Laptop will not stay calibrated

[silverdae]

<p>I recently purchased a laptop running Windows 7 64 bit. I calibrated it using the Spyder 3 Pro. I didn't have any problems calibrating the monitor, but once it was shut down and restarted, it reverted to the what I see as being the factory defaults. This is a home computer, and my work computer is a LaCie, so I can easily recognize when the monitor switches from calibrated to not-calibrated. </p>

<p>I went through the windows preferences under control panel> color management, and found what I thought to be the problem (I believe it was something to do with assigning available icc profile to certain devices) and made the spyder generated icc profile the default for this device (laptop screen). When I restarted it today, everything was still calibrated, so I thought I had solved that problem. </p>

<p>Prior to coming to PN, I was browsing and it asked me to allow Java to make changes and update. As soon as I allowed it, the screen went back to its non-calibrated state I mean click yes, and everything went blue-toned). </p>

<p>First, what do I need to do to make Java (fiirefox browser, if that matters) leave my color management alone (because it apparently over-rides my calibration)? Second, what specifically do I need to do in Windows to make sure my calibration is used at start-up and is always loaded? Like I said, I went through the windows 7 color management options, but I am unsure if what I checked (and didn't check) is the correct option. </p>

<p>This laptop isn't anything special, but it is useful, and I want it to be calibrated. I'm not using a second monitor (at this time- we'll deal with that later), or an attached display, just the laptop screen. The laptop is a Gateway, Intel I3, 4 gb ram... thanks for any help!</p>

<p>Jen</p>

[colin_mattson1]

<p>Java didn't do it: <strong>Windows</strong> did when Java had to ask for administrator privileges to upgrade. It's a bug that was partially but not completely fixed in SP1 (and existed long before then), and all you can do is live with it.<br /> <br /> In day-to-day use it shouldn't be much of an issue, but it will crop up when the occasional security prompt shows up (which is, fortunately, much much rarer in 7). One day Microsoft may get around to actually fixing it, but for now they're claiming it is fixed and everyone reporting it still occurs after SP1 is crazy.</p>

<p>And just on the off chance you didn't get SP1, it's probably not a bad idea to hit Windows Update and make sure you are, in fact, up to date.</p>

[silverdae]

<p>So are you telling me that every time my computer asks for administrator privileges it is going to dump my calibration? Seriously? Really? </p>

<p>Are you saying that every windows 7 machine, when admin privileges are allowed, are losing their calibration? How can professionals who are color critical use windows at all any more? Can I change my "privileges" so that less require admin privileges, and I can do more as a user, therefore limiting my "dump the calibration" actions? </p>

 

[silverdae]

<p>[tried to edit the above, but timed out]</p>

<p>If the answer to the above is no, then is there a quick way to restore the calibration? The only way I know of is to go through the dialog of the spyder 3 pro software, and at the end, it will switch back to being calibrated. Even without the actual sensor doing its thing, it will change back to the last calibration. This takes way to long. I can't be doing it once a night. I'll throw the dang thing through the window... hah- windows through the window... sorry. Anyway, there has to be something I can do. Any advice?</p>

[colin_mattson1]

<p>Pre-SP1, it affected every single copy of Windows 7.</p>

<p>Post-SP1, it affects some users but not others. </p>

<p>Even with this bug, it's still the best state Windows color management has ever been in. When it is working, it's darn good, too. </p>

<p>It is possible to disable UAC (and thus the prompts), but that breaks a bunch of applications, disables a raft of important security features, and makes your computer a ticking time bomb for malware infestation. And unless you're installing software all day every day, the prompts should not be occurring frequently enough to meaningfully impact your workflow. Working around the bug is annoying, yes, but it's far better than the alternative of turning off a feature Microsoft never intended to be turned off. (And which carries a lot of side effects as a result.)</p>

[cabbiinc]

<p>Turn off UAC. It's useless in my opinion. The reason why is that you get used to just clicking OK when the darned thing pops up. You get it here and you get it there. If you download things you get it often enough. Then in 2 years when a virus tries to do something you don't even think about it since every time it's popped up in the last two years it's been nothing, even things that you've done dozens of times before. So what did it gain you? Not much.<br /> It also silently blocks certain things. I'm not that much of a geek but I can't use my website building app with it turned on, something about a dll running as an app or something else that I don't even understand. It will let the program run, but it won't let it save anything. Don't ask me why, it just wont. So turn the program off (without saving anything that you've just spent untold hours doing), turn off UAC, log off then log on and do the web building all over again.</p>

<p>What do you lose?<br /> Well you lose that annoying pop up for one. And that's all it really is, annoying.<br /> You lose the ability to act as admin in a regular account on your computer. So if you have an account set up for your kid then you'll have to turn UAC on every time you want to go into their acct and change something (or make their acct an admin acct, change what you were going to change, then turn it back to an non admin acct).<br /> You have to "Run as Admin" some things in your admin account that you normally wouldn't, but then you don't have U gonna go Absolutely Crazy bugging you.</p>

<p>Do you remember the Apple ad where PC had that security guy follow him around asking did you mean to do that? That's what that is.</p>

<p>Turn off UAC, it's useless. This is just one more thing to add to an already poorly designed part of the operating system. Good idea, poorly executed, really not missed when it's not there.</p>

<p>To turn off UAC, hit your windows key and R. Type msconfig into the box, hit enter.<br>

Go to the Tools tab, scroll down to the Change UAC settings, click the Launch button.<br>

Pull the slider all the way down, taking note where you had it to begin with, click OK.<br>

Turning it back on is the same steps.<br>

You don't need to restart your computer, but you do need to log off then back on again for it to take affect.</p>

[steveg]

<p>I had exactly the same problem with my Win 7 64 bit system - There's actually two places that you need to set the default icc profile - if you don't set it as system default as well it keeps losing your profile setting - I eventually found this on the web that fixed it for me:</p>

<p><strong>1. ASSOCIATE YOUR PROFILES WITH A DISPLAY AND SET AS DEFAULT</strong> <em><br /> </em><br /> To apply an existing ICC profile (an ICM file created by some calibration process), do the following - <br /> <br /> Control Panel / Display / Change Display Settings / Advanced Settings / Color Management / Color Management (again!) / Devices / select one of your displays*1 / click "use my settings for this device"*2/ if necessary add the applicable profile to the "Profiles associated with this device" box using the "Add" button (if your profile is not already listed but is available somewhere on the network or computer) / click on the correct profile in that box and click "Set as Default Profile".<br /> <br /> *1 the CM dialog boxes don't label your displays the same way as other dialog boxes, they seem to lose the manufacturer and model number info that is available elsewhere, so your <em>ABC model nn</em> display comes up as <em>Display: 1. Generic PnP monitor</em> . Also note that at least on my system, display '1' was in fact display '2' in other display settings dialog boxes, and vice versa. <br /> <br /> *2 You would think that selecting "Use my settings for this device" would mean the Windows would use your settings for that device (display), but apparently it doesn't. It means ... well, I don't know what it means. Perhaps it means if you <em>don't</em> select it, even the next step (below) won't help you.<br /> <br /> Good work so far - tortuous and unnecessarily complex - but has a certain logic. Unfortunately it doesn't achieve anything at all, until you work out the secret key. Although it seems the above should do what you want, you have to do something which is entirely unobvious, and not mentioned at all in any of the help general discussion, and apparently not known by any of the 67 people who read my question. It is actually listed in the MS help section... at the very bottom of "Understanding color management settings" and after a mass of largely incomprehensible stuff which doesn't appear to be relevant, there is a link which is not listed in the contents at the top and almost impossible to notice... To enable or disable calibration loading by Windows <br /> <br /> <strong>2. ENABLE CALIBRATION LOADING BY WINDOWS</strong> <br /> <br /> Here's the hidden bit of help file...<br>

<em>To enable or disable calibration loading by Windows , you must be logged on with a user account that has administrative privileges.</em></p>

<ol>

<li><em>Click to open Color Management. </em></li>

<li><em>Click the Advanced tab, and click Change system defaults .</em></li>

<li><em>Click the Advanced tab in the Color Management - System Defaults dialog box, and do one of the following:</em>

<ul>

<li><em>To enable Windows to load display calibrations,<strong> select the Use Windows display calibration check box.</strong> </em></li>

<li><em>To prevent Windows from loading display calibrations, clear the Use Windows display calibration check box.</em></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li><em>Click Close in the Color Management - System Defaults dialog box.</em></li>

<li><em>Click Close in the Color Management dialog box. </em></li>

</ol>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

<ol> </ol>