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Diagnose Visual Artifacts When Scrolling or Opening Windows

Diagnose visual artifacts when scrolling or opening app windows. Quick tests for GPU drivers, compositor, ANGLE/OpenGL, hardware acceleration, and MPO fixes.

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How to diagnose the cause of visual artifacts when scrolling pages and opening windows in applications?

Symptoms:

  • Half of the page scrolls normally, while the other half appears frozen like a screenshot from before scrolling.
  • The defect persists for a short time and then disappears.
  • The artifact vanishes when attempting to take a screenshot.
  • Issue observed in applications like Discord, but not in Chrome.
  • No similar problems in games or IDEs; possibly related to OpenGL backend.

Visual artifacts (визуальные артефакты) where half a page looks like a frozen screenshot while the other half scrolls usually indicate a GPU driver / compositor mismatch, an Electron/Chromium ANGLE backend problem, or a Windows display optimization (MPO/HAGS) interacting badly with your graphics stack. Diagnose by reproducing with a minimal setup, using Win+Ctrl+Shift+B to reset the GPU, toggling the app’s hardware acceleration and the ANGLE/OpenGL backend, and then isolating drivers (clean uninstall with DDU) or applying known Windows 11 24H2 workarounds such as disabling MPO. Below is a prioritized, test-driven workflow — quick checks first, then backend isolation, then logs and vendor-level debugging.

Contents

Common causes of visual artifacts

Short answer: this is rarely the web page itself. The symptom you describe — half the window behaving as a static screenshot until a forced repaint — is a strong hint the compositor or GPU driver hasn’t updated a surface, or the app’s rendering backend is choosing a problematic path.

Typical causes

  • GPU driver regression or bug (NVIDIA / Intel / AMD). Recent driver updates can introduce partial-screen repaint issues. See vendor-specific reports for similar behavior.
  • Compositor/overlay/optimization interactions in Windows (MPO, Hardware‑Accelerated GPU Scheduling, Dynamic Refresh Rate, “Optimizations for windowed games”). Microsoft and community reports tie Windows 11 24H2 to similar tearing/freezing symptoms. See the Microsoft thread reporting 24H2-related hangs/tearing for details: Windows 11 24H2 causing apps to hang/tear…
  • Chromium/Electron backend issues (ANGLE translating GL calls to Direct3D). Some Chromium/Electron builds work fine with one ANGLE backend but show artifacts with another; switching to OpenGL has resolved similar cases. Community reproductions and fixes are here: Subtle visual artifacting in Discord app (Intel) and the Chrome/ANGLE reports on Reddit.
  • App-specific rendering bugs (Discord desktop vs Discord web) — desktop Electron builds use different GPU code paths than the browser.
  • Overlay/capture tools (GeForce overlay, Game Bar, OBS, RivaTuner) interfering with surfaces or MPO.
  • Cable/monitor/VRR weirdness (DP vs HDMI, G‑Sync/FreeSync interactions) — less likely, but worth checking.

Quick reproduction checklist

Before you change drivers or edit the registry, reproduce the bug cleanly and collect simple facts. That will save time.

Do this first

  • Reproduce in a minimal state: close nonessential apps, disable overlays (GeForce Experience, Game Bar, OBS), disconnect extra displays if possible.
  • Note exact triggers: scrolling, opening a new window, alt‑tabbing from a fullscreen game, maximizing vs windowed, hovering UI elements. The Intel reproduction steps are useful: maximize the app, enable hardware acceleration, hover/expand server icons or upload large files to reproduce transient artifacts. See Intel community reproduction notes: https://community.intel.com/t5/Intel-ARC-Graphics/Subtle-visual-artifacting-in-Discord-app/m-p/1694055
  • Does a screenshot clear the artifact? (You said it does — that’s diagnostic: screenshot forces a full repaint/present.)
  • Can you capture the issue on video? If screenshots clear it, use a phone to record the screen — that’s often the easiest way to show vendors.
  • Try the web version of the app (Discord in browser) vs the desktop app. If the web app is fine but the desktop app isn’t, that points to Electron/driver interaction.

Quick hot test: press Win + Ctrl + Shift + B (this forces a GPU/driver reset in Windows and often temporarily clears display-driver related freezes). Microsoft mentions this as a useful test in driver-related freeze cases: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/3893342/parts-of-the-screen-freeze-in-place-while-scrollin

Diagnosing visual artifacts step-by-step

Follow this prioritized workflow. Stop when the issue is isolated.

  1. Reproduce and document
  • Record which apps show the bug (Discord desktop? browser? other Electron apps?). Note GPU vendor, driver version, Windows build. Write down steps that trigger the artifact.
  1. Quick resets and toggles (fast, reversible)
  • Press Win+Ctrl+Shift+B to reset the driver. Did that clear it? If yes, suspect driver/compositor.
  • In the affected app(s) turn off Hardware Acceleration (Discord → User Settings → Appearance → Hardware Acceleration; Chrome → chrome://settings/system → “Use hardware acceleration when available”). Does the problem stop? If yes, it’s GPU/path related.
  • Try the desktop app’s web alternative (Discord web in Chrome/Edge). If web is fine but desktop shows artifacts, it’s an Electron/desktop-app issue.
  1. ANGLE / backend test (Chromium/Electron)
  • For Chromium-based apps, temporarily force a different ANGLE backend: open chrome://flags → “Choose ANGLE graphics backend” → pick “OpenGL” and relaunch. Many users report this fixes Chromium artifacts (see Reddit/Chrome threads). If you prefer command line, try:
"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --disable-gpu --use-angle=gl

Electron apps often accept the same Chromium flags; try launching Discord with --disable-gpu or --use-angle=gl (behavior can vary). Reddit examples: https://www.reddit.com/r/chrome/comments/15uuyry/artifactsflickering_on_chrome_w10/

  1. Disable Windows display optimizations (Windows 11 24H2)
  1. Clean driver reinstall (if toggles don’t fix)
  1. Registry MPO workaround for Windows 24H2 (if applicable)
  • If symptoms match the Windows 24H2 MPO bug (half-screen freezes), some users report disabling MPO fixes it. Backup the registry, then add:
Path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers
Name: DisableMPO
Type: DWORD (32-bit)
Value: 1

Reboot after the change. Community report and steps: https://www.reddit.com/r/discordapp/comments/1gz06vi/weird_tearing_in_discord_client/
Warning: edit registry with care and keep a backup.

  1. Isolate hardware vs software
  • Boot a Linux live USB or safe mode: if the artifact appears even in BIOS or before Windows loads, you probably have hardware trouble (GPU or cable). If it only appears in Windows/apps, it’s likely drivers/software.
  1. Collect diagnostic logs
  • Save dxdiag (dxdiag /t C:\temp\dxdiag.txt), capture Event Viewer logs (look for display/driver/TDR entries and errors around the time of the artifact), and record GPU process info (chrome://gpu for Chromium apps). These logs are what you’ll attach when filing a vendor support ticket.

GPU / backend specific checks (OpenGL, ANGLE, MPO)

Quick primer (why ANGLE matters)

Practical checks

  • If Chromium apps benefit from OpenGL, that strongly suggests a Direct3D/driver path bug; try the OpenGL/ANGLE switch and then pursue a clean driver reinstall or vendor rollback.
  • If disabling MPO or HAGS removes the artifact, monitor vendor and Windows updates for a permanent fix; re-enable once a driver/OS update addresses the issue.

Advanced logs and when to clean drivers

What to gather

  • dxdiag output: dxdiag /t C:\temp\dxdiag.txt
  • Event Viewer: filter System logs for “Display”/driver errors or “Display driver stopped responding” / TDR-related entries close to when the artifact shows up.
  • GPU monitoring: GPU-Z, MSI Afterburner or Task Manager GPU engine columns to watch GPU memory and clocks while reproducing.
  • External video: phone recording of the frozen half-screen (if screenshots clear the artifact).

When to use DDU

Vendor hints from community threads

App-specific checks: Discord vs Chrome (Electron/Chromium)

Discord desktop

  • Toggle Hardware Acceleration OFF in Discord (Settings → Appearance). Restart the client. This is the simplest test and frequently reduces frequency. Intel community reproductions show artifacts tied to hardware acceleration. See reproduction and notes: https://community.intel.com/t5/Intel-ARC-Graphics/Subtle-visual-artifacting-in-Discord-app/m-p/1694055
  • Try the web client in a browser. If web is fine, the desktop client is the likely culprit — file a bug with Discord including your reproduction steps and video.

Chrome / Chromium

If an app-specific fix (toggle HWA or change ANGLE) stops the issue, you can use that as a long-term workaround while drivers/OS updates arrive.

Quick fixes to try right now

Try these in order — each is fast and reversible.

When to contact support or consider hardware RMA

Signs it’s likely hardware:

  • Artifacts appear in BIOS/UEFI screens, or immediately at boot before Windows loads.
  • The same artifact appears in another OS (boot a Linux live USB to test).
  • Artifacts persist after full DDU + multiple driver versions and after trying integrated GPU (if available).

If hardware is suspected, prepare to provide:

Sources

  1. Windows 11 24H2 causing apps to hang/tear (half of the screen, or less, or more will not refresh) — Microsoft Q&A
  2. Subtle visual artifacting in Discord app — Intel Community
  3. Half my screen freezes when scrolling on discord and web browsers — Reddit r/computer
  4. Discord has this weird pixelation thing that happens quite often — Reddit r/discordapp
  5. Parts of the Screen Freeze in Place While Scrolling — Microsoft Q&A
  6. Artifacts/Flickering on Chrome (W10) — Reddit r/chrome
  7. Weird Tearing in Discord Client — Reddit r/discordapp

Conclusion

Visual artifacts while scrolling are most often a driver/compositor or Chromium/Electron backend issue rather than the page itself. Start with quick, reversible checks (Win+Ctrl+Shift+B, disable app HW acceleration, switch ANGLE to OpenGL), then isolate by clean driver reinstalls (DDU) and Windows display toggles (HAGS, MPO). If you can reproduce cleanly and the artifact survives a driver reinstall and appears before the OS boots, treat it as hardware; otherwise collect dxdiag/Event Viewer logs and file a focused bug report with the app vendor and GPU vendor including a short phone video of the bug.

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Diagnose Visual Artifacts When Scrolling or Opening Windows