7 and ATI

[_Adam_]

This is more a heads up as I have yet to solve it. Since moving to 7 we have had several programs display incorrectly. It is not all programs rather ones that look like they were programed with VB6 or VC++. Examples we see are:

 

Timetabler - [/url]

PCSchool - http://www.pcschool.net

BookIt! - CaRob Computing - SportsTrak, BookIt, SciList, JobCard

 

The font sizes are larger in these programs causing formating to expand but the window size is correct so scroll bars are introduced.

 

The problem only occurs with 7, Vista and XP are both fine. Also the problem only occurs with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 and 3650 graphics cards, Intel and Nvidia are fine.

 

Support calls to Microsoft, HP, the developers and third party engineers have yielded no solutions. All aspects of DPI adjustments, Window parameters, system default fonts, every ATI driver under the Sun (worst drivers ever), and loads more have been explored.

 

So if you are unlucky to have the same combo but discover a solution feel free to shout it my way.

[Arthur]

Are you having the problem described here?

 

http://blogs.msdn.com/cjacks/archive/2010/04/18/app-compat-bug-explained-the-mysterious-black-background-in-visual-basic-6-vb6-forms-and-controls.aspx

[_Adam_]

No, I read his other articles though but he does not touch on our issue. I would screenshot it but I'm on a computer with an Nvidia card and it is working fine. Imagine your fonts growing, letters disappearing behind textboxes, forms expanding outside of the window border, etc. Will screenshot tomorrow.

[_Adam_]

I cannot believe after weeks I have solved it. Yet the cause I am still not 100% on.

 

When 7 installs it makes a judgement call based on the video driver for the scaling to be used (Appearance and Personalization -> Display). For the ATI it chooses 125% as the default, for Nvidia it chooses 100% as the default. This sets in the registry for MS Sans Serif the link to the file SSERIFF.FON found at HKLM -> Software -> Microsoft -> Windows NT -> CurrentVersion -> Fonts. No amount of scaling with Windows settings will change the sizing of this font. I found on the Nvidia installation the file used for 100% is SSERIFE.FON which is the same font on a smaller scale. Changing this on the ATI install and restarting the PC provided an instant fix.

 

As mentioned in the OP, this tends to only affect old programs such as VB6 or VC++ coded programs. These may rely on system default fonts or a substituted fonts (MS Sans Serif is very common throughout Windows) which is why these programs are affected more.

 

Hopefully this solution will help someone else one day. Now to push out the registry patch.

Edited May 5, 2010 by _Adam_

[Arthur]

That's really good to know. Thanks for the update, Adam.

 

After re-reading your original post, the link I posted sounds nothing like the problem you were having.