How to prevent all application windows from minimizing

Could someone please offer a solution to a problem with W 10.

Applications with 10 windows open will all minimize at the same time, and I can’t figure out what is triggering this.

It’s probably the mouse. However, I have to spend a lot of time getting each window back.

Is there a way to turn this feature off so windows don’t minimize my application ?

Is there a way to turn all the windows back on? (If I right-click the icon on the bottom of windows, there is no option to restore all windows)

This is a real problem, so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Replies (1) 

I’m Jerico T., one of the Independent Advisor and a fellow Windows 10 user like you. I understand that you’re having some issues right now, let us sort things out.

When did you experience the issue? Is there any recent changes on your computer prior to the issue? In the meantime, please perform the troubleshooting methods below and check if any of the resolves fixes the issue.

Method 1: Check for Windows Update
— Check for Windows Update then install them and check if it will resolve your concern.

1. Open settings by pressing windows key + I
2. Select Update and security
3. It will automatically check for available windows update (If not, click the button Check for updates
4. Install available updates, restart your computer and check if the issue still persist.

Method 2: Perform Clean Boot
— This process will eliminate 3rd party application running in the background of your computer along with services that are not needed to run windows. If there’s any conflicting 3rd party application that causes the issue on your computer, this process will stop it.

1. Open the run box by pressing the Windows Key + R and type msconfig
2. System Configuration Utility box will open and by default you are on general tab.
3. On the General tab, click the selective startup and make sure that load system service and load startup items both have checked mark.
4. Click on services tab
5. Put a check mark on Hide All Microsoft Services > This is a very important part as if you miss to click on this, computer might not boot properly or permanently and will end up on clean installation.
6. Once Hide all Microsoft Services have checked mark on it, click on Disable All
7. Click on the Startup Tab and click open task manager. This will open another window which contains all your startup applications on the administrator account.
8. Disable all application that you’re not using. You can simply just click on them and select disable.
9. Click OK , Apply and close the configuration utility.
10. Restart your computer and check if the issue still persist.

Method 3: Create a new user profile
— We will try to create new user profile to check if the issue happens on all windows users on your computer or just isolated on the current profile that you’re using.

1. Open the command prompt with elevated access (Administrator Access)
2. Type the below command and hit enter every after command.

net user «account name» /add
(change the «account name» to any name that you preferred)

net localgroup administrators «account name» /add
(change the «account name» with the name that you put in the first command)

3. Close the command prompt and switch to the new user.

Check if the same issue occurs on the new user profile.

Hope this help. Have a good day.

Thank you.
Jerico T.
Independent Advisor

All windows «minimizing» themselves automatically?

InternetKillTV

Active member

Hey guys! I bought a Desktop from PC Specialist around 2 years ago now. Upgraded it a couple of times, wonderful beast of a PC. I rarely rarely have problems with it and on the odd occasion I do you guys in this community are always here to answer my questions which I appreciate to no end! So thank you!

Now, I’m having a small but annoying recurring problem at the moment. Whatever I have open, whether it be a game, a piece of editing software, or if I’m just browsing or watching Youtube, windows and programs are periodically just minimizing themselves. Well I say minimizing because I’m not sure how else to describe it, it’s not minimizing in the traditional sense. If I’m using something on fullscreen, like a game, that game WILL minimize and just show me the desktop screen automatically. If I’m on a webpage, like I am now, it won’t minimize, it will just unselect itself. That’s the best way I can describe it. I could be typing as I am right now and suddenly the webpage will unselect itself, as if I’m multitasking and have clicked on another open browser page. I’ll have to click the page again to continue typing. This happens periodically, sometimes every 30 seconds, sometimes every minute, sometimes every 5.

Now just to rule out a couple of things so we’re on the same page my Windows key is NOT stuck, I know that for sure It isn’t minimizing in the traditional sense. I’ve checked my running processes ten times over, closed anything that I don’t recognize and there’s nothing there that’s clearly causing this. I’ve read up online about Firefox sometimes causing this. Although I use Chrome I thought maybe Chrome had a similar issue so I closed all my webpages, along with all of the other programs I had running incase they were a problem, opened up a game and the problem persisted. At first I thought it was fixed because it took a good couple of minutes for it to start doing it but then it just picked right up again every minute or so

This has happened before and it fixed itself after a restart but it’s been happening for 3 days straight now. It persists through numerous restarts and long periods of having my PC just turned off altogether. It’s such a silly little problem and yet is so bloody annoying! Nobody I know has come across this before and seeing that I can’t find any running process causing it I’m just dumbfounded! Do you guys have any ideas?

Windows minimizing automatically

My computer (running xp sp3) keeps minimizing windows or deselecting them automatically. It’s so bad that I can’t do anything before the windows close. (typing this on my phone) and no, I’m not prssing alt tab, I’m not touching anything when it happens. Had anybody else had this problem? And if so how did you fix it? Please help my pc is completely unusable because of this.

3 Answers 3

Sounds like a hardware problem to me. I would suggest trying a different keyboard and mouse (one at a time, though, to eliminate each one individually as the cause).

If it still happens (with the new devices), boot into Safe Mode and see if the problem persists. Follow Jason’s advice on msconfig and obviously scan for malware.

I don’t believe there is any key combination or other input device that could readily minimize windows by accident (i.e. stuck key, etc). It sounds as if you have some software on the system that’s intentionally or unintentionally minimizing the windows. You might be able to boot into safe mode to investigate the problem.

If safe mode doesn’t get you going, you can try msconfig (depending on how quickly the windows minimize). Hit Windows+R to bring up the run dialog, then type msconfig and hit enter. Hopefully, that brings up the msconfig window. Then, promptly hit Alt+D and Enter. That should configure Windows for a diagnostic startup, after which you should be able to reboot and hope that whatever is causing the strange behavior is gone. Then you can run msconfig and selectively re-enable services and applications until you discover the problem.

Go to start menu and search run and then type in msconfig in run, then choose services from the menu bar.

Look for something called (interactive services detection) and uncheck it.

After that go to task manager and click on show processes from all users below there and then look for that same (interactive services detection) and end process.

Windows 10 minimizing any games automatically at random times

Since I installed Windows 10, all my games minimize at random times, I don’t have anything else open. It happens with Steam games, as well as games not in steam, like Guild Wars 2 for example. It is so annoying, sometimes I am playing PvP tournament and the game minimize 🙁

This is happening in all games that I have installed right now:

Also I found out that is not happening just in games, sometimes while I am browsing the internet too. I use Chrome to browse.

Did some research on the internet and I found some solutions, but none did work for me. What I did so far and didn’t work:

-Disabled Internet Explorer 11 (Edge?).

-Set my Nvidia GPU to single display performance.

-Deactivated Windows Defender.

My previous version of windows was 8.1, and I never had this issue before. It is only happening since I upgraded to windows 10. Also, to make it clear, the installation was clean, only files/documents were saved from 8.1. to 10. The rest I installed my self, like steam, the games I mentioned above and my GPU drivers.

Replies (120) 

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Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

This issue may arise when some of the Windows components gets corrupted.

I suggest you to perform SFC scan check if it helps.

System File Checker (SFC) is a utility in Microsoft Windows that allows users to scan for and restore corruptions in Windows system files. Perform System File Check (SFC), and then check if this fixes the issue.

1. Press the Windows button + X on your keyboard, a mini dialogue box will appear.
2. Choose Command Prompt (Admin). You must run the command prompt in Administrator level.
3. On the command prompt type sfc /scannow and hit enter.
4. If everything went okay and no errors were found, restart your computer and see if the issue re-occurs.

Hope the information helps. Let us know if you need further assistance. We will be happy to help.

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Thanks for your reply, and yes indeed, there were some corrupted files that are now repaired. Now I will test and report back 🙂

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After almost a week of testing, I still have the problem. But, I think I found out what program is causing this, I have this issue when Citrix Receiver is on the notification area, even if I am not using/having any connection. I installed Citrix Receiver because I connect and work from home many times. I don’t know why is doing that, but I can’t uninstall it.

Is there a way to configure windows so that Citrix Receiver stop minimizing my apps/games/etc. ?

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I have had the same issues as the original poster. I ran your SFC Scanner and at 19% it stopped, then said it «Cannot perform the requested operation.»

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I am having the exact same issue, and I ran the SFC Scanner, no issues, and restarted my pc , and no dice. the phantom program Is still popping up in the background.

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I have this same issue, however it only happens after windows updates. After windows is finished updating, my computer will automatically minimize any app that is not my internet browser. Also, any drop down menu that is available such as a right click or menu option in my browser will not remain open, once any menu is opened it immediately closes. The status circle on the right side of my mouse will also blink about 3/sec constantly. ive been able to fix this issue twice now, but this shouldn’t keep happening every time there is an update for windows.

It seems like there is a program that is trying to open, and taking priority over everything else.

Please help fix this

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I have been having this problem too.

I noticed however in my case that it’s something to do with the task bar. Whenever I click at the bottom of the screen in a game, in the general area where the taskbar is on the desktop behind it, the game minimizes. If I click in the far left corner to open a chat box in one of the games, the game minimizes and opens the start menu because that’s where the start menu button is behind it.

I moved the task bar to the far right edge of my desktop, then went back into a game and clicked all along the bottom. Nothing. When I clicked the far right edge of the screen, where I had moved the taskbar on the desktop, the game would minimize again.

It seems like there is a setting that must be minimizing open windows/apps when you click in the area of the taskbar, but I can’t seem to find it. Or maybe Windows 10 is forgetting to ignore the taskbar while you are in a program.