Desktop Fades When No Activity?
Dec 31, 2013
recently, I corrupted my explorer.exe while modifying the icons. I had a backup of the original explorer.exe, so I went into elevated command prompt via Ctrl + File > Run new task in Task manager (elevated command prompt). This worked, but for some reason, now when I go to my desktop, I have a black background.
Along with that problem, the desktop fades to black in one second if there is no activity on the desktop. If I open a window on the desktop, it wont fade to black. If I draw a big enough selection box with my mouse on the desktop with no window open, the desktop will stay open until I let the selection box go. When the desktop is black, I can still click and select my desktop icons (if I click in the right place).
I think this is the weirdest problem I've ever had with Windows, it can't be anything with drivers or it would do it with everything. So with what I just said "or it would do it with everything" I mean to say, everything else works perfectly fine, Apps, Startscreen, etc.
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Dec 14, 2013
I've tried just about everything, but can't seem to find a setting to stop this action. The screen on my laptop (Sony Flip 15A, intel4400/geforce735) seems to increase and decrease in brightness between screens. It's rather annoying not just because of the change, but also because it takes several seconds to occur and it occurs in discrete steps. I'm running the latest drivers from both intel and nvidia. I've tried turning off adaptive brightness and disabling the sensor service, and all effects (fade in, UAC, etc) have been turned off. A video of the condition is shown below:
(Vimeo was taking forever to process)
It even happen when no programs are opening/closing - for example, if I view a dark background web page and then a lighter background, the brightness shifts. I can't imagine how awful this will be in photoshop.
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Oct 29, 2013
I want to be able to remote control my moms PC. Both our PC's are Windows 8 pro. I used a pro android app called jump remote desktop from my android tablet which allowed me to control my moms PC but it logged her out of her PC so she got a blank display while I controlled it. If I use the integrated Windows 8 pro remote desktop would my mom also be logged out and get a blank screen? How about the chrome web browser remote desktop extension? Am I right this is the only way that I can control her PC while she can still see what I'm doing. Does chrome extension log her out of windows? Another problem with having her log out of windows is then the next time she turns on her PC she will be asked for windows password even though we have it setup to start windows without asking for sign in info. Is chrome extension best solution for me? Easy to setup?
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Nov 15, 2013
This happened the first time I started this pc. When 2 applications would play sound, one would be almost muted. It's really annoying, but after an hour of poking in the settings it fixed itself. I updated to 8.1, but the problem is back. YES: I have tried doing the stupid "do nothing when windows gets communications" and it DOES NOT WORK.
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Sep 15, 2014
how can i know GPU activity ?
i like a lot process hacker , i have the last version and under Windows 8.1 pro 64bit ,system information gpu is empty (there is always 0% activity
is there a program that let me monitor?
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Oct 9, 2013
So here, as I try and contain my irritation as the window continues to constantly dim as I type this requiring me to click it so that I can type.
As mentioned above, the problem is really simple. Windows, of all kinds, my file explorer window, my Google Chrome window, any window that I bring up, is prone to dim- at the top, as if it were made inactive by clicking something else. Not the screen. Only the windows. And only the window you're working on.
I personally use Windows 8, I installed to the latest chrome. I don't use internet explorer, I've removed extensions, I did a system restore. Yes I noticed a lack of the problem initially, I did install programs, the same programs that I've used for a long time now with absolutely no problems that I hadn't dealt with. Sure, that would lead someone to believe that the problem stems from one of the programs because the lack of the problem showing it's self until. Maybe. Makes absolutely no sense though.
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Aug 24, 2013
Ive noticed lately that my router lights are flashing more often than usual. They usually flash but now its happening more often. I also notice more hdd activity this also usally happens once in a while but now is also more often. I ran malware scans and nothing came up.
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Sep 15, 2014
I decided to execute a general maintenance on my working computer. I cleaned all parts and contacts with isobutyl alcohol and changed the thermal compound I was using for Artic Silver 5. Now I'm facing a strange scenario. All the motherboard leds turn on when I turn the PSU on but the computer doesn't boot. No post and no fan activity.
May it be a problem with my PSU ?
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Jun 24, 2014
I know you can open up resource monitor, and look at the disk tab for the information, but, I am looking for a way to log all of that to a file, so I can see over time, how many bytes are written for each process that is running. Anytool that I can do this with?
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Jul 10, 2014
I get this message on startup of Windows 8, before the login screen. Dunno if its from a virus or malware.
[URL]
Clicking OK on that brings up the login screen and I can log into Windows fine. But whether or not i log in or wait at the message, the computer will restart. I get about 2 minutes before it restarts.
[URL]
-I have done a full scan of all partitions with Kaspersky Rescue Disc 10. Found no viruses.
-Have enabled legacy boot menu policy so can boot into safe mode by pressing F8. Message still appears and computer still restarts.
-Unable to Refresh PC, due to drive being locked.
-Unable to Reset PC, due to a required partition is missing.
-I have uninstalled the graphics driver while in safe mode.
-I have done chkdsk, found no errors.
-System Restore Failed.
-Cannot do a sfc scan, due to Windows Resource Protection could not start the repair service. (Running from Windows 8 disc)
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Nov 7, 2013
I recently discovered that one of my drives has been at 100% activity with no data being read or written. This particular drive is used for virtual instruments and samples for music. I've never had issues before, but I found it odd that loading projects took an insane amount of time to load, which lead me to check the disk usage of this particular drive.
Current response time spikes into the tens of thousands. Again, nothing is being written or read. If I open the drive, I can see all my files, but the drive never seems to stop "searching". I've attatched a picture below:
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Apr 22, 2014
I install windows 8.1 and i notice that this windows make lot of heat with high fan activity
I change into windows 7 and its all work perfect without extra heating.
I have a dell studio 1458 laptop and i have A04 bios So i really dont know if this cause by the windows 8.1 or the old version of the bios (today the A07 bios is the best, but i dont know how to upgrade the bios safely)
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Mar 28, 2014
I have installed a fresh copy of Windows 8.1 Professional recently (about a month ago). It's running fine mostly but there is one thing that keeps irritating me, whenever I leave my PC idle for long (like half hour or so), the system start to do something in background with hard drive light constantly lit.
This keeps going on until I come back and start doing something or it randomly stops doing it. This also happens during work too but rarely. I have heard that file indexing and windows update are possible culprits behind this issue and turned them off but it is still happening. I don't know what's wrong with this OS, it never happened with Windows 7 before.
I mostly use my system for gaming (Steam) and have no antivirus installed beside Windows Defender, in addition to that there is no 3rd party de-fragment program installed. When this happens during games it makes game performance sluggish which is the major cause of annoyance for me.
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Feb 24, 2014
I have some questions regarding the new Chkdsk in Windows 8 (I'm using Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit).
note that Windows 8's Chkdsk has changed considerably since the previous Windows versions; so if you know about the Chkdsk in Windows 7 or previous Windows versions, this could not apply to the Chkdsk in Windows 8.
I also point out that I'm talking about the GUI version, accessible from the drive's properties Window.
My main questions are: when Chkdsk has finished scanning, and the results window appears, can I at once proceed with the following, or should I wait some time:
1) In case of an external USB drive, disconnect the hard drive (with "safely remove hardware", even if the cache is turned off), and turn it off.
2) In case of an internal drive (HDD or SSD), reboot Windows, or turn off the computer.
My worry is that if I would disconnect a USB drive, or reboot or turn off the PC in case of an internal drive, before the Chkdsk-related activity is finished, then the file-system of the disk in question could get damaged.
My doubts come from the following facts:
- I have been told that when the Chkdsk results window appears, this means that Chkdsk has finished working with that drive; but I have noticed that some short drive activity is happening some seconds (about 6) after the results window appears (should be a write activity, not sure if also read activity). I noticed this by observing the LED on my USB drives, and also by monitoring the drives in question with Windows 8's new Taskmanager.
- In case of disconnecting USB drives, I have been told that I can be sure that if some drive activity is happening, then the "safely remove hardware" feature won't have effect, and would warn me that there is disk access going on; but I have tried to select "safely remove hardware" while Chkdsk was in the middle of a scan, and the result was that Chkdsk got interrupted (with an error messsage appearing probably from Chkdsk), and the USB hard drive got removed. Though this seems not to have caused any file-system errors (I did another Chkdsk scan later).
You may think that I just need to look at the drive's LED, or monitor the drive's activity with the new Taskmanager, and take note of after how much time the drive activity ceases. Then I would just need to wait so long before disconnecting the USB drive, or rebooting or turning off the PC.
My problem here is that I'm not sure if the new Taskmanager, or the drive's LED, are sensible enough to detect even the smallest disk access, which could get unnoticed. I'm not sure how much I should wait... seconds? Minutes? What do you think? Perhaps there's no need to wait at all?
I did some tests by disconnecting (with "safely remove hardware") a USB drive shortly after doing a Chkdsk on it. Then I did another Chkdsk after turning it on again. I didn't get any error message from Chkdsk. But I'm still worried that there could be an unfortunate moment, during which a disconnection (still with "safely remove hardware") could cause problems, perhaps because in that moment a write operation could be in process.
I think I have read that the new Chkdsk in Windows 8 uses VSS ("Shadow Copy") to check the drives while keeping them online. With this new Chkdsk, I think it is possible to continue using the drive while the scan is happening, even on the system drive.
I was thinking about this: is it possible that the short activity which I have noticed after Chkdsk's results window appears, comes from this Shadow Copy Service, which is "unmounting" (?) the shadow copy used by Chkdsk?
If this is true, is it important to let the "unmounting" task happen, or can I disconnect, reboot, or turn off before it starts? And what happens if I interrupt this "unmounting" task in the middle, while it is in process?
Does it make some sense to wait some time after doing a Chkdsk, or can I at once proceed to disconnect the USB drive, or reboot or turn off the PC (in case of internal drives)?
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Apr 19, 2013
I noticed an issue with my PC. I always put my desktop into S3 sleep when not in use, normally this happens almost instantly, but now it takes 10+ seconds after the monitor goes black before the system actually powers down.
I had been using Windows 7, but a week ago I did an upgrade to Windows 8. I'm not sure exactly when this behavior started, but I just noticed it earlier today.
I have Hibernate disabled (powercfg -h off) as well as System Restore; so I don't know what could be causing this. The hard drive LED stays lit during the entire delay.
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Apr 8, 2013
The hard drive light on my laptop is showing continuous activity and is not going out,even if the computer is left idle.
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Mar 29, 2014
I am trying to troubleshoot an issue which has been bugging me for quite a while. Basically, I leave my computer on overnight and don't close it to download stuff and updates and also because I don't like the time to boot up.
Well anyways after coming back to my computer at the morning, my computer becomes almost like a brick. The hard drive activity is pretty much always red, everything lags a lot, mouse event, or any input. CPU is not having much of a usage, but RAM is almost full. I attached a screenshot.
I also noticed one of my hard drives, the one which is slower and I only use it for backup and no programs or games, is almost 100% all the time, while the other one which has windows installation and program files is not that intense in activity. Also notice the read and write speed is not that big, but response time is huge.
It only happens if I come back to my computer for a long time not attending it.
I disable system restore, Windows defender real time protection and sleep.
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Apr 18, 2014
I have a Asus T100 tablet with 32GB SSD. I bought a 64GB SD card to augment the storage on the tablet. The problem I am having is that the SD card disconnects after a few minutes of no activity, I then have to take it out of the tablet and pout it back in. I then have the folder in my C Drive again. How do I prevent the SD card from disconnecting so that I can use it as additional storage?
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Feb 9, 2014
I'm a Windows 8. I'm trying to RDP from my new Windows 8 laptop to an XP desktop, both of which are on my home network. When I try, I get the below error...
Remote Desktop can't connect to the remote computer for one of these reasons:
1) Remote access to the server is not enabled
2) The remote computer is turned off
3) The remote computer is not available on the network
As best as I can tell, none of the conditions above is true. Here is what I have looked at so far...
- On the XP machine, in System settings / Remote, "Allow users to connect to this system" is Checked. I have successfully RDP'd to this machine in the past, but this is the first time I've tried from the Windows 8 machine.
- From the Windows 8 machine, I can ping the XP machine, and I can access a shared drive on the XP machine. In fact, I've been moving files between the XP machine and the Windows 8 machine, in both directions, all day.
- Just to eliminate another potential issue, I have set the username and password on the Windows 8 machine to match that on the XP machine.
Incidentally, XP machine is running XP Pro, 2002, SP3.
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Jun 2, 2013
My laptop has an HD screen, 1920x1080 to be exact. Some of my desktop icons are out of focus and blurry, but others aren't. At first I assumed that those icons were not compatible with an HD screen or something, but then some of them fixed themselves. Others are still blurry.
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Oct 29, 2012
The instance i was in was watching some youtube videos, then i decided i was finished and closed the desktop by dragging down and throwing it away. Firefox was minimized. But i noticed the video was still playing in the background. Is this supposed to be like that? I feel like when i close the desktop it should close any applications related to the desktop. Maybe its just firefox?
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Oct 17, 2014
I have a PC that was working fine 3 weeks ago and havent used it since. I turned it on the other day to use it. It booted up, got to the 4 blue boxes for windows and expected to load my desktop but it didnt. I tried using gparted live and then install windows 8 again, saw the 4 blue boxes again and loaded devices and then no desktop again.
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Nov 10, 2012
I was a heavy user of the Windows 7 desktop search, either by the taskbar or the start menu. I most often used it to find emails, especially when I didn't remember which of my many accounts received the item. It worked across Outlook 2010, Live Mail, and Thunderbird.
Is it somewhere hidden in Windows 8? If not, is there an alternative? I believe the mail is still being indexed so it may only be a client that accesses the database that is needed.
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Feb 15, 2014
is there anyway to add tiles on the desk top that would be attached to favorites I have saved
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Feb 10, 2014
A process called desktop manager is using a lot of cpu
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Jun 20, 2013
I've just reinstalled my Windows 8 operating system onto a new 1tb drive and after it installed my old desktop pic was on the new reinstalled drive. How is this possible unless my del laptop has somehow retained my old image? My other thought was that after reinstallation I signed back into my Microsoft account and this has somehow recognised my old desktop? If the latter is so then why retain just the desktop image and no other images?
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Mar 5, 2014
I have used desktop for many years and am used to it. I am sure the tiles thing is better, but I want my desktop. Instead of having the tiles come up and clicking on the desktop, how can I make it just go to the desktop and avoid the tiles. I found something in setup about defaulting to desktop, but that didn't seem to change anything.
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Jun 5, 2014
After nuking my computer, due to a fatal user profile issue that could not be recovered from, i reinstalled windows 8.1 from scratch. Everything should be great. However after 1-2 weeks, I've started to experience a new issue that is driving me nuts. The computer is hanging at two points.
(1)The first spot is upon boot, within the desktop. the mouse just spins, and I can't access anything. after 2-4 minutes, the computer reboots on it's own
(2)It occasionally hangs or is slow going through the bios upon boot. It's also hanged at "verifying DMI pool data"
To recap, I cannot access any programs or system functions at this time. I've tried to restore from a point of time, but that action failed.
how to determine if the issue is hard drive vs. bios. in terms of setup, I have a SSD drive where the OS is installed, I also have a separate hard drive.
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Apr 6, 2013
I have started seeing gray x's covering a corner of some but not all desktop file icons. The files seem to operate. Is this a problem or identifying something about these files?
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Apr 26, 2014
I have received a new laptop from HP to replace my original purchase which turned out to have a defective keyboard. I am in the process of clearing my personal info/history from the defective computer before returning it to HP.
I have deleted all my files and have uninstalled all the programs that I installed. I also deleted the items shown in the "Desktop" directory (which were the shortcuts I created). That may have been a mistake because now I am attempting to clear the shortcut icons from the desktop, with no success! Since the files to which the shortcuts pointed have been deleted, I get a message telling me the file is no longer located in the "Desktop" directory (no kidding, I deleted it!). I can't delete them or even rename them or delete their names. I realize now that I should have deleted the shortcut icons before clearing the "Desktop" directory.
These shortcuts don't link to anything, but because their names give an indication of my personal interests, I would prefer to have them removed. I could reformat the drive, but I assume HP would like to get the machine back complete with all files that they originally supplied with it. I really don't want to do a restore and start over clearing my info.
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Dec 19, 2013
I dont know how to fix it but when i click on something on my desktop it will disappear and have to minimize the other apps to get it to stay open and task bar does the same thing.
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