Screen Colour changes randomly

[Brenda Bell]

Screen Colour changes randomly - sometimes grey, sometimes black and mostly checkerboard (transparent). This happens when I switch from one layer to another, or when I turn a layer on or off.

 

[chrisix]

can you show in a screenshot?

 

[Brenda Bell]

I used the Snipping Tool to get a screen shot but it will not paste onto this screen. At the moment I am trying to add an attachment of that shot; that is not working either. I'll try to describe the problem better. Normally my screen background is grey. When I click on different layers in PS, or click the visibility of those layers, that grey background changes to a checkerboard background or sometimes to a black background - for no apparent reason. Please help.

 

[chrisix]

do you mean the area around your canvas, which is grey by default?
or the background of your canvas?
if its the backgruond of your canvas, then facepalm, probably you just see the background of canvas... checkers means no background aka transparancy

take a screenshot with the prtsc button on your keyboard
add it as an attachment and wait for a mod to aprove the attachment

 

[Brenda Bell]

I mean the area which is grey by default - the area which is there whether or not I have a photo open.

 

[chrisix]

take the paint bucket tool of the color you want that area to be (so like the grey)
then hold shift and left click the area.
If it still changes after that, reset preferences.

http://www.tutorial9.net/tutorials/...ing-the-photoshop-work-area-background-color/

 

[Calvillo]

You seeing anything in other programs to wonder about your video card?

 

[Brenda Bell]

It is unlikely to be my video card as my Dell machine is only one month old, but Thank You for your suggestion. I know how to change the colour of the background. I have obviously not explained my problem very well. When I open an image in PS, the background looks fine - exactly as it should look (and has always looked). However, when I then add a Curves Layer, for example, the background turns transparent, without my having done anything else whatsoever. Turning Layers on and off has the same effect, although sometimes the background goes black, rather than the checkerboard effect. Thank you for your help so far.