Outlook 2013 Redraw Issue

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When I open Outlook 2013 from a minimized state, large portions of the screen do not seem to redraw. Instead, I can see straight through the window, to my desktop background. If I move or resize the window in any way, the 'blank' areas will finish drawing, and the window looks normal.

Here is a screenshot of the issue. Those clouds are my desktop background. enter image description here

Does anyone know if this is a bug with Outlook 2013 specifically? Is there some driver issue that may be at play?

I am running Windows 8.1 64-bit. My graphics card is an nVidia NVS3100M with the latest drivers from the nVidia website.

BTownTKD

Posted 2013-10-02T18:51:09.927

Reputation: 163

Answers

3

Try turning off Outlook 2013's hardware acceleration.

To disable hardware acceleration, follow these steps:

  1. Start any Office 2013 program.
  2. On the File tab, click Options.
  3. In the Options dialog box, click Advanced.
  4. In the list of available options, click to select the Disable hardware graphics acceleration check box.

enter image description here

Instruction source/More Info over at Microsoft: KB2768684 - "Visual features or video quality may differ from one computer to another in Office 2013"

Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007

Posted 2013-10-02T18:51:09.927

Reputation: 103 763

1I have the same issue with Outlook 2016 (x64), on Win7... and your suggestion did the trick for me. – Omaer – 2017-01-11T07:57:57.347

Thank you for the suggestion. I had not tried that. It does not appear to have corrected the issue however. After checking the option and restarting the program, the redraw issue persists. – BTownTKD – 2013-10-02T19:19:32.633

1it still appears to be a video adapter issue. Has this EVER worked right on this computer? Have you tried reverting to a previous video driver, or to the one offered by your notebook manufacturer? This NVidia chip(set) is often used in an "Optimus" setup, where unless it's under heavy graphic load, the notebook reverts to using Intel embedded video instead of the NVidia chip. So have you ensured that driver is up-to-date as well? Notebook manufacturer's will often bundle the two drivers into an "Optimus" driver, whereas NVidia most likely doesn't. – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 – 2013-10-02T20:03:02.677

"Has this ever worked right on this computer?" This is the first time I've used this particular combination of Windows 8.1 and Office 2013. I recently formatted my computer (originally Windows 7), and manually hunted down the necessary drivers. I believe they are all the latest.

I have had other computers in the past which do not intelligently switch between the Intel and nVidia display adapters, but when I inspect the device manager on this computer, the nVidia adapter appears to be the ONLY display device. – BTownTKD – 2013-10-03T12:56:20.427

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I have an NVIDIA graphics adapter as well. I typically had to wait for 20 seconds until Outlook painted its windows. Here is how I resolved it after months of pain:

  1. Navigate to OUTLOOK.EXE in the Explorer. My Outlook 2016 was installed under C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\OUTLOOK.EXE. For Outlook 2013, the folder should be called Office15 instead. You might have the 64 bit version, in which case the path won't have the  (x86).
  2. Right-click on the file, and picking "Run with graphics processor" from the menu.
  3. Pick the NVIDIA.

If you don't have the menu item, or to make this choice permanent, follow the steps here: https://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/force-app-to-use-dedicated-gpu-windows/

Disabling hardware acceleration did not help for me.

Gogowitsch

Posted 2013-10-02T18:51:09.927

Reputation: 710

1

I have the same problem with Outlook 2013 on Win8.1 x64. But I'm using Parallels Desktop 9 on a Mac via Parallels' own display driver and Intel GPU, so this isn't an nVidia issue. And I also have GPU acceleration disabled. Can't offer any help, though. I'm strongly considering downgrading back to Office 2010; Office 2013 has been nothing but disappointments.

user265624

Posted 2013-10-02T18:51:09.927

Reputation: 11

Uninstalling the Microsoft Junk E-mail Reporting Add-In seems to have helped, for now. (Outlook had previously asked to disable that add-in for being slow.) Note I'm running Office x64 with the x64 add-in. So you could try uninstalling any add-ins. – user265624 – 2013-10-21T17:09:44.123

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In File > Options > General change the office theme to white.

TopWebWorks

Posted 2013-10-02T18:51:09.927

Reputation: 1

Mine is white and I still have the problem – Coops – 2014-10-13T14:30:49.620

Asked: 2013-10-02T18:51:09.927

Viewed: 3 594 times

Active: 2018-11-25T20:05:33.680