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I was messing around with window.open() in JavaScript, to try and make patterns with the popups, and I hit around 250ish Google Chrome windows when my computer crashed. I got an error labeled WerFault.exe - Application Error, that said The application was, and then has an OK button.

The computer restarted and everything seemed to be back to normal, except for a section of weird pixel patterns right in the middle of my screen. The pattern occasionally disappears or changes, but it usually looks like this.

Here's a picture of the error and the weird glitch.

Can I get rid of this?

I'm using Windows 10 Pro on a ThinkPad Edge. I think this is it.

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  • 21
    Is the image actually rotated by 45° or did you just not care to take the time to align it with reality?
    – Daniel F
    Commented Aug 12, 2018 at 17:48
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    I hope it's actually like that on the screen that would be hilarious.
    – confetti
    Commented Aug 12, 2018 at 20:12
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    Does the pattern move if you try moving the mouse?
    – htmlcoderexe
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 6:42
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    @MatJ could be an attempt to display the application icon but fetching the data from a corrupt memory location?
    – Daniel F
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 10:33
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    Does copying such image to clipboard using PrintScreen key copies this artifact too, or no? Could you please also provide an image of the artifact after the reboot?
    – Sasha
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 12:47

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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It appears to be a memory issue. To see if it's just temporary, do a full shutdown and reboot.

  • Press Windows and type CMD.
  • Press Enter to get a CMD prompt.
  • Type shutdown /s /t 0 .
  • Reboot and check for the pixel problem.
  • If that does not resolve the issue, turn off Fast Startup, which may be caching invalid data, and repeat the steps above.

Let me know if this helps!

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    I would also consider switching the computer off for a while to see if this is a memory overheat issue.
    – no id
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 0:16
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    Given the pattern it doesn't look like a memory fault at all to me, more like someone wrote something into the framebuffer that doesn't belong there, or more specifically (X)or'd it with the contents already there. I would suggest to update drivers
    – PlasmaHH
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 6:40
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    Choosing "Reboot" in the GUI already does a full shutdown, unlike "Shutdown", which (by default) does a partial hibernate in order to speed up boot times.
    – Hitechcomputergeek
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 8:46
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    @PlasmaHH I doubt that it is a framebuffer issue. If it disappears and later reappears, this means that it must be somewhere in memory. Probably some bitmap that got corrupted. If a reboot doesn't solve this, I'd also vote for reinstalling drivers. I'd shut it down (no hybernate) and take the battery out for some seconds.
    – Daniel F
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 10:50
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    @PlasmaHH I'm more thinking along the lines of a sprite (like the Windows start button or a mouse cursor). Of course that doesn't explain why it is left at that position. Yet it is possible to create transparent windows and have them in the foreground and make them non-focusable, click-throughy, without a window frame. Hard to tell.
    – Daniel F
    Commented Aug 13, 2018 at 11:05
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I would try a different screen resolution and if possible a different monitor.

If it only shows on one monitor then you know the monitor is the problem. And changing the screen resolution can have multiple outcomes. All will help to analyze the problem further.

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    Technically I would say it's possible that a different monitor might not show the issue, but the issue might still be with the GPU. Imagine if the GPU's HDMI output was failing but its displayport output was fine. Or perhaps the GPU uses a different part of its memory when outputting a different resolution or with a different port. Not saying that's likely, just pointing out a possibility :)
    – Clonkex
    Commented Aug 14, 2018 at 6:51
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Like DrMoishe Pippik said, maybe a full shut-down helps. To do it you can also use the reboot option, because afaik it also performs a full shut-down and reboot, instead of just saving the ram to the disk like the shut-down does.

If there is still that error, either it is the framebuffer like PlasmaHH wrote or an error in the RAM. If it is in the RAM you can try to start a Memtest86+ using a linux live image for example (e.g. Linux Mint)

Another option: Lenovo offers software for diagnosis. You can find that here: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/gb/en/lenovodiagnosticsolutions

Bests

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