If you see a screen that is smaller (does not fill the entire monitor screen) or larger (display goes off-screen) than the monitor’s displayable size, you can try the following solutions.
Screen Smaller or Larger Than Monitor in Windows 10
Page Contents
Fix 1 – Resize the desktop
It’s called underscan when the video image does not fill the entire monitor screen, but is surrounded by border. In the contrary, it’s called overscan when the video image goes beyond the border of the monitor screen, causing the edges of the video image to disappear off-screen.
These are the terms used in various programs such as Nvidia Control Panel, Intel HD Graphics Control Panel, AMD Radeon Settings, etc. that control how the size of the screen should display on the monitor and often used to correct underscan and overscan issues.
Depending on the graphic card you have on your PC, you need to open the corresponding driver application in order to access to the desktop resizing settings. Open Nvidia Control Panel if you have a Nvidia graphic card, AMD Radeon Settings if you have an AMD graphic card, or Intel HD Graphics Control Panel if you have an Intel built-in graphic card (common in laptop computers).
If you can’t find the driver program, make sure to download and install the latest graphic driver update from your graphic card’s manufacturer.
- https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx
- https://www.amd.com/en/support
Nvidia Control Panel
For Nvidia video card users, search for and open “Nvidia Control Panel” from the Windows 10 search bar.
In Nvidia Control Panel, expand Display in the left pane, and then select Adjust desktop size and position. In the right pane, click on the Size tab.
Under “Resize the desktop if the display setting did not provide a proper fit” setting, check the checkbox for Enable desktop resizing, and then click on the Resize button.
In the Resize box, adjust the width, height or both until the screen fits your monitor or TV. Click OK to save the changes.
AMD Radeon Software
For AMD graphic card users, search for and open “AMD Radeon Software” from the Windows 10 search bar. Alternatively, you can also open the application by right-clicking on your desktop and select AMD Radeon Software.
In AMD Radeon Settings, click on Display. Under Display Options, move the HDMI Scaling slider (default at 0%) until the image fits the entire screen of your monitor or TV.
If you have an AMD graphic card but can’t find the AMD Radeon Software application, you can download it from https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/radeon-software.
Intel HD Graphics Control Panel
For users who use an on-board built-in Intel HD graphic card, open Intel HD Graphics Control Panel. Navigate to Display, then General Settings.
Under Scaling, select Maintain Display Scaling or Maintain Aspect Ratio and see if it fixes the screen smaller or larger than monitor issue. Try other scaling settings as well if the two mentioned scaling settings doesn’t solve the problem.
Fix 2 – Configure monitor on-screen settings
There are also on-screen settings on some monitors or TV that can affect how image fit to its screen. These settings can be accessed by physically pressing the menu buttons on the panel of your monitor.
Look for settings called “image size“, “screen adjustment“, “picture size” or other relevant settings, and try to adjust them to see if it fixes your overscan or underscan issue.
Optionally, you can try to reset your monitor and see if it can resolve the problem. Doing so would reset all your monitor settings to factory default. If you have previously adjusted settings such as brightness, contrast or gamma on the monitor settings, write them down first before resetting so that you know the value when you re-adjust them after the reset.
Fix 3 – Change resolution that fit your monitor aspect ratio
Some screen resolution would not fit your monitor due to difference in aspect ratio. If only either horizontal or vertical borders of the screen are not filled or went off-screen, it could be due to the resolution set doesn’t fit your monitor’s aspect ratio. Try to change to a screen resolution that is supported by your monitor’s aspect ratio.
You can quickly change the screen resolution in Windows 10 by right-clicking on your desktop, select Display Settings, then select a resolution from the “Display resolution” drop-down menu.
Fix 4 – Change the scaling mode
Changing the scaling mode may also fix your monitor’s underscan or overscan issue. These settings may differ depending on the graphic driver’s software. Below is the scaling mode settings in Nvidia Control Panel. If you have a different graphic card, look for similar settings in the corresponding graphic driver application.
In Nvidia Control Panel, navigate to Display > Adjust desktop size and position > Scaling.
By default, “Aspect ratio” is selected. You can try other scaling mode and see if it fits your need.
However, changing the scaling mode is not the ultimate solution for overscan or underscan issues as the image will be scaled and stretched to fit the screen, thus, causing unwanted losses of picture quality.
Fix 5 – Update graphic card driver
If you have a freshly installed Windows PC that you have not downloaded or updated your graphic driver yet, be sure to download and install the latest driver update from your graphic card’s manufacturer’s website.
