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Invisible app stealing focus on Vista


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Hello, I have a weird problem. It is more like it annoys me pretty bad.

I have been experiencing for several weeks now on my PC (with Windows Vista Home Premium SP2) that I open up a window (really doesn't matter if folder, program, game, etc.) and about second later it looses the focus so that I have to click into the windows again to gain it. With programs running fullscreen it also usually minimizes them while loosing the focus.

When I am in a state that my window lost its focus I tried keyboard shortcut ALT+SPACE to bring up the window context menu but the only options I get are to either move or close the window. This short context menu appears in the upper left corner of the screen.

I tried to move it by selecting Move option and using arrow keys. When I press ALT+SPACE again the context menu has moved so I know there is some kind of window but it is not displayed on the task bar and I have no idea which process could cause the problem.

I also want to point out that even when I closed the invisible window thing by pressing ALT+SPACE and choosing Close it runs itself again when I open up another window.

I did scan my computer for any spyware or viruses using several programs with clean results.

I would be very grateful to get any ideas of fixing the issue. Thank you!

PS: Sorry if some names or commands don't match, I am using Czech version of Windows and I am not 100% sure of every English translation :-)

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Are you able to do a System Restore to a time before this started happening?

I am not sure when that time should be. Besides, I have bad experience using System Restore. Last time I used it, it caused my windows to crash completly and led to system reinstall.

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Can you start Task Manager, then do that Alt+Space: Close trick, and see if you can find what process disappears from the Task Manager (Processes tab)?

According to the Task Manager no new process has been either created or terminated.

Wish me good luck with my 75 running processes :-(

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hey, and what if it's not a problem of a foreign process but of a native one, something I just can't kill without interfering the system functionality? I'm thining that killing the right process is not a solution. I have honestly no idea how many processes am I able to kill or how many will system let me kill. Anybody knows?

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hey, and what if

On the basis that you are quite afraid to use the very tame and "Toothless" - System Restore as suggested to cure any problems that you may have, any further ventures into repairing your own computer are inadvisable, and would probably be beyond your personal scope as far as computing is concerned.

Try to find a computer professional who may be able to help you.

John.

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  • 4 weeks later...

You can spend many, many hours trying all sorts of tweaks and cracks to solve this type of problem without success.

I recommend that you back up all your data to a separate drive and carry out a clean install of Windows and all your software from original media. In about 4 hours you would be up and running sweetly again.

You should then instal Acronis - or another reputable back up software solution - and take a system image so that if you have problems again you can restore your system to a good state. There is plenty of advice on this forum about the use of Acronis and Second Copy - you are advised to take it.

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I recommend that you back up all your data to a separate drive and carry out a clean install of Windows and all your software from original media. In about 4 hours you would be up and running sweetly again.

Great advice.Op's issue is reminiscent of an after-effect of a registry "optimizer".

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