stuck at 1280x1040 ( if i do it stretches' the image instead of fixing it) currently letterboxed stuck at 1440x900 made to look like 1024x768

Hi Carmilla. I'm Greg, an eleven years awarded MVP, Volunteer Moderator, and Independent Advisor here to help you until this is resolved.

I haven't seen that low of screen resolution offered for years. The only reason I can think of that it would only offer distorted resolution that's so low is the adapter is old or the driver is not right. What is the exact Display adapter and is it the minimum needed for Windows 10?
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows...

The Display driver is so important here that merely updating it is sometimes not enough. So let's try everything possible to get it working correctly:

First make sure you have updated the Display driver from the PC or Display adapter maker's Support Downloads web page for your exact model number, HP Serial Number or Dell Service Tag - from the sticker on the PC.

If necessary first remove the old driver using DDU (not necessary with Microsoft Basic driver which is a placeholder if nothing else is available) and/or installing in Safe Mode with Networking (so you have internet), or Safe Mode, accessed by one of these methods: https://www.digitalcitizen.life/4-ways-boot-saf...

While there check also for newer chipset, BIOS/UEFI firmware (very important), network, sound, USB3 and other drivers, comparing to the ones presently installed in Device Manager reached by right clicking the Start Menu.

If this doesn't give you the latest or ideal driver for what you need, compare it to the driver offered by the Intel driver update Utility here: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/...
or the Nvidia Update utility here: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Scan.aspx?lang=e...
or the AMD autodect utility here: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/P...

For Display issues one fix that is working is to Roll back or Uninstall the Driver on the Display Device > Driver tab, restart PC to reinstall driver.

You can also try older drivers in Device Manager > Display device > Driver tab > Update Driver > Browse > Let Me Pick.

Then you will know you've tried everything in addition to Windows Update drivers.

Adjust the screen resolution until it fits and looks best at Settings > System > Display.

I hope this helps. Based on what you report back I can answer any questions and may have other steps to perform. If you'll wait to rate whether my post was helpful, I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

______________________________________________
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sorry some of my paragraph got cut off i was typing while messing around trying to fix it and reset my pc and lost the paragraph. i have used ddu about 6 times amd clean up 3along side ddu just incase. my monitor is a maybe 5 year mini flat screen looking at the driver its from 6/21/2006 and the name is 10.0.19041.488. right now its a mix of being fixed and broke at the same time. I also thank you for the quick response i was about to give up and pass out for the (checks time 8pm) night. p.s by MS support i mean when you have to call, or text chat not here in the forums. looked through amd forums MS ones, yt, and reddit. I've tried using device manager and control panel most if not all have resulted in making it worse or trying to disguise the problem ie being what happened. And sorry about the formatting the sites doing the thing where you go back and fix a typo it deletes the next character and there's not really a fix that I've found for that. my bios should be up to date because i did it a while back. did the safe mode examples before while using DDu and amd cleanup. doing roll back im not sure when to roll back to and am scared to because if messed up one of the amd drivers which slowed my pc to a crawl win10 chugged froze with 90% CPU and 100% gpu which was a **** to fix.  as of now the driver for the monitor is disabled which fixed half of the problem

things ive tried but didn't work

Adjust the screen resolution until it fits and looks best at Settings > System > Display.

You can also try older drivers in Device Manager > Display device > Driver tab > Update Driver > Browse > Let Me Pick.

If necessary first remove the old driver using DDU (not necessary with Microsoft Basic driver which is a placeholder if nothing else is available) and/or installing in Safe Mode with Networking (so you have internet), or Safe Mode, accessed by one of these methods: https://www.digitalcitizen.life/4-ways-boot-saf...

While there check also for newer chipset, BIOS/UEFI firmware (very important), network, sound, USB3 and other drivers, comparing to the ones presently installed in Device Manager reached by right clicking the Start Menu.

If this doesn't give you the latest or ideal driver for what you need, compare it to the driver offered by the Intel driver update Utility here: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/...
or the Nvidia Update utility here: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Scan.aspx?lang=e...
or the AMD autodect utility here: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/P...

For Display issues one fix that is working is to Roll back or Uninstall the Driver on the Display Device > Driver tab, restart PC to reinstall driver.

nothing worked because ive tired them already.(also my bluntness isn't meant to come off as rude just incase was rereading incase i missed something

The monitor is not the issue unless it was really old. The driver that matters is only for the display/video controller of the PC, to be sure that it's the very latest or the very best. This is covered in the steps I gave.

Keep me posted on your progress as I will be here to help until the case is resolved.

that might be a bit. only fix ive found was wiping the drive about two times because it doesn't want to leave and is why it took 13 trys but only 4/5 times  it worked. as of now it's still midway fixed. examples being my lock screen the time layout or front is now closer to where it was and is about the right size and my steam friends window being slender instead of a condensed cube. not sure what to try next

Carmilla -

Can you drag the edges of the Steam friends window to make it desired size? It appears to float and therefore I'm not sure how it's affected by screen resolution. What happens when you click it's Maximize box at top right?

I haven't noticed any response on the extensive Display driver steps I gave which is all that matters here. The very first focus should have been in Device Manager, then the PC maker's Support Downloads webpage, then the other steps I gave to compare and find the best possible Display driver.

What is the PC make or model, what is the latest display driver version and date available on the PC maker's Support Downloads web page, and also from the AMD, Intel or Nvidia auto updater? Compare with Display driver version and date installed now in Device Manager.

the example with the steam friends isn't about making it the right size. it's a visual indicator that the screens still wack, i may of poorly explained it earlier. if its slim or condensed somethings wrong with the display and the way i know it is because it always happens when it does this. ther wise it would be the correct portions.

i was saying ive done the steps before coming here and they didn't work. i tried making the list in the first reply.

pc is custom made with 

GPU:Radeon RX 480 gpu

CPU: 6 core amd Ryzen 5 1600 CPU 3.20 ghz

Motherboard: B450M DS3H gigabyte rev.1

RAM: 16gb of viper ddr4 ram

PSU: Corsair gold eva 750 g2

Operating System & Version: (64x) Windows 10 Version

GPU Drivers: AMD Radeon 27.20.12031.1000

Chipset Drivers: 2.10.13.408

I your talking about the first link i didn't find or recognize anything that would help( if their was sorry i often overlook it thinking it meant something else)

im using a hdmi cable from the gpu to the tv and would say it meets the requirements.

all the drivers are the same  latest for gpu is 11/13/2020 (recommended) 27.20.14501.18003

there's a optional one but that also breaks the display

 again my apologies i can read something and comprehend it differently each time which makes things difficult

also nothing to roll back too. setting-size-display makes it worse because its the same problem still

That's OK, it answers my questions. I was trying to read between the lines before.

So did the AMD Autodetect utility find anything else to try?

Check manually too if you haven't yet here:
https://www.amd.com/en/support

HDMI to TV makes it more complicated. There are settings in the TV that may be affected, and it may not behave like a monitor anyway. Have you tried it on a regular monitor?

That's OK, it answers my questions. I was trying to read between the lines before.

So did the AMD Autodetect utility find anything else to try?

Check manually too if you haven't yet here:
https://www.amd.com/en/support

HDMI to TV makes it more complicated. There are settings in the TV that may be affected, and it may not behave like a monitor anyway. Have you tried it on a regular monitor?

sorry didnt get the note. ive done it manually and auto and sorry its what i mean by each time i read something i understand it different. ive tired tv settings aswell nothing. it might be worth mentioning but it starts in bios as 1280x1040 but when win10 boots it shows 1368x768

You'll notice in the Steam Friends box that while it's slender instead of cubed as you say it should be, there is nothing distorted about the type or icons. If this was seriously wrong then the image we see there would have unmistakable distortions. Instead the box is slim instead of cubed, more like a messenger box is intended to be.

I'm not doubting you should have better resolution than 1368 x 768 which is poor on any modern hardware. But using a TV can present an extra challenge that having a normal monitor might not. That's why I suggested to try a monitor.

sorry felt i forgot something and it was i dont have a regulars monitor