Taskbar: pop up windows disappear when moving pointer to select, making selection impossible

H

Humble

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Taskbar: pop up windows disappear when moving pointer to select, making selection impossible

Windows 10, up to date as of this writing,
HP spectre laptop convertible


After moving pointer to an icon in the taskbar, for instance WiFi, or speaker, battery etc, and clicking on it, the corresponding pop up window appears
but the very instant the pointer is moved to select something from the pop up menu, the pop up disappears, no matter how fast I try to move the pointer.

It's like cat and mouse game!

This applies to both large and small taskbar icon setting.

I have tried restarting explorer, no joy.

Has anyone else experienced this issue and found a fix for it?

Willing to try just about anything to sort this out. Major irritation.

Thank you!
 
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Thank you, Britechguy!
This did not do it.

Anyone else have ideas?

I should also mention that this issue persists with trackpad and external keyboard alike.
so far tried:
rebooting, sfc, diskchk, explorer relaunch, taskbar locking,
 
I don't know what you mean by "this."

I cover the entire range of options from uninstalling a recent Windows Update through a completely clean reinstall. I find it hard to believe that you've already done an SFC/DISM pair or a Windows 10 Repair Install.

Those instructions are very specific about the order you should follow (and what you can skip, like if this didn't come about after a recent Windows Update then skip the section dedicated to that). You would start with using SFC & DISM paired and, if that doesn't work, doing a Windows 10 Repair Install using the ISO file.
 
Of course, Brian, you are right! I did not.
I felt overwhelmed, hoping for a simpler fix.

Where do I find instruction on how to do SFC and DSIM paired? I only know about SFC.
Not sure I have ISO file. Is it something that is generated automatically? How to access?

Thanks a bundle.

Not sure how to run "paired". I separately ran SFC ( no integrity issues ) and DSIM ( did not report anything )
 
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Humble,

Please, I beg of you, when you are presented with information via click-through link, where multiple sets of downloadable step-by-step instruction sets are included, have the courtesy to read it. You're asking questions I already answered with my first offering. I should not have to repeat myself.
 
Could not agree more. Humbly begging forgiveness. Sorry sorry sorry
Also wanted to mention that I had tried to uninstall some Windows updates before but the uninstall option does not show
Now I am reading in your script that I have to activate it.
 
Trying to launch MCT produces this:

"THere was a problem running this tool
We are not sure what happened, but we are unable to run this tool on your PC...."
0x80070020-0x90018

Update: Please disregard above, disabling AV seems to fix it
 
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I have had the MCT refuse to run on two PCs. In each case, I just gave up on those two PCs and ran it on another one, as once the ISO file is fetched, it can be copied on to removable media (e.g., a USB jump drive) and carried to wherever you need it.

I take failures like this on machines that are exhibiting other signs of corruption as just one more of those signs.
 
britechguy said:
I have had the MCT refuse to run on two PCs. In each case, I just gave up on those two PCs and ran it on another one, as once the ISO file is fetched, it can be copied on to removable media (e.g., a USB jump drive) and carried to wherever you need it.

I take failures like this on machines that are exhibiting other signs of corruption as just one more of those signs.
Click to expand...

Putting ANTI-VIRUS PROTECTION in SNOOZE MODE DID IT FOR ME
 
Brian:
Kudos for posting some of the clearest instructions and most useful resources here I have seen.
AND for persistance and encouragement to try, despite my reluctance at first.

Doing the ISO re-install did not resolve the original issue
 
I'm out of ideas, then, other than doing a completely clean reinstall, which while easy in and of itself, ends up being time consuming afterward as you have to reconfigure everything from scratch and reinstall all the programs you routinely use.

By the way, if turning off antivirus allowed the MCT to run, I have to believe you're using some third-party antivirus/security suite. Were I you, I'd ditch it. Windows Security as implemented from Windows 8 and onward is a top notch product and does not cause these weird side-effect issues like some do.

See the most recent plus the last several years of historical test results from:

AV Test

AV Comparatives

SE Labs (Reports Page)

MRG Effitas (360 Protection Testing Category)
 
Almost funny:

Uninstalling both 3rd party AV products and rebooting, it appears the issue prompting this thread ( disappearing taskbar pop ups )
is no longer present.

Your assistance and guidance in this matter is much appreciated.
 
Well, now, this presents a chance to get on two educational soapboxes:

1. Never, ever, ever run two antivirus/security suite products on the same machine at the same time if both have realtime protection. These products use "virus like" techniques as part of the defenses they use, and each generally will see the other as a threat and engage in a battle to the death of your functioning system. In your case the two products you mention were not both of this class, but it is something that bears repeating for future readers.

2. Never, ever, ever use "system optimizer" packages and, most specifically, never ever, ever, ever use a registry cleaner. These things are virtually always a road to madness. They're snake oil, at best, and often cause far worse issues than they claim they will prevent.
 
britechguy said:
Well, now, this presents a chance to get on two educational soapboxes:

1. Never, ever, ever run two antivirus/security suite products on the same machine at the same time if both have realtime protection. These products use "virus like" techniques as part of the defenses they use, and each generally will see the other as a threat and engage in a battle to the death of your functioning system. In your case the two products you mention were not both of this class, but it is something that bears repeating for future readers.

2. Never, ever, ever use "system optimizer" packages and, most specifically, never ever, ever, ever use a registry cleaner. These things are virtually always a road to madness. They're snake oil, at best, and often cause far worse issues than they claim they will prevent.
Click to expand...


Thank you again, Brian!

Uninstalled 3rd party AVs.
But my previous post was premature, taskbar pop up issue still not fixed, only less frequent. I.e. sometimes it works, other times not.

I have indeed used numerous of the type of products you mention, including registry cleaners. If the damage was caused by them, would the ISO reinstall
I just did not have taken care of it?

Is there anything else I can try short of thermonuclear option to deal with this?
 
If you did a Repair Install, and not a Feature Update, then I'd go with the "nuke and pave" option.

If, however, the version of Windows 10 you had was not the one you now have (which means it was a Feature Update), then I would try doing a Repair Install right on top of it using the ISO you already have. If that doesn't work, then I can only suggest getting a clean slate and known stable baseline and avoiding the mistakes you now know not to make.
 
britechguy said:
If you did a Repair Install, and not a Feature Update, then I'd go with the "nuke and pave" option.

If, however, the version of Windows 10 you had was not the one you now have (which means it was a Feature Update), then I would try doing a Repair Install right on top of it using the ISO you already have. If that doesn't work, then I can only suggest getting a clean slate and known stable baseline and avoiding the mistakes you now know not to make.
[/QUOTE

Not quite sure which is which.
To clarify: I downloaded MCT, created ISO file, launched and let it do it's thing, preserving files and apps.
does that mean feature update or repair install?
Click to expand...
 
now Windows Defender does not run. Unable to start it manually and/or change setting to automatic,
 
You really, really just need to bit the bullet after having backed up your user data and do a clean reinstall. There are just too many things that keep happening and playing "whack a mole" in perpetuity is just not something you (or anyone) wants to be doing.
 

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