Very interesting. I've never heard of audit mode before! So glad this works for you, and thank you for sharing it. We definitely need more success stories on this forum.
Are there any noticeable changes (not related to our strain) in audit mode, like reduced functionality?
ryans Very interesting. I've never heard of audit mode before!
It's intended use is for customizing a Windows disk image and then "completing the sysprep" so when you get a the device the image runs on, it boots to the Windows setup wizard where you create accounts, etc.
ryans Are there any noticeable changes (not related to our strain) in audit mode, like reduced functionality?
I actually haven't used audit mode in a long time, but a brief search has someone commenting that when in audit mode with Windows 7. Aero UI effects weren't enabled, but this could also be chalked up to either default settings or a lack of GPU/video drivers for 3D acceleration.
jthompson7804 Tried Audit mode. Didn't help me. But thanks for the idea!
A warning to others - if you try Audit mode, and then try to exit it by setting a Windows Registry value to zero, you'll have to go through a non-skippable long "first Windows startup" wizard, during which time your eyes may hurt.
logixoul Tried Audit mode. Didn't help me. But thanks for the idea!
Unfortunate. From what I understand, part of the issue is alleged to be compositor (DWM.exe) shenanigans and unknown GPU factors may play a factor, etc.
Hence the drive and a goal for empirical research so a) we can understand whats wrong, and b) we can point to companies and explain whats wrong and what needs to be fixed at a technical level.
As I said recently about @ryans discussing Intel's inconclusive test results
Without measurable differences between the drivers, there is no objective way to resolve the issue.
Sad part is, coming from the context of an engineering team, that's not an unreasonable position to take. Unless you can empirically detect what's "wrong" with a certain device, fixing it is a problem of itself.
Audit mode hasn't really reduced functionality (it logs into Administrator mode) but it does have a few quirks (ie Sysprep is always open) and takes a bit longer to boot, but so far it seems to definitely help. The Intel 530 driver doesn't appear to cause symptoms when activated in Audit mode (definitely feels different than when running Win10 in "regular mode") .
Before I try this, I wanted to ask if anybody knows if working in Audit mode permanently is a viable solution? The internet claims, it is impossible to install any Windows updates while in Audit mode. Is it possible to enter and leave audit mode at will without any issues?
And what about the user profiles? It seems Audit mode activates a new administrator profile, does that mean my original user profile will get deleted every time I am entering audit mode? Would I need to backup all files associated with the user profile, such as folders like "my documents"?
came across this in searching because i also have eyestrain problem with win10, only tested laptops so many other factors can come into play like gpus and screens.
i see data loss with this audit mode is a concern but maybe if more people have a reduction of the strain using it this could be answer for this particular issue.
could then results be sent to microsoft or other researchers to figure out what audit mode does versus a normal mode.
thanks for reading! :-)
This is interesting. So the Intel UHD driver is running in Audit mode and it is even easier on the eyes than the basic display adapter driver. We should try and see if it works out.
[deleted] I was hoping more people would test and chime in in but guess not :-(
very strange that audit-mode would affect the strain but my guess is if real it affects some hidden setting in windows 10 possibly about compositing or dwm.
maybe if people are concerned about the data-loss they can either do a full disk-image of C drive or take old laptops that do not have the strain with windows 7 do a fresh install of windows 10 with drivers and test the audit-mode there.
closer to a solution for us all the better!
axel @axel, have you really confirmed that audit mode is truly usable for you? Like working 10h days for 5 days a week and you find that it really does not produce any symptoms?
I'm asking because I seem to have days where I tolerate displays a bit better, and if I did use Audit Mode, it might happen that it is just co-incidental, that on that given day when I use it my eyes seem to tolerate it a bit better and then I would draw the conclusion that audit mode is better. But I suspect that if I really used it 10h a day for 5 days, I would find that it produces the same eye strain.
Maxx sorry to be clear have not gotten around to testing win10 with the audit-mode yet. I hope to gather spare computer to try install of win10 with the audit-mode soon.
above post was just speculation and surprise given the fact many people here this issue that not many here seem to be have tried it.
Audit mode is not usable for me but it does change the type of strain i feel in my head.
Staycalmsyndrome interesting, you could detail your os and hardware specs?
thanks!
Tried it on both Win 10 21H2 and Win 10 1511 on older working configuration based on intel i5 2500k + Radeon 7850 (didn't test 21H1).
My Microsoft engineers sugggested something like this. I'm going to give it a try
When I first saw this it reeked to me of tweaking various obscure Windows settings in the hopes of some vague placebo type effect.
However thinking more about it I know it is possible to detect Audit mode using several methods so perhaps DWM or other rendering function alters it's behavior as a condition of having Audit mode enabled (I have not confirmed this for certain, just putting ideas out there.)
Any news on authoring mode , especially over the long term?
I can confirm that with high speed camera I can see way less temporal dithering on audit mode. However it is still there on darker shades. I would not call this fixing the problem.
