black rectangle around visible area of monitor

[shmu26]

samsung syncmaster S24B300
windows 8.1 64 bit

previously, I was using an old nvidia video card, and a DVI cable.
I uninstalled the nvidia drivers, took out the card, and attached the monitor straight to the motherboard outlet. VGA.

when I restarted, I installed the samsung drivers, from the CD, and was able to find and set the recommended resolution.

but every once in a while, I come back to my computer and find a black rectangle around the visible area of the monitor.

I can fix it by switching to a lower resolution and then back again.
But how do I get this behavior to stop?

 

[COLGeek]

This is usually caused by improper scaling. This can be adjusted using your video adapter utility (like the Nvidia control panel).

 

[shmu26]

okay, but I don't have nvidia anymore, I only have the onboard graphics chip (intel).
how can I adjust the scaling?

 

[COLGeek]

Assuming you have the Intel drivers and utility installed, you adjust in that tool. Select Graphics Properties in the tool and then adjust the Scaling settings.

 

[shmu26]

no intel utilities over here.
it is a no-brand desktop, with no software that I know of that manages display settings, beyond what windows 8.1 provides natively.

 

[COLGeek]

I forgot to ask, does your desktop resolution match the native output of the display (for example, 1920x1080 for both)?

 

[shmu26]

windows tells me that my resolution is set to 1920x1080, recommended.
and the info in the monitor's menu says it is the optimal mode.
allow me to mention that right now, the display is good.
it just acts up every once in a while, like twice a day or so.

 

[COLGeek]

Make sure your video cable is firmly attached at both ends. This could just be a loose connection if it works properly most of the time.

 

[shmu26]

I will check that again if problem persists.

in the mean time, I deleted the intel graphic driver, as well as the monitor driver.
then I rebooted, and the display eventually readjusted itself to the proper resolution.

then I ran windows update.
it said I need to install not only the intel graphic driver, but also a nvidia driver!
that caught me by surprise, because I no longer have the nvidia graphics card installed, and I deleted all their software.