Windows 7 - buggy Taskbar behaviour

By Turbonium
in Microsoft (Windows)

 Share

Recommended Posts

Community Regular

Turbonium

Posted
Posted

I have Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium on my Acer netbook, with the latest vendor-supplied chipset/video drivers and such, as well as the latest Windows patches.

The Taskbar doesn't work properly; the last hovered-on application will stay "lit up", even if I'm in another app or everything is minimized.

I haven't been able to narrow the behaviour down to any specific causes, in terms of programs or anything. It really does seem to happen at random, with Windows Aero effects enabled or disabled (it makes no difference). Sometimes it does it for hours on end, then randomly, it will stop for a while, then start doing it again.

Has anyone else ran into this behaviour? I posted about it on another computer forum and got at least one person saying they have the same odd behaviour exhibited by their Windows 7 install.

Here is a screenshot of the behaviour:

jcomY.png

Note that this happens with ANYTHING on the Taskbar, not just Firefox. It really is quite odd, and annoying...

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1119598-windows-7-buggy-taskbar-behaviour/
Share on other sites
Grand Master

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Posted
Posted

Seems like you've discovered the elusive taskbar bug that has survived since Vista first rolled around. Some people have it, and some don't. Report it to Microsoft. They don't care. Matter of fact, it's even in 8, just search the forum for "Windows taskbar bug", and I'm sure you'll find PLENTY of subjects/topics about it. I have it too sometimes, and have just thought of it as a really annoying "feature", since Microsoft refuses to acknowledge it or fix it.

Community Regular

Turbonium

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Seems like you've discovered the elusive taskbar bug that has survived since Vista first rolled around. Some people have it, and some don't. Report it to Microsoft. They don't care. Matter of fact, it's even in 8, just search the forum for "Windows taskbar bug", and I'm sure you'll find PLENTY of subjects/topics about it. I have it too sometimes, and have just thought of it as a really annoying "feature", since Microsoft refuses to acknowledge it or fix it.

Could we not like, take a full system report of everyone with this reported behaviour, and see what things (drivers, software) they share in common? Seems like a good place to start.

Grand Master

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Posted
Posted

Could we not like, take a full system report of everyone with this reported behaviour, and see what things (drivers, software) they share in common? Seems like a good place to start.

Go right ahead, but I'm telling you, it's just a bug, but since you think I'm joking/ "Taking a full system report" or whatever, here you go. Have fun. I tried to tell you: http://www.neowin.ne...#entry593521370 Search, my friend. It'll help you tremendously on these here forums. Good luck, hope you solve it, because nobody has so far! ;) (Y)

Community Regular

Turbonium

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Yeah I get that too, it's been in there since Vista and they refuse to fix it. Really annoying because it makes you think an app wants your attention.

Exactly. That, and it looks messy and covers a bit of what's on the screen with the description.

  • Matthew_Thepc
  • Like 1
Grand Master

+Xinok Subscriber²

Posted
  • Subscriber²
Posted

As stupid as it may sound, Microsoft refrains from fixing little bugs like these. For every bug they fix, they risk breaking something else. So unless there's a larger issue at hand, such as a crash or exploit, small bugs like these are considered not worth fixing and may never be fixed.

Collaborator

Excelsis

Posted
Posted

Right click on something like the explorer icon in the taskbar to bring up the jump list and without closing it. right click on the Start Orb and be amazed. 100% reproduceable.

Completely armless bug, but I think it's funny and amuse myself in thinking that Microsoft removed the Start Orb from W8 because of this bug.

Community Regular

Turbonium

Posted
  • Author
Posted

As stupid as it may sound, Microsoft refrains from fixing little bugs like these. For every bug they fix, they risk breaking something else. So unless there's a larger issue at hand, such as a crash or exploit, small bugs like these are considered not worth fixing and may never be fixed.

This saddens me.

Grand Master

The Evil Overlord

Posted
Posted

I get that, the most extreme way I found to 'fix' it is to close explorer.exe, then reopening it, mostly I just restart my pc or ignore it, sometimes it'll display a dotted line type of box over the last item I opened on the desktop too, I don't think there's any real danger to your systen's stability other than the obvious annoyance it causes, or at least I've not noticed any of that sort of behaviour on my pc.

Something I remember, this was present in my version of XP too... :s

Grand Master

remixedcat

Posted
Posted

I've had that on windows 7. Not having it yet on S2012.

I get that, the most extreme way I found to 'fix' it is to close explorer.exe, then reopening it, mostly I just restart my pc or ignore it, sometimes it'll display a dotted line type of box over the last item I opened on the desktop too, I don't think there's any real danger to your systen's stability other than the obvious annoyance it causes, or at least I've not noticed any of that sort of behaviour on my pc.

Something I remember, this was present in my version of XP too... :s

arrrg that was annoying on s2008 as well. and what's worse is sometimes if I dragged an icon or an object in general would be stuck on the screen till I rebooted! very annoying... what's funny is I had CELING CAT! of all things stuck on my screen!

Linkie Linky

  • 3 months later...
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • The official Funny Pictures thread

      By Steffan · Posted

    • Politically funny images of the World

      By +primortal · Posted

    • Playground Games confirms Forza Horizon 6 save wipe bug

      By RejZoR · Posted

      Wow, imagine you dump hundreds of hours into completing things and unlocking stuff and you lose it all. Back in the day when cheats were built into games, you could at least unlock things again that way without spending hundreds of hours again. But those days are long gone for some reason as no one builds cheats into games anymore. So it's even more painful that studio that's on its 6th installment **** it up so badly.
    • Spotify finally removes the disco ball app icon in the latest update

      By Ivan Jenic · Posted

      Spotify finally removes the disco ball app icon in the latest update by Ivan Jenic Image: Spotify Spotify has just released an update that removes its now infamous disco ball icon. The update reverts the app icon to the familiar flat green logo after weeks of mixed reactions online. The icon arrived on May 13 as part of the company's 20th anniversary celebration and was always intended to be temporary, though Spotify only confirmed that after the backlash started. The disco ball took the internet by storm, as the reception was split. A vocal group of users called it ugly and disorienting, with some iOS users noting that the 3D glowing effect made the app look like it was stuck mid-update. On the other end, the icon picked up a following of its own. Its retro, three-dimensional look immediately stood out against the flat, minimalist aesthetic that has dominated app design for years. It even started a small movement, spawning what people started calling "discomorphism," a mashup of disco and skeuomorphism. Other brands started posting disco ball versions of their own logos, probably in an effort to ride the wave of memes that flooded the internet during late May. Spotify has had a turbulent relationship with its user base lately. Besides the disco ball icon, which certainly wasn't appreciated by everyone, the company has also received backlash for its willingness to include AI-generated music on its platform. On May 17, Spotify promised the old icon would return “in a few weeks.” And now it looks like that time has finally arrived. So, whether you liked the disco ball or it made you uncomfortable, it’s now gone for good. The next time you update the Spotify app on your phone, the old, flat-design icon will return.
    • The official Funny Pictures thread

      By +primortal · Posted

  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      slackerzz earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Year In
      highriskpaym earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Month Later
      highriskpaym earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      highriskpaym earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      FBSPL earned a badge
      Week One Done

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      519
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      197
    3. 3
      +Edouard
      157
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      84
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      75
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!