Windows 7 bugs

[theyarecomingforyou]

Although Windows 7 is very polished for such an early stage it's not surprising that a few bugs have got through. I have no idea how it generates the thumbnail previews of windows but somehow it's missing 95% of the window with WinAMP. Once I even saw it display the classic skin as the thumbnail, which I really don't understand either. Also, when I quit out of a game it won't display a preview until I view the windows again.

[Lt-DavidW]

It does the same thing in Vista.

[bush]

Firefox is smearing the same way for me on W7.

[briangw]

Those aren't Windows-caused bugs. Those are software developer bugs. The developers will need to fix those.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Those aren't Windows-caused bugs. Those are software developer bugs. The developers will need to fix those.

I appreciate that WinAMP probably does something funky but I don't understand how it happens. Surely Windows should just take the window as it's being rendered and display it in the thumbnail? The WMP thumbnail displays video in realtime. The same with coming out of games... why does is not display the correct preview?

[DSLJay]

I am not sure if it is just my copy, but here is a weird bug. I created a standard account. When trying to launch Media Center I get an error saying the program did not respond and does not start up. However, when I right click on the icon and choose Run as Adminstrator, it starts up with no problem.

Can someone else using build 7000 create a standard user account and try to launch Media Center and see if this is a possible bug?

Thanks

[Guest]

I am not sure if it is just my copy, but here is a weird bug. I created a standard account. When trying to launch Media Center I get an error saying the program did not respond and does not start up. However, when I right click on the icon and choose Run as Adminstrator, it starts up with no problem.

Can someone else using build 7000 create a standard user account and try to launch Media Center and see if this is a possible bug?

Thanks

Just tried that, doesn't happen here.

[theyarecomingforyou]

I am not sure if it is just my copy, but here is a weird bug. I created a standard account. When trying to launch Media Center I get an error saying the program did not respond and does not start up. However, when I right click on the icon and choose Run as Adminstrator, it starts up with no problem.

Didn't happen here either.

I just had quite a weird bug. When I pressed Ctrl-Alt-Del to lock my computer it changed the resolution to 1024x768 (instead of the default 1680x1050). Obviously I've done so many times and it's never happened before. It happened everytime until I restarted, then it went away.

[Linkinfamous]

I appreciate that WinAMP probably does something funky but I don't understand how it happens. Surely Windows should just take the window as it's being rendered and display it in the thumbnail? The WMP thumbnail displays video in realtime. The same with coming out of games... why does is not display the correct preview?

Games work pretty differently than most other things. When in fullscreen mode, they take over the entire display, and lock everyone else out of using it. Further more, when they're minimized, there is no data there to generate a preview because they're not generating it!

Winamp, and by extension a large number of applications that draw their own window frames, need to learn to do it properly. If they do, then they won't have these problems. When you take it upon yourself to handle all of the scary non-client stuff by yourself, in many cases, you're simply telling windows something like "Go away and leave me alone." It has no idea how to deal with the preview because winamp isn't properly telling it how to.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Games work pretty differently than most other things. When in fullscreen mode, they take over the entire display, and lock everyone else out of using it. Further more, when they're minimized, there is no data there to generate a preview because they're not generating it!

The point is that when a window is minimised it still displays the correct thumbnail and Aero Peek works. However, after quitting out of a game it no longer works. After a fullscreen 3D application Windows 7 should restore the links as if it hadn't been running. A lot of users are going to come across it; it doesn't matter why it happens but to users it's a Windows issue.

After gaming:

Aero Peek failing:

(The window on the left is one I clicked on myself)

[Lt-DavidW]

The point is that when a window is minimised it still displays the correct thumbnail and Aero Peek works. However, after quitting out of a game it no longer works. After a fullscreen 3D application Windows 7 should restore the links as if it hadn't been running. A lot of users are going to come across it; it doesn't matter why it happens but to users it's a Windows issue.

The thumbnail previews of minimised windows are stored as static images in RAM, and when you start a game that RAM is released for the game to use. This happens in Vista too.

[theyarecomingforyou]

The thumbnail previews of minimised windows are stored as static images in RAM, and when you start a game that RAM is released for the game to use. This happens in Vista too.

But if that's the case then they could simply be written to hard-drive and restored upon exiting a game. I just think it's really sloppy. Users don't care why something doesn't work, just that it doesn't. Not only that but WMP displays video in the thumbnail, which cannot possibly be a cached image. It seems like quite an issue for Win7 when Aero Peek is one of the main features and one that, in just a short time, I've come to rely on to navigate between windows.

[reaper527]

Although Windows 7 is very polished for such an early stage it's not surprising that a few bugs have got through. I have no idea how it generates the thumbnail previews of windows but somehow it's missing 95% of the window with WinAMP. Once I even saw it display the classic skin as the thumbnail, which I really don't understand either. Also, when I quit out of a game it won't display a preview until I view the windows again.

are you running the newest version of winamp? it works fine for me (granted the image didn't update properly, as you can see by the now playing song being different from the one on the pop up)

[duntkno]

great song, beeen playing it like crazy here.

[0sit0]

iTunes has the same problem :).

[x-byte]

But if that's the case then they could simply be written to hard-drive and restored upon exiting a game. I just think it's really sloppy. Users don't care why something doesn't work, just that it doesn't. Not only that but WMP displays video in the thumbnail, which cannot possibly be a cached image. It seems like quite an issue for Win7 when Aero Peek is one of the main features and one that, in just a short time, I've come to rely on to navigate between windows.

When running fullscreen Aero is disabled and the preview is removed from memory. It can't be restored again until you open the window again after restoring Aero. It's not sloppy it's logical. And users won't bother with it. They will understand that they need to look at the folder again since it doesn't show anything.

Nothing of the "bugs" you are posting are bugs in Windows 7 at all...

[Kyang]

iTunes has the same problem :).

iTunes doesn't even let me click the properly close button at the top corner when the window is maximized, let alone work with any of the Aero features. Ironically, now even MS apps are guilty of the same thing. WMP11/Live Photogallery in XP, or even the Zune software have an inconsistent close button.

[Lt-DavidW]

Not only that but WMP displays video in the thumbnail, which cannot possibly be a cached image.

I said 'the thumbnail previews of minimised windows...'

The WMP thumbnail is a static image when minimised, even if video is playing.

[0sit0]

Actually WMP shows the video when minimized

[theyarecomingforyou]

are you running the newest version of winamp? it works fine for me (granted the image didn't update properly, as you can see by the now playing song being different from the one on the pop up)

Yes I am, and also that's the old skin that occasionally shows up in the thumbnail even when running the Bento skin.

(Notice how the thumbnail uses the old skin and the main window shows the new skin)

When running fullscreen Aero is disabled and the preview is removed from memory. It can't be restored again until you open the window again after restoring Aero. It's not sloppy it's logical.

It's logical that Aero Peek stops working? At the end of the day there is no reason it should stop running; the current implementation is simply poor. It's like an automatic door that doesn't work if you approach from certain angles - it may not technically be a bug but all that matters is that it doesn't work.

Nothing of the "bugs" you are posting are bugs in Windows 7 at all...

Changing resolution when pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del is certainly a bug, particularly when a restart cured it. The thumbnail issues may not be bugs but that's how they appear to the end user.

I said 'the thumbnail previews of minimised windows...'

The WMP thumbnail is a static image when minimised, even if video is playing.

As 0sm3l pointed out WMP displays video in the thumbnail when minimised. So if WMP is able to take a live feed from the program then why can't other applications?

[briangw]

I appreciate that WinAMP probably does something funky but I don't understand how it happens. Surely Windows should just take the window as it's being rendered and display it in the thumbnail? The WMP thumbnail displays video in realtime. The same with coming out of games... why does is not display the correct preview?

Well, if that were the case, everything would be flawless! :) Still, it's not up to MS to fix those things. The software developers will have to do that.

Games? Why would you want Aero peek for that? Seems like a waste of resources when the icon shows what game is running. I really wouldn't want aero peek to work for that. Besides, it would be kind of hard to see what's going on ;)

[Brandon Live Veteran]

The thumbnail previews of minimised windows are stored as static images in RAM, and when you start a game that RAM is released for the game to use. This happens in Vista too.

Actually they're stored in video RAM. And when the DWM shuts down, they are lost. That's unavoidable.

What is avoidable, though, is ever shutting down the DWM. In Vista it shutdown automatically sometimes where in Win7 it normally doesn't do that any more. But some games manually shut it down themselves, for no real reason, and I hope to see them stop.

The only game I play regularly on my PC is LOTRO, which has an option to not turn off the DWM in its configuration file. I use that option now, and notice no ill effects (on the plus side, when I alt+tab I still have glass and everything, and never lose thumbnails, etc). Although I could see how more memory-constrained systems might benefit from freeing that video memory.

As 0sm3l pointed out WMP displays video in the thumbnail when minimised. So if WMP is able to take a live feed from the program then why can't other applications?

Apps can update their thumbnails while minimized, but it takes some effort on their part (pretty much all applications stop drawing when minimized for performance reasons).

[Eric Veteran]

I said 'the thumbnail previews of minimised windows...'

The WMP thumbnail is a static image when minimised, even if video is playing.

It wasn't on Vista. I can watch a video or enjoy visualizations just by pointing at the taskbar entry even when it's minimized. :)

Ok, I lied... I was thinking about the WMP tool bar, not the taskbar thumbnail.

[Brandon Live Veteran]

It wasn't on Vista. I can watch a video or enjoy visualizations just by pointing at the taskbar entry even when it's minimized. :)

Ok, I lied... I was thinking about the WMP tool bar, not the taskbar thumbnail.

Visualizations, no. But video, yes.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Well, if that were the case, everything would be flawless! :) Still, it's not up to MS to fix those things. The software developers will have to do that.

But the thumbnail feature was mean to work with existing applications, not for them to be rewritten. Since Vista everything is rendered to a composite desktop as individual layers so really it should just be a case of taking that layer and resizing it for the thumbnail. If a fullscreen 3D application is launched then Aero is disabled but the data should be cached and restored on exit (or reconnected if in realtime). I don't really care what the solution is, that's not my area of expertise, but certainly it's possible to do.

Games? Why would you want Aero peek for that? Seems like a waste of resources when the icon shows what game is running. I really wouldn't want aero peek to work for that. Besides, it would be kind of hard to see what's going on ;)

I don't want it for games, just to work when you exit out of them.

Apps can update their thumbnails while minimized, but it takes some effort on their part (pretty much all applications stop drawing when minimized for performance reasons).

Ah, I figured WMP was probably specially programmed for that but it would be nice if all thumbnails were in realtime (if performance is acceptable).