This article will share the 8 easiest ways to fix overscan, overscale, and underscan on Windows PC displays.
What is Overscanning or Overscaling?
When you open some kind of graphics or videos on your screen and if the video/graphics does not fit in the screen then it is called overscan or overscale.
If you are watching your TV with Windows 10 computer then over-scaling can be fixed very easily. Here in this article, I am going to describe the easiest ways to fix overscan on Windows 10 desktops.
Windows 10 can automatically detect the screen and apply the perfect resolution for your Desktop or TV. But sometimes the system fails to automatically fit the content with the screen which results in an overscan or overscale problem on Windows 10 desktop or TV.
You can easily fix the problem by configuring the right settings on your system.
Best Ways To Fix Overscaling or Overscaning Using Windows 10?
Here are the easiest solutions to fix the monitor overscan problem with Windows 10:
1. Update Your System
If you are using an outdated version of your Windows 10 operating system then it could cause problems. The updated versions come with a lot of bugs fixed. So, if you update the Windows 10 system it will fix a lot of problems you are facing with your Windows 10 system, and desktop overscan could be one of them.
How to update Windows 10?
Step 1: Press Windows+I to open the settings menu on Windows 10.
Step 2: Go to “Updates & Security”
Step 3: A new menu will open. Here, find the button “Check for updates”.
Now Windows system will show updates if available, it could take a few minutes. Once the system displays the updates you can install them.
2. Experiment With The Screen Resolutions Settings
It is possible that your system has chosen the wrong screen resolution for your desktop monitor. Windows 10 system performs this task automatically but you can also modify the settings manually.
Here are the steps to modify the screen resolution settings to fix Windows 10 overscale issue-.
Step 1: Go to the search bar and type “Resolution”.
Step 2: Click on the result that says “Change the resolution of the display”
Step 3: Here you will find the “Scale and Layout” section, below this there is a dropdown menu as shown in the image below-
When you change the Display resolution from the settings it will immediately change the resolution.
3. Ensure the HDMI Cable is Properly Fixed
If the above 2 methods don’t work for you then I recommend applying this easy fix.
Unplug the HDMI cable and then plug it in again to have a proper connection between your system and the display.
Having a loose connection could cause the overscan issue on Windows 10 PC.
4. Modify Settings From The Graphics Software-
There are many kinds of GPUs available in the market. But the most popular ones are NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel. It depends on the GPU (Graphics Card) installed on your system.
There is a high possibility that one of these 3 GPUs is available on your computer. Every GPU has a Windows app to monitor the settings of these GPUs.
Let’s learn how to modify the settings of these software one by one. You need to find the one installed on your PC and apply the settings. You just need to search the name of any of the three i.e. NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel in the search menu, and the results will appear only for the software installed on your computer.
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For NVIDIA
If your system has NVIDIA’a GPU then you can tweak the system settings from the NVIDIA control panel.
If you Don’t have NVIDIA Control Panel on your Windows 10 system then you can download it from there-
https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/nvidia-control-panel/9NF8H0H7WMLT
Here is how to access NVIDIA Settings:
Step 1: Go to the search menu and search “NVIDIA Control Panel”.
Step 2: Click on the best match and a new display will open.
Step 3: Now go to the Display menu and select Adjust desktop size and position.
Step 4: Now check-mark the “Enable desktop resizing” then click Resize then click Apply.
Step 5: Now a new screen will open here adjust the screen with sliders.
These settings should fix the Windows 10 overscan issue with the NVIDIA control panel. If you don’t have NVIDIA then you might have Intel graphics or AMD Software.
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For AMD
If you don’t have AMD graphics software on your PC then click here-
https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/software
Step 1: Search AMD from the start menu and select AMD Radeon Software.
Step 2: Now go to “Display” then click “Display 2“.
Step 3: Now you will see HDMI Scaling with a slider. You can move this slider to resize the display.
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For Intel
Note: For older versions of intel processors you need to use the “Intel Graphics Control Panel” and for the new versions of Intel i.e. i6 and above you need to install “Intel Graphics Command Center”
If you don’t have Intel Graphics Command Center you can install it from here-
Intel® Graphics Control Panel – Microsoft Store Apps
Step 1: Search “Intel Graphic Control Panel” from the start menu and launch the app.
Step 2: Once the app is open find the scaling option and select customize the aspect ratio.
5. Modify the Scaling Feature on Windows 10
To fix Windows 10 overscale issue you should try to change the “Scale and Layout” settings on your PC.
Follow these steps-
Step 1: Click on Windows+I to open the settings menu.
Step 2: In the settings menu click on “System” and the system’s menu will open.
Step 3: Here find the “Scale and Layout” and you will see a dropdown button below this. (As shown in the image below)
You can change the size of text, apps, and other items through the dropdown menu. This should fix the overscan in Windows 10 PC.
6. Change the Aspect Ratio of the TV
It is possible that all the settings are fine in your Windows system but the real cause of desktop overscan is your TV settings.
So, you should try to tweak settings in your TV to fix the over-scanning or over-scaling issue.
Just browse the menu using the TV buttons itself and modify the aspect ratio.
7. Update the Drivers
Drivers play a vital role in any Windows system. You need to keep all the drivers up to date to better function your computer.
Updating graphic drivers can fix the overscan issue on Windows 10.
How to update graphic drivers:
Step 1: Search “Device Manager” in the search box and open the device manager settings.
Step 2: Here click on “Display Drivers” and it will expand. Here you will find graphic drivers.
Step 3: Now right-click on “Graphic Drivers” and click Update.
Step 4: Now choose “Search automatically for drivers” and your graphic driver will be updated.
After updating the driver overscale in Windows 10 issue will be resolved.
8. Go To Advanced Display Settings
If none of the methods above solves your issue then you should try the Advanced Display Settings. Before this, I suggest you take backup of your computer or create a “Restore Point”. These are the precautions that you should take before performing these steps.
So, if anything goes wrong with your PC you can restore it to the previous version.
How to access the Advanced Display Settings:
Step 1: Click Windows+I to open the settings menu on your computer.
Step 2: Once the menu is opened click on the “System” option.
Step 3: After this choose “Display” from the left side panel. Now scroll down and click “Advanced Display Settings”.
Step 4: Now click on “Display adapter properties for Display 1”. This will open a new menu.
Step 5: Here go to the “Color Management” tab and click on the button “Color Management”. And a new window will open.
Step 6: In this window go to the “Advanced” tab and here click on the “Calibrate display”. And wait for your system to Calibrate the display.
This will fix the Windows 10 monitor overscan or overscale issue.
Conclusion
These are the easiest tricks to fix the monitor overscan issue on a Windows 10 PC or laptop. I hope these tricks have helped you to fix the problem.
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Priyanka Sharma is a technical content writer at SoftAppWorld. Her keen interest is in testing different kinds of software and writing reviews about them. Her goal is to help people with software reviews and how-to guides. In her free time, she likes to create different kinds of sketches and designs. You can find her on LinkedIn