Windows 10: Windows 11 - games minimize to desktop

There are many threads about this, going back more than a decade. I had this problem in Windows 10, and now I have it on a new machine with Windows 11. I have tried every solution that has been suggested, and nothing fixes it. The biggest problem is that it is impossible to replicate the problem. I try one thing say, disabling Windows Gaming Mode, and the problem goes away, then it comes back, then it goes away without my making other changes.I do not have malware.My video drivers are up-to-date.The Windows scan tool fixed some corrupted files, but the problem keeps happening.The Windows 10

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Windows 10 Minimizing Games to Desktop


Hi! I've had my custom built desktop for a few months now. It has Windows 10 Pro installed as the OS. The issue I am having is that when I try to play games in fullscreen mode, they will periodically be minimized to the desktop. It appears they are still running in the background, as I can hear the game sound even when it is minimized. I can re-open the games as I could if I had just tabbed out, but within a few minutes they will minimize again. I have tried disabling background programs such as Skype, Curse Voice, Origin, Steam, Windows Firewall, and Bitdefender, but the games will still minimize. If I have the games in windowed fullscreen mode, they will not actually minimize, but from time to time the edges of the window will be visible (as if I had tabbed out) until I click into the game again.

Obviously playing games in windowed fullscreen is a sort of band-aid for the issue, but not all games have the option of windowed fullscreen, so I can't just wait for a fix to come up anymore. I have looked for solutions to this problem, but haven't found anything that helps.

On a possibly related side note, when using Open Broadcaster Software to record gameplay, OBS will record only a black screen in "game capture" mode. I have to use "monitor capture" mode to force it to always record everything that happens on my screen. This might be related to the games minimizing, or might be something completely different. I only added this in case it was relevant to the games minimizing.

 

Windows 10 games minimizes periodically

Hello,

To understand the issue better, I would like to ask some questions:

• Is the issue particular to a game or all games?
• Do you get any error message?
• Which build is installed in your computer?
• Is the issue occurring with Windows Store games?

I suggest you to update the Graphic card driver by following the steps provided below and check if it helps.

• Press Windows key + X and select Device Manager.
• Expand Display Adapters.
• Right click on the driver and select Update Driver Software.
• Follow the on-screen prompts to update the driver.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted on the status for further assistance.

Thank you.

 

Why are my games minimizing when there is no mouse activity or minimizing randomly?

Hi Walter,

To address your concern, we suggest that you refer to StevenN.'s response on this related

thread for some troubleshooting steps.

Regards.