Want to bring to attention an issue we have seen twice now recently in smart client in Windows 7/8/10 . The issue causes extreme graphics 'tearing' of the client causing parts of the screen to duplicate randomly inside the client. The effect is severe and renders the smart client unusable.
This was a very difficult issue to troubleshoot as our normal checks of:
- Swapping Java Versions
Scaling Resolutions
Anti-virus Software
About to give up (4 hours later), we then investigated recently installed programs and have discovered that the user had updated the AMD graphics driver which had installed additional software (which I don't believe is an optional install!). Removing these programs returned the smart client graphics to normal
The offending programs were
- PlaysTV
Raptr
Both PC's had exactly the same issue, the same offending programs installed, uninstalling fixed both computers so the problem was reproducible.
This could become a major issue to any company deploying a smart client in windows environment with an AMD graphics chip, as soon as the user updates/installs the latest driver.
Hope this helps everyone.