Strange WindowsXP problem

It's kind of minor, but when I boot into Windows, and open a window (any window: My Computer, Internet Explorer, even the Start button), it opens OK but when I try to close it, the top blue bar gets 'greyed out' and it won't close. But, if I hit CTRL+ALT+DEL and then close it right away (I don't have to end any processes or anything; I just open the Task Mgr, and close it again), everything is normal; windows will then open and close normally. I hope I'm making this clear... Thanx for any help.

BTW- this is the same Dell that I posted about with the internet connection trouble (which I have since fixed).

 

It sounds like a Windows Explorer problem. If you let it close on it's own do you get an error message?

 

That's just it, they won't close on their own. The only way to close anything is to open the task manager and then close the task manager without actually managing any tasks... just open it, close it, and then all behavior is normal. I've taken everything out of msconfig start up (turned stuff off). It's wierd. So- XP loads to the desktop nice and fast; when I open anything (even notepad documents) they cannot be closed. If I click on the "X" to close it, it goes to 'inactive mode' like if you were to click on the desktop while a window is open. But if you click back on the window, it stays stuck in the inactive mode. The only way to get things back to normal is to open & close the task manager (which opens and closes normally). Once the task manager is opened and closed, everything works fine until the PC is restarted, then the problem returns.

 

Firstly are you sure the program is not actually closed?
You can sometimes see this when the screen is not refreshed and a box (window) stays onscreen after a particular program is shut down.
However opening any other window (starting another program) will overwite the 'stuck' box.

If there is ar real problem, try the system file checker.

 

Yeah, I'm sure it's not actually closed. When the task manager is opened, you can see the 'open' windows (the ones the won't close completely) listed as running. I've tried opening several things and then closing them, but they just go to the inactive mode and don't close, and the task manager shows them open and running. If I right click the desktop and select 'refresh', nothing happens. I've run sfc and Dial-A-Fix and a repair install of Windows as part of trying to fix an earlier internet problem. But I'll try sfc again.

 

You can try changing these keys in your registry to the values I have here. You might get a better response time from Explorer.

Key Name: HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop

Value 1
Name: AutoEndTasks
Type: REG_SZ
Data: 1

Value 15
Name: HungAppTimeout
Type: REG_SZ
Data: 1500

Value 29
Name: WaitToKillAppTimeout
Type: REG_SZ
Data: 1500

 

I'll try those. I ran the sfc again with no luck. This is really wierd. If I was actually using the task manager to end a process or something, that would make sense. But all I do is open the task manager and close it right away WITHOUT doing anything at all to any processes or apps. As soon as the task manager is closed, everything is fine.... :confused

 

Hey BirdBath- I used those reg changes but to no avail. I'm going to run a RAM diagnostic as suggested above, but I just installed a brand new DDR2 so I don't think that's it. I've even done a safe re-install and that did nothing to fix this situation. Other than this bit of wierdness, the PC runs perfectly. It's good and fast, and does everything great. EXCEPT for this little problem. If I hit CTRL+ALT+DEL right when the desktop loads, and then immediately close the open task manager, everything is fine until the next reboot.

 

have you got anything in the registry under
either HKCU
or HKLM

HKCU\\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server

or

HKLM\\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server

 

Ran the RAM diagnostic for 2 hours; it was clean.
Here's a screen shot (attached) of the HKLM key listed above. The HKCU key didn't exist.
Thanx!

 

Assuming the three folders are not set, these keys are normal.
Terminal services is sometimes associated with task manager hanging.

Does this also happen in safe mode?

Like the Avatar by the way.

 

What kind of shell extensions do you have set up in your right-click menu?

Also I have heard of intel video cards causing similar stalls in Explorer on the desktop.

 

Task manager is not hanging. The only thing(s) that hangs is anything I try to open right after the desktop loads up. It can be a notepad document, My Computer, Internet Explorer, anything. It'll open OK, but will not close unless I open the task manager, and then close the task manager (without doing ANYTHING while in the task manager: just open it, then close it). Once that's done, everything will open and close and run just fine.

There are no shell extensions in the right click menu other than the standard WinXP options like Send To, Open, Explore, etc.... And this tower has NVidia on board video; GeForce 6150 I think.... this is one of the wierdest problems ever. It's not really a big deal, but then again it is, because it shouldn't be doing this :crap, ya know?

 

You are right this is an unususal problem.

You didn't answer the safe mode question.

One technique is to do a parallel installation of windows, no drivers or programs and see if the problem persists. Then install drivers and progs on at a time until you find the culprit.

Another is process explorer from sysinternal.

What does the event log say about the open/closure process?

 

dlb, studiot asked me to take a look at this thread since you were running into such an problem with your Dell. After reading what you tried, this is definitely an odd one.

You mentioned that the problem does not come back after you go into Task Manager. What happens if you just let the computer sit for a bit? Will the window/app eventually close on its own?

You also mentioned that when you have Task Manager open it lists the apps you told to close as still running. Did you check through the process list to see if anything was eating up all your resources or looked out of place? I've seen in the past where one app that is taking more than its share of CPU cycles/memory can prevent other programs from closing properly simply because Windows doesn't get the CPU time to tell the app to close. Once the problem app closes everything else closes with it (making it look like everything closed at once).

What changes or (un)installs had you done when the problem started? Since the memory test passed, the only other hardware problem I can think of would be the hard drive, but I'm more inclined to think this is purely software, based on what you describe.

Larry
Dell Customer Advocate

 

I think you will find it was this thread.

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=140646