(M17) Small but annoying problem

I've no idea what's causing this problem, whether it's inherent with Vista or something unique in my machine is causing it, but whenever I'm using an application it just randomly at some time will minimise. This is incredibly annoying when I'm playing games, especially one certain online game which closes if you alt+tab out of it. Has anyone else got/heard of this problem and does anyone know how I stop it?

Thanks in advance.

 

sounds like something is running in the background that freaks out

 

Yep, something is trying to bring itself to the front.

 

Even when I've got no other programs running it happens. I just don't know what on earth could be causing it.

 

Do you have Windows Sidebar set to "Always be on Top" ?

 

check through your processes and startup programs, make sure they are all cleaned up and no unknown background processes

 

I've no idea, how would I check? And even so, it seems to happen at very random times so I'm not sure if that's the cause.

edit: I've just figured out how to check and it's not set to always be on top.

I've checked and it's not caused by any background processes or programs.

 

nope its a bug with Vista i had the exact same problem, games minimising, films shrinking, even IE dropping to task bar, annoying isnt it?

spent 2 weeks data mining every process and dll i couldnt find anything, i spent 2 weeks with guys who write software hunting the cause, they couldnt find it either

Had to reinstall in the end

Some people say its spyware, but i couldnt find any with 3 different progs

 

...Presumably there's a way to reinstall vista without removing all the other data off the drive? Because I'm not reinstalling vista if I have to delete everything else.

 

You can get an external and put data on there. Otherwise either an upgrade or clean install.

 

Not exactly easy to get an external when I've spent all my money on games. Screw that then, I'm not reinstalling it.

 

you could try a partition on the fly by vista can be a pain about it

I know with XP you could just insert the disk and install over the old one, ie : use the old install folder etc. However as i was never able to detirmine the exact cause i cant promise it will fix it

 

I know of no other way to fix it, as i said i spend weeks trying to get it sorted,

its very annoying when playing games that dont like being minimised

 

Last time I tried to partition it, it screwed itself up in the process and I had to format and reinstall Vista. Luckily it was only a few hours after I got it, so I hadn't put anything on it. I'm not going to try it again that's for sure.

 

Yes but it's messy. Plus if it is a virus you want to wipe it. If your system cannot house a second drive it would be beneficial to invest in an external drive.

 

agreed thats why i said it was a pain but it can be done

My advice is no matter how painful it is do a re-install, believe me i have been there and i know what its like

its annoying as hell and you will end up doing it anyway once it annoys you enough so you might as well cut your losses now

 

It can house a second drive I even got the mounting with the thing. I plan on getting an SSD but that may be quite a long time and for the time being, 320GB is really more than enough for me.

 

Are you more upset about doing all the reinstalls or keeping the data you stored?

 

Keeping the data. (I'd say obviously there but when I say it, it tends to be a bit rude) Installing Vista and the drivers isn't a problem. Reinstalling several tens of games, and restoring gigabytes of music, movies, and other random rubbish would take hours, if not days.

 

then get a second drive. Now you have an excuse.

LINK

 

heh how do you think i feel if i had to backup my 3tb network drive

anyone got 4 days for a backup?

 

I'm 15, I don't exactly have means to get $400 quickly. I could either rob my parent's wallets (which I think they'd notice) or wait until my birthday/christmas, or just save up for a long time. Besides I'm looking for a G2 intel SSD, they are the best of the best and if I've got a high performance laptop, I want the best SSD in it. (besides the 160GB SSD is enough for my OS and key applications/games which is what I want the speed for)

 

Doesn't cost a lot to get a second 320GB drive.