Windows 10: An app is suddenly running in background instead of foreground as it should

Hi,


There was a thread on this, but the advice wasn't helpful and the thread was locked. So here is a new thread.


Win 10. I installed an external app (so doesnt appear in the Settings-Privacy-Background Apps list.


The app runs fine, until I minimise it. then it moves to background apps, so theres no way I can find for me to get it back on the screen.


So -


1 - Can I get a 'background process' back into 'apps'process'?


2 - Is this a coding bug, where the on minimise command of the eternal app is not handling the minimise event scenario correctly for win10? perhaps it did in win7


thanks.

:)

 

An app is suddenly running in background instead of foreground as it should

I run Windows 10.

When I tried to start an app it suddenly started to run in the background instead of foreground as it should, as seen in the Taskmanager.

It is an "external" app and is thus not listed in the Settings-privacy- background apps list

I want to force it back to run as foreground app again.

Is it possible?

 

An app is suddenly running in background instead of foreground as it should

The issue, as you described it, often relates to a fault in the application itself. Have you gone through their support site to check if it's a common issue or if there's a known solution? Reinstalling the app is what I suggest you do as well in this case.
However, try the following steps first and check if it makes any difference:

Check for corrupted Windows system files.

System File Checker (SFC) is a utility in Windows that scans for corrupted Windows system files. If it finds a problem, it will try to replace the problematic system files from a cached version that’s on your PC. If SFC can’t replace the files, the Deployment
Image Service and Management Tool (DISM) can check the corrupted files then download and replace the files through Windows Update.

To run System File Checker (SFC), follow these steps:

• In the search box on the taskbar, type command prompt, press and hold (or right-click)
  Command Prompt, then select Run as administrator >
  Yes.
• At the command prompt, type sfc /scannow (note the space between sfc and the /). Scanning will take a few minutes.
• Do one of the following, depending on the results of the scan:
  • If SFC finds corrupted files and replaces them, restart your PC and check if the issue persists.
  • If SFC doesn’t find corrupted files or finds corrupted files but can’t replace them, try using the Deployment Image Service and Management Tool (DISM).

For more info about System File Checker, see
Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files.

To use the Deployment Image Service and Management Tool (DISM), follow these steps:

• In the search box on the taskbar, type command prompt, press and hold (or right-click)
  Command Prompt, and then select Run as administrator >
  Yes.
• At the command prompt, type dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth (note the space between dism.exe and / and each switch (/)).
• If DISM finds corrupted files and replaces them, restart your PC and check if the issue persists.

Note: You need to be connected to the Internet to use DISM, and it might take several minutes to finish.

For more info about DISM, see
Fix Windows Update errors by using the DISM or System Update Readiness tool.

Let us know how it goes.

 

An app is suddenly running in background instead of foreground as it should

I have already tried the proposed solution but it doesn't help.

I am not sure what kind of information you need.

The app I am trying to use is Firefox.

Firefox was running as usual. Then the computer suddenly restarted (I don't know why). When the computer was back up again I tried to restart Firefox. Nothing happened, I got no Firefox app window. Since this has happened once before I immediately looked
in the task manager, and as I suspected Firefox was running among the background apps, and not among the ordinary ones as it normally does.

The previous time this happened Windows 10 was new to me and I was in a hurry so I just uninstalled Firefox and reinstalled it, and it worked. However I lost a lot of personal settings etc in the process so it cost me a lot of additional work.

Now when I am more familiar with Windows 10 I hoped it would be possible to find a better solution, e.g. how does Windows decide which apps shall run in the background? I have asked Mozilla and they say that Firefox has no control over how/where it is run.
So "who" decides that, and how can that decision be altered?