Warning: The retired, out-of-support Internet Explorer 11 desktop application has been permanently disabled through a Microsoft Edge update on certain versions of Windows 10. For more information, see Internet Explorer 11 desktop app retirement FAQ.
Symptoms
When you run Internet Explorer 11 on a computer such as a Surface Book or a Surface Pro 4 that has a high-resolution display, the user interface and fonts may be displayed in different sizes when you move a browser window between the built-in display and a lower resolution external monitor.
Note A high-resolution display is also known as a "high-DPI display" because it features many dots per inch.
Resolution
To fix this problem, install the most recent cumulative security update for Internet Explorer. To do this, go to Windows Update. Additionally, see the technical information about the most recent cumulative security update for Internet Explorer.
Note This update was first included in the MS16-063: Security update for Internet Explorer: June 14, 2016.
Additional installation instructions
Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 How to back up and restore the registry in WindowsAfter you install the most recent cumulative security update for Internet Explorer, you must change the registry to enable the new behavior. You can enable the fix per user or per computer.
To enable the fix that's provided in the security update, follow these steps:
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Right-click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
Note If the User Account Control dialog box appears, click Yes. -
Locate the following per-user subkey or per-computer subkey in the registry, depending on the method that you use:
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For a per-user configuration, locate the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl
Note If the FeatureControl subkey does not exist, follow these steps:
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Right-click Main, point to New, and then click Key.
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Type FeatureControl as the subkey name, and then press Enter.
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For a per-computer configuration, locate the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl
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Add the FEATURE_SYSTEM_DPI_AWARE subkey. To do this, follow these steps:
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Right-click FeatureControl, point to New, and then click Key.
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Type FEATURE_SYSTEM_DPI_AWARE as the subkey name, and then press Enter.
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Add the iexplore.exe entry. To do this, follow these steps:
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Right-click FEATURE_SYSTEM_DPI_AWARE, point to New, and then click DWORD (32-bit) Value.
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Type iexplore.exe as the entry name, and then press Enter.
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Right-click iexplore.exe, and then click Modify.
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In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
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Exit Registry Editor.
Status
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.
References
Learn about the terminology that Microsoft uses to describe software updates.
