📎 AI Summary:
The thread centers on a Windows 11 PC that boots initially at an incorrect, very low resolution for 20–30 seconds, then switches to the correct resolution; the user also reports intermittent app scrolling stutter that stops when ASUS Armoury Crate is left open. A respondent argues the delayed resolution is likely a monitor/cable/handshake or boot-power initialization issue (and suggests tests like single-monitor boot, swapping DP/HDMI/cables/ports, disabling Fast Startup, and checking refresh/HDR/VRR), while the stutter is likely related to ASUS software or overlays (suggesting clean uninstall/retest and clean boot). Overall sentiment is practical and troubleshooting-focused, with the community generally optimistic that this is more software/display negotiation than hardware failure.
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tjbramwell

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Hey,

Windows first loads in a super low resolution and eventually realises and switches to the correct resolution 20-30 seconds later. This is incredibly annoying and I never used to have this problem.
Now had it for about a year but not had time to get around to sorting it. Recently upgraded my GPU and still having the same issues. Tried removing all graphics drivers with DDU and reinstalling only the correct ones for my card but still no different.

Image on the left is the low res with everything huge. On the right is once its corrected itself.

Gaming PC with dual monitors and specs showing Windows 11, i5-10600K, RTX 4070 SUPER.
Microsoft Defender: No threats detected Scan details
Gaming PC with dual monitors and specs showing Windows 11, i5-10600K, RTX 4070 SUPER.
Microsoft Defender: No threats detected Scan details

I also have a secondary issue which only started a few months ago (still pre getting the new card, and persisting afterwards), where I could be scrolling down in an app and every 5 seconds it would stutter / freeze momentarily. Weirdly, if I open up the Armoury Crate app by ROG and leave it idle on any monitor the scrolling stutters stop in all other apps.

Included some specs below. Let me know if you need to know anything else.
Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks!



Gaming PC with dual monitors and specs showing Windows 11, i5-10600K, RTX 4070 SUPER.
Microsoft Defender: No threats detected Scan details
Gaming PC with dual monitors and specs showing Windows 11, i5-10600K, RTX 4070 SUPER.
Microsoft Defender: No threats detected Scan details
 

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Solution
WindowsForum AI
Hi tjbramwell,
That does sound annoying. Since it survived a GPU upgrade and a DDU + reinstall, I would not blame the new RTX 4070 SUPER first.

What I think is happening​

You probably have two separate but possibly related issues:
  • The wrong resolution for the first 20–30 seconds looks more like a display handshake / EDID / refresh negotiation problem than a dead GPU.
  • The scroll stutter stopping when Armoury Crate is open strongly points to an ASUS service / power-state / overlay / background software conflict.

Do these in this order​

1. Test the display path first​

  • Shut the PC down fully.
  • Disconnect the secondary...
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WindowsForum AI

WindowsForum AI

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#2
Hi tjbramwell,
That does sound annoying. Since it survived a GPU upgrade and a DDU + reinstall, I would not blame the new RTX 4070 SUPER first.

What I think is happening​

You probably have two separate but possibly related issues:
  • The wrong resolution for the first 20–30 seconds looks more like a display handshake / EDID / refresh negotiation problem than a dead GPU.
  • The scroll stutter stopping when Armoury Crate is open strongly points to an ASUS service / power-state / overlay / background software conflict.

Do these in this order​

1. Test the display path first​

  • Shut the PC down fully.
  • Disconnect the secondary monitor.
  • Boot with only the main monitor connected.
  • If possible, try a different cable.
  • Try a different GPU port.
  • If you are on DisplayPort, test HDMI once. If you are on HDMI, test DP once.
  • In the monitor OSD, disable anything like Deep Sleep, Eco Mode, Auto Input, or similar if your AOC has it.
Why: if the problem disappears with one monitor, a different cable, or a different input type, that usually means the issue is in the monitor/cable/handshake chain, not the card itself.

2. Force a simpler display mode as a test​

  • Go to Settings > System > Display > Advanced display.
  • Confirm the monitor is set to its native resolution.
  • Temporarily set the refresh rate to 60 Hz just for testing.
  • Reboot a few times.
  • If that fixes the delayed resolution switch, move up to 120 Hz or your normal rate and test again. Microsoft documents the refresh-rate path here.
  • Also temporarily turn HDR off and, if enabled, turn G-SYNC / FreeSync / VRR off for testing.

3. Disable Fast Startup​

  • Open Control Panel.
  • Go to Power Options.
  • Click Choose what the power buttons do.
  • Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.
  • Untick Turn on fast startup.
  • Shut down fully and test again.
This is a safe test and is worth doing for odd boot-time hardware initialization problems.

4. Do a clean boot​

Microsoft’s clean boot process starts Windows with only essential drivers and startup programs, which is exactly what you want here to isolate a background conflict.
  • Press Win + R, type msconfig, and press Enter.
  • On the Services tab, tick Hide all Microsoft services.
  • Click Disable all.
  • Open Task Manager > Startup apps.
  • Disable all non-essential startup items.
  • Reboot and test both:
  • the boot resolution issue
  • the scroll stutter
If both issues improve in a clean boot, the cause is almost certainly software/services, not hardware.

5. Focus on Armoury Crate next​

The fact that leaving Armoury Crate open stops the stutter is a big clue.
ASUS provides an official Armoury Crate Uninstall Tool and specifically recommends using that tool for a complete removal before reinstalling.
  • Use the official Armoury Crate Uninstall Tool.
  • Reboot.
  • Test the PC without Armoury Crate installed at all.
  • If the stutter disappears, either leave it off or reinstall the latest version later.
I would also temporarily disable any ASUS extras such as Aura, ROG Live Service, Sonic Studio, or similar if present.

6. Update the motherboard side, not just the GPU side​

Your screenshot shows BIOS 1621. ASUS currently lists that BIOS as 2021-11-23, and the current BIOS page for the PRIME Z490-P shows version 1806 Beta dated 2026-01-15. ASUS also lists Intel ME updates on that page. (asus.com)
  • Install the latest Intel chipset drivers from the ASUS support page for your board.
  • Install the latest Intel ME package from ASUS.
  • Consider a BIOS update only after the simpler tests above.
Important: BIOS 1806 is marked Beta by ASUS. (asus.com)
If you are not comfortable flashing a beta BIOS, do the cable / single-monitor / clean-boot / Armoury Crate tests first.
Before any BIOS update:
  • Back up important files.
  • Create a restore point.
  • Do not interrupt power during the flash.

7. If the stutter remains, test NVIDIA’s MPO workaround​

NVIDIA has an official support article for some desktop-app flicker/stutter issues and provides an mpo_disable.reg workaround.
  • Create a restore point first.
  • Apply the NVIDIA MPO disable workaround.
  • Reboot.
  • Test scrolling in the apps that stutter.
If it helps, you’ve narrowed it down to a Windows compositor / overlay path issue.

Most likely outcome​

If I had to rank the suspects from most likely to least likely, I’d go:
  • Monitor cable / port / DP handshake
  • Dual-monitor enumeration issue
  • Armoury Crate / ASUS background service conflict
  • Old motherboard BIOS / chipset / ME stack
  • Actual GPU fault
Given your history, GPU fault is low on the list.

Please reply with these 4 details​

  • Is the main monitor connected by DisplayPort or HDMI?
  • What is the exact AOC monitor model?
  • Does the wrong resolution still happen with only the main monitor connected?
  • After a clean boot, does the scroll stutter still happen?
If you want, I can turn this into a shortest-possible test plan so you can work through it in 10 minutes.
 
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Adler144

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#3
You can verify that by experiences you already done. However the way you can reset your PC but the PC has a older version on it you will never be able to delete. That's scary to see. A old interface showing on your screen and you don't want it neither
 
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WindowsForum AI

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#4
Hi Adler144,
I think I understand what you mean: after a reset, Windows can still show an older-looking screen/interface at some point, and that can make it feel like the old version is “stuck” on the PC.
A couple of important clarifications:

It depends where the “old interface” appears​

  1. Before Windows loads
    • Example: motherboard logo, BIOS/UEFI screen, low-resolution boot logo, spinning dots.
    • This is usually controlled by the motherboard firmware, GPU initialization, or monitor handshake.
    • A Windows reset will not remove or change this.
  2. During Windows Recovery / Reset screens
    • Example: blue recovery menu, “Choose an option,” old-looking setup/reset UI.
    • That can come from the Windows Recovery Environment or OEM recovery partition.
    • It may look older than normal Windows, but it does not necessarily mean the old Windows install is still active.
  3. After Windows fully loads
    • Example: desktop, Start menu, Settings app, taskbar.
    • If this looks old or wrong, then it may be a Windows version, driver, theme, scaling, or display-driver issue.

For tjbramwell’s issue​

In this thread, the first 20–30 seconds of wrong resolution is probably not caused by an old Windows version that cannot be deleted.
It is more likely one of these:
  • DisplayPort/HDMI handshake delay
  • Monitor EDID detection delay
  • Dual-monitor detection issue
  • GPU driver loading after the basic display mode
  • Fast Startup / hybrid boot issue
  • ASUS Armoury Crate or background service conflict
A reset could help in some cases, but I would not start with that because it is disruptive and may not fix a monitor handshake problem.

If someone does decide to reset Windows​

Use this safer route:
  1. Back up important files first.
  2. Go to Settings > System > Recovery.
  3. Choose Reset this PC.
  4. Prefer Cloud download instead of Local reinstall if you suspect the local recovery image is old or damaged.
  5. After reinstalling, run Windows Update fully.
  6. Install the latest chipset, Intel ME, NVIDIA, and monitor-related drivers.
Warning: A reset can remove apps and settings. It should be a later step, not the first troubleshooting step.

My take​

If the “old interface” only appears briefly during startup, that is usually normal low-level boot behavior, not an old Windows install that is impossible to delete.
For this specific thread, I would still test:
  1. Boot with only one monitor connected.
  2. Try a different cable/port.
  3. Disable Fast Startup.
  4. Clean boot Windows.
  5. Test with Armoury Crate removed or disabled.
That will tell us much more than a reset would.
 
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WindowsForum AI

WindowsForum AI

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#6
You’re welcome, Adler144 — glad it helped!
Yes, that brief “old” or low-resolution look during startup can be unsettling, but it usually means Windows or the display driver has not fully initialized yet. It does not always mean there is an old Windows install stuck on the PC.
For this thread, the safest next step is still to narrow it down with simple tests first:
  1. Boot with only the main monitor connected.
  2. Try another HDMI/DisplayPort cable.
  3. Disable Fast Startup.
  4. Test after a clean boot.
  5. Check ASUS/Armoury Crate services if stuttering is also present.
That should help separate a normal boot/display handshake delay from an actual Windows or driver problem.
 

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