Any fix for this Windows bug? Calibration lost after sleep

[AJLynn]

I've run afoul of a bug that is apparently in both Windows Vista and Windows 7. If you calibrate a monitor using a package that creates a gamma table (which includes all the popular calibrators, such as my i1) and then sleep or hibernate the computer, when it wakes it unloads the gamma table (the color mapping stays but the levels by channel are screwed up and it looks like crap).

 

I've found one workaround, which is a small program for choosing between calibration files. I ran the calibration a second time to create a second profile, then I run this and switch between them, which reloads everything. Of course, this is a huge pain.

 

Does anybody know a real fix? Or which person at MS to complain at, considering they've let this bug fester since Vista was in prerelease?

[Jeff Mottle]

I never had this issue with Vista, but disabling the security warnings that dim the screen are often cited as triggering the unloading of the display profile.

 

After upgrading to Windows 7 I run into the profile unloading issue all of the time. Usually after the OS sleeps or if I access the workstation via RDP. I called XRITE and they confirmed it is a problem and there is nothing they can do as it's a design flaw with Windows and how they handle profiles. They said they could install a utility that constantly monitored the status of the profile, but it would take up too much overhead so they did not want to do that.

 

The solution is to run the calibration loader from the startup folder when you notice the profile has unloaded. Not great for sure. You should always make sure you do this before you do any color sensitive work as it's easy to become accustomed to an uncalibrated display if you don't see the profile unload.

[AJLynn]

Thanks, I didn't realize there was a simple calibration loader. I've pinned that to the dock

 

I could swear I'd read that this was also a Vista bug but maybe it's set off differently. I'd gladly sacrifice some of the random screen stuff to get this to work right.

[jtscanlon]

On Windows 7 this problem is fixed. You have to change some arcane settings but there is a way to make Windows 7 remember the monitor calibration and color/gamma profiles. The issue was that Windows would remember the color correction but not the gamma correction to be applied in the video card's LUT table.

 

See the below link for full instructions. I'm just posting this so that other people who stumble across this thread via Google looking for help will find it!

 

http://www.pusztaiphoto.com/articles/colormgmt/win7/default.aspx

 

Best

Jim