Taskbar thumbnail previews not appearing, tooltip instead

darkw

Member
Member
Messages
15
Hello, every since I updated my 8.1 to update 1 I have this annoying bug, the taskbar miniatures stop appearing and instead i have this annoying tooltip with whatever program's name I hovered last, that insists in staying above all other windows:

tooltip.jpg

The only way to fix it is rebooting my computer, but it just comes back after a while.

I haven't found any link to any open program, any way I can debug this to find out why this is happening? I'm close to formatting the computer because of this annoyance.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro x64 | Windows 8 Pro x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS RoG G51J-3D | ASUS RoG G46VW
    CPU
    Intel i7-720QM | Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    ASUS | ASUS
    Memory
    8192 MB Corsair | 16384 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 260M | GeForce GTX 660M
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 | 1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320 GB + 320 GB 7200RPM | 128 GB SSD + 750 GB 7200 RPM
    Internet Speed
    Optic Fiber 100mb
anyone?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro x64 | Windows 8 Pro x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS RoG G51J-3D | ASUS RoG G46VW
    CPU
    Intel i7-720QM | Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    ASUS | ASUS
    Memory
    8192 MB Corsair | 16384 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 260M | GeForce GTX 660M
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 | 1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320 GB + 320 GB 7200RPM | 128 GB SSD + 750 GB 7200 RPM
    Internet Speed
    Optic Fiber 100mb
noone has any idea how to debug/fix this?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro x64 | Windows 8 Pro x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS RoG G51J-3D | ASUS RoG G46VW
    CPU
    Intel i7-720QM | Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    ASUS | ASUS
    Memory
    8192 MB Corsair | 16384 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 260M | GeForce GTX 660M
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 | 1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320 GB + 320 GB 7200RPM | 128 GB SSD + 750 GB 7200 RPM
    Internet Speed
    Optic Fiber 100mb
You could try a Disk Cleanup including thumbnail cache.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 7 Home Premium
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion
  • PC2
    Tablet - Windows 10 Home
tried but to no avail. Still the same problem...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro x64 | Windows 8 Pro x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS RoG G51J-3D | ASUS RoG G46VW
    CPU
    Intel i7-720QM | Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    ASUS | ASUS
    Memory
    8192 MB Corsair | 16384 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 260M | GeForce GTX 660M
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 | 1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320 GB + 320 GB 7200RPM | 128 GB SSD + 750 GB 7200 RPM
    Internet Speed
    Optic Fiber 100mb
Did you try playing with Taskbar properties. Specially "Combine" part.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
tried playing with all settings, still the same crap........ :/ rebooted the pc and it was fine for a day, it's back on the same crap now
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro x64 | Windows 8 Pro x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS RoG G51J-3D | ASUS RoG G46VW
    CPU
    Intel i7-720QM | Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    ASUS | ASUS
    Memory
    8192 MB Corsair | 16384 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 260M | GeForce GTX 660M
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 | 1366x768
    Hard Drives
    320 GB + 320 GB 7200RPM | 128 GB SSD + 750 GB 7200 RPM
    Internet Speed
    Optic Fiber 100mb
I was going to start my own thread about this, so I'm glad to have found this one.

I've had this problem for years through multiple installs. Whether it started with 8.0 I'm not sure (I'm leaning towards it being in Win7 too, but it's been a long time), but the latest 8.1 doesn't resolve it.

Until now, my working theory had been that it was some sort of graphics-related resource depletion due to the fact that I don't have a dedicated graphics card (I use what's built-in to the Core i5-2500K). Unfortunately, your profile shows that you have dedicated graphics.

So...I'm at a loss. It is annoying, and it only seems to happen after a good part of a day of active use. Sometimes I can go a day without seeing it at all, in fact. Is that about the same for you?

The only thing that I can think of now is some program that we both use a lot. If you want to compare installed software, let me know.

There is an easier way of temporarily resolving it short of a reboot, however. Make a batch file along these lines:

Code:
@echo off
taskkill /F /IM explorer.exe
taskkill /F /IM snagit32.exe
start explorer.exe
start /d "C:\Program Files (x86)\Snagit" Snagit32.exe

I left Snagit32 in there because it's an example of a program that normally sits on the tray (not to be confused with the taskbar) and doesn't come back after restarting Explorer.exe (even though Snagit32.exe is still in memory). So, I kill those programs as well and restart them in the batch. If you don't have any programs that show this problem, then you needn't bother with adding them to the batch.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-2500K
    Motherboard
    Intel DZ68BC
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 3000
    Sound Card
    Intel/Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Delll 2007WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Crucial 64GB SSD+WD RED 2TB
Just wanted to bring this subject up again in case someone has stumbled on exactly why it happens.

I can confirm that it's also an issue in Windows 10, which is no surprise.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-2500K
    Motherboard
    Intel DZ68BC
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 3000
    Sound Card
    Intel/Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Delll 2007WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Crucial 64GB SSD+WD RED 2TB

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
    Memory
    32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    (1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
    E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
    D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
    G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
    Case
    hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
    Cooling
    Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
    Keyboard
    Trust GTX THURA
    Mouse
    Trust GTX 148
    Internet Speed
    25+/5+ (+usually faster)
    Browser
    Edge; Chrome; IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
    Other Info
    Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
    Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
    Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
I don't think it's a common problem, though I don't know why.

Those settings are the same here except that I have the top two animations off as well as mouse pointer shadows.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-2500K
    Motherboard
    Intel DZ68BC
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 3000
    Sound Card
    Intel/Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Delll 2007WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Crucial 64GB SSD+WD RED 2TB
Are you using an Aero theme and not a high contrast theme or any 3rd party UXthemer?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
    Memory
    32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    (1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
    E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
    D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
    G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
    Case
    hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
    Cooling
    Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
    Keyboard
    Trust GTX THURA
    Mouse
    Trust GTX 148
    Internet Speed
    25+/5+ (+usually faster)
    Browser
    Edge; Chrome; IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
    Other Info
    Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
    Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
    Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
Just the default Windows themes, none of the 3rd-party UX stuff.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-2500K
    Motherboard
    Intel DZ68BC
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 3000
    Sound Card
    Intel/Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Delll 2007WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Crucial 64GB SSD+WD RED 2TB

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
    Memory
    32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    (1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
    E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
    D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
    G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
    Case
    hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
    Cooling
    Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
    Keyboard
    Trust GTX THURA
    Mouse
    Trust GTX 148
    Internet Speed
    25+/5+ (+usually faster)
    Browser
    Edge; Chrome; IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
    Other Info
    Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
    Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
    Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
They are. Don't forget that this works most of the time until some condition is reached, very much like a GDI depletion or something similar (though it's not that). Then restarting Explorer.exe is needed to get things back to normal. If it was just a case of it not ever working, it would be a lot easier to solve.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-2500K
    Motherboard
    Intel DZ68BC
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 3000
    Sound Card
    Intel/Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Delll 2007WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Crucial 64GB SSD+WD RED 2TB
My taskbar only shows thumbnails of Opera.
The programs and other stuff is all tooltips.
I think this is normal.
A picture---

Opera thumbnails---

screenshot_212.jpg

Another picture---

A program tooltip---

screenshot_212.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
David, that is beyond bizarre. I've never heard of such a mix like that. All programs should show previews--when the feature is working.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Enterprise x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-2500K
    Motherboard
    Intel DZ68BC
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 3000
    Sound Card
    Intel/Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Delll 2007WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Crucial 64GB SSD+WD RED 2TB
David, that is beyond bizarre. I've never heard of such a mix like that. All programs should show previews--when the feature is working.

A program or something else will show a thumbnail if it is being used on my computer.
A picture---

screenshot_212.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
You could try event viewer using "find" for system or applications under either taskbar or animations to see if anything that might help is listed, or the system software hammer sfc/scannow.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Update Pro in Hyper-V/Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Cliff's Black & Blue Wonder
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
    Memory
    32 GB Quad Kit, G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series schwarz, DDR4-3866, 18-19-19-39-2T
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix O24G, 24576 MB GDDR6X
    Sound Card
    (1) HD Webcam C270 (2) NVIDIA High Definition Audio (3) Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ BL2711U(4K) and a hp 27vx(1080p)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 x 32 bits (4294967296 colors) @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    C: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD
    E: & O: Libraries & OneDrive-> Samsung 850 EVO 1TB
    D: Hyper-V VM's -> Samsung PM951 Client M.2 512Gb SSD
    G: System Images -> HDD Seagate Barracuda 2TB
    PSU
    Corsair HX1000i High Performance ATX Power Supply 80+ Platinum
    Case
    hanteks Enthoo Pro TG
    Cooling
    Thermaltake Floe Riing RGB TT Premium-Edition 360mm and 3 Corsair blue LED fans
    Keyboard
    Trust GTX THURA
    Mouse
    Trust GTX 148
    Internet Speed
    25+/5+ (+usually faster)
    Browser
    Edge; Chrome; IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender of course & Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit as a
    Other Info
    Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX V2
    Sound system: SHARP HT-SBW460 Dolby Atmos Soundbar
    Webcam: Logitech BRIO ULTRA HD PRO WEBCAM 4K webcam with HDR
... or the system software hammer sfc/scannow.

I run scans like this---in this order---

Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
sfc /scannow
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

Reboot.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
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