anything like that (because the UAC screen has its own, completely separate desktop with just static, greyed out screen shot of the standard desktop as background), and probably something up with your drivers.
Could you post a CoH Helper and HiJack This report? It'll help us figure out if there's any software/configuration that might be causing this.
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Originally Posted by ShadowNate
;_; ?!?! What the heck is wrong with you, my god, I have never been so confused in my life!
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It has always been there. You have recently reached a level a spiritual evolution to perceive it. Wait for further instructions.
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Fnord.|
Originally Posted by Zombie Man
It has always been there. You have recently reached a level a spiritual evolution to perceive it. Wait for further instructions.
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Just a quick update; after much experimentation, hair-pulling, and monitor-shaking (Funny how the unevolved reptilian rage brain is incapable of reasoning out the actual source of the frustration is the computer and not the display device, isn't it?), I have tracked down the source of the problem... though not a solution.
It seems that ZoneAlarm does not play well with City of Heroes. I don't play regularly, so there's always a patch to download when I log in. The patch changes the .exe file, which causes ZA to pop-under a warning. In order to get to the pop-under (to allow CoH to connect to the server) and pat ZA on the head and tell it that, yes, I know the .exe file has changed, and yes, I'd like to allow it to connect, I have to alt-tab out of CoH. This apparently gives ZA fits. Some part of the CoH display becomes permanently lodged on the desktop, as you've seen.
Now here's the odd bit.
When I try to open the ZA control panel once the artifact is on the desktop, the panel opens, but cannot be given focus. The window remains greyed out, and clicking on it gives me a scolding Windows bong. And the artifact moves from the desktop to the ZA control panel. Weird, huh? The only way to close the ZA control panel at this point is to right-click on the task bar program icon and select "close." ZA continues to function normally, but the control panel can no longer be interacted with until I reboot the computer (which also clears up the graphical artifact).
I can live with this, but it's definitely strange.
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You can't set ZoneAlarm to "always allow" City of Heroes and the NCSoft launcher?|
Originally Posted by PoisonPen
It seems that ZoneAlarm does not play well with City of Heroes. I don't play regularly, so there's always a patch to download when I log in. The patch changes the .exe file, which causes ZA to pop-under a warning. In order to get to the pop-under (to allow CoH to connect to the server) and pat ZA on the head and tell it that, yes, I know the .exe file has changed, and yes, I'd like to allow it to connect, I have to alt-tab out of CoH. This apparently gives ZA fits. Some part of the CoH display becomes permanently lodged on the desktop, as you've seen.
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Most firewalls/AV programs have options to do that, as far as I know.
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I would guess this is only an issue with full screen CoH. I play in windowed mode and ZoneAlarm has no problem.|
Originally Posted by PoisonPen
It seems that ZoneAlarm does not play well with City of Heroes. I don't play regularly, so there's always a patch to download when I log in. The patch changes the .exe file, which causes ZA to pop-under a warning. In order to get to the pop-under (to allow CoH to connect to the server) and pat ZA on the head and tell it that, yes, I know the .exe file has changed, and yes, I'd like to allow it to connect, I have to alt-tab out of CoH. This apparently gives ZA fits. Some part of the CoH display becomes permanently lodged on the desktop, as you've seen.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by T_Immortalus
You can't set ZoneAlarm to "always allow" City of Heroes and the NCSoft launcher?
Most firewalls/AV programs have options to do that, as far as I know. |
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For some reason, every time I load CoX, my desktop gets an odd graphical artifact which will not go away until my computer is rebooted - and the next time I load CoX it comes right back, and in the same spot.
Here's what it looks like:
You can see it just to the right of my shortcuts, the odd silver-coloured graphical glitch. It's always this specific shape and always in this specific location. Refreshing the desktop doesn't help, either. This has been bothering me for a long time. Does anyone have any idea what it is, or how I can get rid of it?
Running Win7 Home 64 if that makes any difference, with a GTX 285 video card and 16 gigs of DDR3.