[SOLVED] All images show compression artifacts and all videos appear lightly pixelated ?

[Isamu-Dyson]

Good afternoon.

A little under three days ago, my computer (an HP laptop running Windows 10) began suffering from a strange problem. Basically, all images (e.g., the user picture displayed while signing into Windows, the background wallpaper, pictures viewed in IrfanView, the volume slider in VLC, YouTube thumbnails in all browsers, website pictures in all browsers, et cetera) appear as though they are sporting compression artifacts. Also, every video - be it a downloaded video viewed in VLC or a YouTube video - looks lightly pixelated during play. I tried searching the internet high and low for solutions, but haven't found anything relevant yet. In the meantime, I uninstalled the display adapter driver and made sure to install the latest version.

Any assistance is highly appreciated.

--- --- ---

OS Name -> Microsoft Windows 10 Home [Version 10.0.19042 Build 19042]


PC -> HP Laptop [Model: 15-bs0xx]

Graphics card -> Intel HD Graphics 620 [Driver version: 27.20.100.9466]

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

First check and see which BIOS version you're on at the time of writing for your motherboard. You will need to cross reference HP's support site for your laptop using your laptop's S/N to narrow down the support page, check the latest BIOS and compare it with what you're on now. If you have a number of BIOS updates pending, gradually work your way to the latest version. Do not jump to the latest version.

Prior to doing so, please make sure that you've got any and/or all critical data backed up in case the HDD get's wiped clean due to a mishap. have you tried uninstalling your GPU drivers using DDU and then reinstalling your GPU drivers in an elevated command, Right click installer>Run as Administrator?

You will need to then check to see if your OS is pending any updates. You should ideally be on version 21H1 but from the way you've described it, the issue might be with the OS entirely and a reinstall is probably necessary. You will need to keep a bootable USB installer for Windows 10 handy, just in case. Make said bootable installer using Windows Media Creation Tools.