Windows 8 and flashing menu graphics

[Zip Zlatkis]

Ever since I bought windows 8 on 2 computers, I can get only low graphics. Otherwise menus and buttons just flash constantly.  I do not know how to control, stop this other than go to low graphics.  This in on two different computers and only happened on these which are W8!

[Rolig Loon]

Here's the standard answer from our resident Win 8 guru, KarenMichelle Lane.  So far, it seems to solve all sorts of Win 8 issues.

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1) Manually apply ALL the Required and Important patches for Windows 8 from Microsoft. A new Win 8 PC needs 4-5 iterations of this to get them all. The easiest way to do this is to:

a) Enter Desktop Mode
b) Launch Internet Explorer
c) Right-click on the options area of the Browser and turn on Menu & Status Bar [and any other of the old standards you like]
d) Tools / Windows Update.
e) Select the CUSTOM button so you can monitor and select the downloaded options to install e) Repeat until all are DL'd and installed

Note: Don't install the Bing Desktop. Also, don;t install any Windows Live components unless you have an email account with Microsoft.

2) Identify the Video / Graphics system in your PC and get the Windows 8 drivers direct from the Video System manufacturer.

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/detect/graphics

3) If you just performed the items 1) & 2) above, please reinstall SL again using the official version from Linden Lab. [be sure to do a clean install

http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/How-to-uninstall-and-reinstall-Second-Life...

Here is the Windows 8 Manual System File cleanup procedure since it's not in the procedure above.

Windows 8
1.Using File Explorer -> Libraries / Computer / ( C: ) / Users /
2.Press the Continue button to get permission to obtain permanent permission edit this directory.
3.From the View drop-down menu option select Options & Change Folder & Search Options
4.Select the View Tab
5.Under the Hidden Files and Folders options click on the - O Show hidden files, folders & Drives radio button
6.Push the Apply Button then the OK button.
7.Open C:\Users\\AppData\Local and delete the contents of your Temp folder and the SecondLife folder.
8.Uninstall Second Life using the Programs and Features tool in the Windows Control Panel.
9.Download and install the latest release of the Second Life Viewer from http://secondlife.com/support/downloads/.

You should be up and running in no time.

P.S. I recommend these steps on all Windows 8 PC's and Laptops, specifically designed for Windows 8 with high-end Graphics Sub-Systems or Graphics Cards.

P.S.S. - On Upgraded PC's & Laptops - If your computer was not designed specifically for Windows 7 or Windows 8 these steps may still help. There are many "Designed for Vista" PC's that don't upgrade well to Windows 8. If your PC was designed for Windows XP, Windows 8 is usually NOT a viable option, practically speaking.

[Corky Darkstone]

I have Windows 8 on my laptop and got the flashing menu as well I figured it was shaders and turned those off and sl works just fine for me ever since on mid-high graphics

[Rolig Loon]

Yeah, that will work too, although it means running at a much lower graphics setting than your machine is probably capable of. You can also sometimes cure problems like this by disabling OpenGL buffers. Solutions like those are handy but they are bandaids until you address the underlying problem, which is often mismatched or imperfectly installed drivers.