OT: Windows 8 Blank App Images

I have been having a problem lately that I can't seem to find a solution to in Google searches. Mostly because I can't find a decent keyword to describe it.

The problem happens when I change context from one application to another, but only very intermittently. Normally I use Alt-Tab to change context, either by just repeatedly hitting the Tab with the Alt down or sometimes I use the small images of each process Windows displays and click on one with the mouse. Sometimes I even just click on a visible part of a window that does not have focus. When the problem happens the screen will flash black for an instant to maybe two seconds and then switch me to the other app. But now all the stored images of the apps used for the Alt-Tab display are gone and instead show the app icon in the small window image. When the Alt-Tab app images are gone, so are the app images that show when you mouse over the task bar icons.

I have found some mentions of other problems, especially with games when I search, but not this particular bug. It almost seems like a memory or resource problem, but I have 16 GB and am only using typically 10-12 at any given time. I usually run all three browsers, IE, Firefox and Chrome at the same time along with an email program (Eudora) and Thunderbird for newsgroups. LibreOffice is also usually running.

How might I find some mention of this problem? I am stumped on what to search for.

--

Rick
Reply to
rickman
Loading thread data ...

First thing to do is use the Feedback Tool to report this to Microsoft Wind ows Dev Team. These feedback reports Really Do make it to the developers a s bugs straight out of the feedback database. Front line sends each bug to the dev for Repro action, then sorting to Priority and Severity.

Your job, as Beta Tester, is to Find and Report Bugs while providing maxima l supporting logs and Detailed Repro Step information, not Work-Arounds. : )

PS. The Feedback Tool is designed to upload appropriate logs etc. pertinent to the type of bug or issue. You don't have to hunt them down on your own anymore. yay

Reply to
rev.11d.meow

D'OH! I read that as Windows 10, not 8, oopsy, not enough Caffeine.

Isn't Everyone Testing Windows 10? ;)

Reply to
rev.11d.meow

Not seen anything like this with Win8 but this used to be a problem when something was grabbing resource handles and never letting go. Eventually you end up with all black icons or transparent ones.

Try MSKB and icon problem. Also try not running some of the above and see if you can figure out which one is the root cause. It would not surprise me if the browsers were capable of deadlocking each other for key resources under some circumstances.

I have seen IE11 freeze up far too often to trust it.

--
Regards, 
Martin Brown
Reply to
Martin Brown

I would be happy to use the tool if I had an idea of how. I don't recall seeing this. Are you talking about the dialog that sometimes comes up when an app crashes? That is not happening here. This is just abnormal behavior without anything crashing apparently.

--

Rick
Reply to
rickman

I'm not sure what you mean by "trust" it. How is trust related to computer usage? I don't put much confidence in anything on the computer. I certainly don't "trust" any of it.

Way back when microcomputers were 8 bit and memory was typically 16 kB on a hot machine, someone pointed out that debugging was a process of looking for as little as one bit in the wrong state. Not an easy task. He also pointed out that the computer was a finite state machine with and astronomical number of possible states based on the content of memory. Today machines have GB of RAM and the same rules apply... So which bit is out of whack and where can I get some more whack to fix it?

--

Rick
Reply to
rickman

Yeah, sorry about my misreading Windows 10 on there. :(

Are you using recent Firefox? It seems to have major window focus/hang issues with recent Flash.

Reply to
rev.11d.meow

Yes on Firefox. This problem recently happened when I wasn't task switching, just clicking a button in LibreOffice. So maybe it isn't exactly Windows related.

I keep all three browsers open for a reason. Some just won't do things others will. For example I am not able to update Flash on FF, so Flash often hangs. I don't like IE for much, but I can open separate sessions of it such that when one hangs I can close it without crashing the rest. Then Chrome just works... most of the time. The tide has moved lately so I can do most things in Chrome, but I would need to change my default browser from FF and I haven't done that yet. Maybe I'll try changing the default and ignoring FF for a few days.

--

Rick
Reply to
rickman

I'm constantly sending Firefox crash reports, mostly about Flash crashing it.

Reply to
rev.11d.meow

I don't see any connection with FF or any of the other browsers, but I did find that if I close out LibreOffice I don't have the problem. I normally keep LO open so I can quickly update and refer to some data I track. I guess I'll have to keep it closed when not in use until I get another update at least.

--

Rick
Reply to
rickman

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.