Start10 1.61: No date/time in notify area with "small icons"

I'm not sure this is a problem with Start10 or with Win10 1803, but since I use Start10 universally on my Win10 systems I can't really be sure. So I thought I'd ask here first, before going over to TenForums, since I have a feeling it's Start10.

I have many icons on my taskbar, so I have a double-high taskbar. I also normally have "use small icons" checked on the taskbar settings. the notification area is also double-high of course. Desktop resolution is 1920x1080 on the FHD Lenovo screen. Text size is set to "medium 125%", so this issue may be from a Windows DPI problem... don't know.

Normally, the right side of the notification area would have the date and time shown on two lines (for a single-high taskbar) and the day would also show on a middle third line if space permits (for a double-high taskbar). Well, today I happened to notice there was no date/time info where I would expect to see it. This is a brand new Win10 from-scratch install (on a Lenovo Thinkpad W530 laptop) which started from 1511 install media and went to 1803 through the normal Windows Update.

So I began to experiment. Turns out if I turn off "use small icons" the date/day/time appears with in white font against the dark background of the double-high taskbar:

But if I turn on "use small icons" the taskbar quickly resizes to be a bit smaller, and the date/day/time is re-painted briefly to have a bit less room between the three lines and the white text font is visible briefly. But then all the characters disappear.

I can make the white characters reappear simply by going back to large icons on the taskbar. And again if I go to small icons, the taskbar and notification area re-size with the white characters still briefly visible before they once again disappear.

So this may be a Windows graphics/DPI issue due to the 125% text size perhaps, where it is Windows that is wiping out the characters because it thinks there's not enough room to properly display it.

Or, it may be a Start10 issue dealing with characters and 125% text and the slightly reduced taskbar size with "use small icons".

Or, it may be a Win10 1803 issue. Don't know because all my Win10 machines are at 1803 and they all exhibit this symptom.

Just for the sake of experimenting, I tried going to a single-high taskbar. In this configuration there is no "day" shown on a middle third line. Instead Windows only presents date and time. Again, with "large icons" the two remaining date/time text lines appear.

But if I go to "small icons", the very same symptom results where the taskbar resizes quickly while the date/time white text is shifted slightly but remains visible briefly... and then the text disappears.

Again, going back to "large icons" resizes the taskbar a bit and brings back the white two-line date/time text.

In summary, the issue could be from Win10 and 125% text size. Or it could be related to this but due to 1803. Or it could be caused by an issue with Start10 along with 125% text size and/or 1803.

nVidia K1000m graphics with latest retail 392.00 driver.

Anybody?

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More information. Looks like it also has to do with the graphics driver in charge of the screen, specifically the nVidia graphics.

I experimented on a different machine, an HP Omen laptop (also running Start10 and 125% text) 1920x1080 FHD screen, nVidia GeForce GTX1050ti graphics along with Intel HD Graphics 630. I suspect this machine is running in "Nvidia Optimus" mode, where the Intel graphics and Intel driver are in charge of the basic laptop screen with the nVidia GPU kicking in when graphics performance demands it. Actually the Lenovo W530 also can run in this same Optimus mode but I have it disabled with a setting available in the BIOS that selects "discrete graphics", meaning only the nVidia K1000m GPU is used 100% and the Intel HD Graphics is shut off completely (as if it didn't even exist in the hardware).

So whereas my W530 (with the date/time text problem) is running pure-nVidia Quadro Notebook driver 392.00, the HP Omen is running with a combination of drivers: Intel HD Graphics 16.4973 and nVidia GeForce Notebook driver 398.36. But I believe it is the Intel graphics driver which is in charge of displaying the Windows desktop, taskbar and notification area... and in particular the date/time area. This is in contrast to my W530 where I'm running "discrete graphics" nVidia-only, so that the nVidia graphics driver is displaying the date/time info as well as everything else on the desktop.

Anyway, quite to my surprise, on the HP Omen (where I'm sure it is the Intel graphics driver responsible for presenting the date/time) there is NO LOSS OF TEXT when going from small icons to large icons on the taskbar both single-high as well as double-high! Definitely not how it works on my W530. Graphics driver in charge is (I'm sure) Intel, not nVidia.

I then went to a third Win10 machine, this time an HP Pavillion 15 laptop (also running Start10, using 150% text with a 1920x1080 desktop) , with an AMD A9-9420 CPU with built-in Radeon R5 graphics. Once again much to my surprise there is NO LOSS OF TEXT when going to small icons from large icons, either on single-high or double-high taskbars! Again, the graphics driver in charge is AMD, not nVidia or Intel.

Next, I went to a fourth Win10 machine, this time a Lenovo M910t desktop (also running Start10 and 150% text on a 2560x1600 desktop), with nVidia GTX 1050ti discrete graphics card. This card uses the nVidia GeForce desktop graphics driver. And, once again, there is NO LOSS OF TEXT in date/time going between large and small icons on the double-high taskbar.

So for now it appears to be tied specifically to my Lenovo W530 laptop with K1000m GPU using nVidia Quadro Notebook driver on a 1920x1080 desktop with 125% text.

I also have a Lenovo P70 laptop with M3000M GPU and 1920x1080 desktop with 125% font (running the same nVidia Quadro Notebook driver) which I will try next.e

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Hello,

Sorry to hear you are having issues. I think, there is an app/program loaded upon boot in your "Lenovo Thinkpad W530 laptop" that is causing the problem. You can try the cleanboot steps to iron-out which apps/program that is causing the problem. https://forums.stardock.com/486022/start10-support-faq#cleanboot

Basj,

Stardock Community Assistant.

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Well, I have now also tested this on my Lenovo Thinkpad P70 with its nVidia M3000M GPU, 1920x1080 and 125% text. and once again, NO LOSS OF TEXT when going from large fonts to small fonts on the taskbar.

That means every one of the other machines I've tested seems to work just fine. It is only the W530 and its K1000m GPU which has "failed".

So I'm now of the opinion that there's clearly nothing wrong with Start10, nor probably with Win10 1803 itself. The problem clearly seems to be uniquely associated with the combination of W530 and its particular 15" 1920x1080 screen and 125% text, with the nVidia K1000m GPU.

I'm going to "close the case" as some kind of "user problem". Start10 is definitely not at fault here.

I'll just have to live with no date/time displayed, or else I'll just have to make the double-high taskbar a bit taller and go with "large fonts" if I actually want the date/time to appear.

Of course it's possible nVidia may do something in the driver down the road which "fixes" things for my W530.

Interesting.

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