Windows 11 Background application activity (i.e., videos)

My system was fully updated. (Microsoft forces it down your throat whether you like it or not).

I was having an error doing an "override the system". I ran SFC /SCANNOW, DISM, etc... everything was coming back good, but Windows 11 insisted I was running VIrtualBox. I was not. Not at any time. It was not pre-loaded by the manufacturer of the PC either....

Microsoft should not refuse to "override" an OPERATING SYSTEM (their operating system..) because of an APPLICATION..... completely preposterous. Anyways...

So, I downloaded a brand new official image from Microsoft, and installed Windows 11 Pro, fresh. Version 21H2 Build 22000.856. All updates are applied.

With base "functional" computer, it behaves as I described in my original post.

With all drivers and core programs installed (latest RTX3080 Nvidia etc), it behaves as I described in my original post.

Installing Chrome, Firefox, Brave, tried all three (along with Edge each time), and it behaves as I described above.

I read this post: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/disabling-under-prioritization-of-background-tasks/c4749a47-76f0-4c5c-bb30-b9d319f610fc

I sincerely do not comprehend how you can indicate you've tested my scenario and not have experienced the same issue. Please test it. I question your claim because it seems rather uncommon that someone cares about a video stream running ***in the background*** and you can't know if its doing so unless you are running another application to monitor it, or specifically looking at the behaviors when you wake the window back up.

I then ran Hyper-V and created a Win8.1 system **on this pc** installed Firefox & Chrome, and ran the same test and it works perfectly fine when I have other windows fully maximized inside of the VM. HOWEVER< on this machine it does not work when running it on the core Windows 11 OS.....

Which goes back to my original claim..... Microsoft is messing with system resources when a video is known to be "invisible" to the user......

#3, #4, & #5, had no impact.

I can use OBS studio as an example... start a video, both the video and the obs show the active window content... the moment I put a program in full-window over the top of the browser window, the live video stops updating within seconds.

As long as the window is not full screen, it is able to be "background" active.

Windows 10 did not do this to me.

Regarding "override the system" (I'll call this #7 from now on) - are you suggesting a fresh install on top of the existing install which basically "downgrades" the current OS back to the "install media" content, then I have to mass-windows-update again? I understand that I should not lose my data, but may have other re-installs I will need to do; correct?

Please try #6..... or anyone try #6.

Hi Bill Noyb,

Regarding scenarios 4 and 5 in my last reply, did these make any progress?

If it still doesn't work, I suggest you override the system by following the steps below. Please rest assured that override system will theoretically not affect your data and applications (you need to choose to keep files and applications in the next steps), just update all the system files are the latest. If you have important data, it is recommended that you make additional backups to prevent accidental loss of your data. Also make sure your system disk has enough free space, at least 40GB.

• Download ISO

Visit Download Windows 11 (microsoft.com) and click "Download Now" to download MCT (Media Control Tool), then download and run the program, select "Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD or ISO file) for another PC” , and then choose Language, Version, Architecture (if you are not sure about these, choose "Use the recommended options for this PC"), then select "ISO file" in the "Select Media to Use" interface, and then a windows ISO file will be downloaded to your disk (about 4-5GB in size, it is recommended that you choose a non-system disk).

• Choose to override system

After the download is complete, double-click the ISO file, double-click to run "setup.exe" in the open file explorer, and select "Change how Windows Installer downloads updates" > "Download updates, drivers and optional features", Select "Keep personal files and apps" after accepting the terms of the agreement, then click "Next" > "Install". Then the system will reboot a few times, and then enter the welcome screen.

Hope this will help you!

Best Regards,

Mosken-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Streaming, not steam.

Basically, when I "switch to another application" Windows should not reduce the performance of another application because it is in the "background" --> but it appears to be doing so based on my experiments and as I explained.

This behavior has been like this since day one. Fresh out of the box. No amount of tweaking, updating, or rebooting has changed it.

As I mentioned..... if I leave the application with a streaming video in the foreground, it works. If I "put in in the background" it stops "displaying" video and basically freezes. When I bring it back to the foreground it "tries to catch up" or just stops playing and I have to reload the media.

1. I listed explorer as an example, but I have kill it and restarted it.
2. as mentioned, it has been this way all along. I update drivers when available. I have installed 4 or 5 versions of the Graphics driver, its never worked. I'll clean re-install.
3. Why? I rarely use Edge. But as I mentioned, I have tested it on Chrome and Firefox and it behaves the same way. (I have also turned on and turned off the browsers "Hardware acceleration" options).
4. I'll try this.
5. I'll try this.

#6, new - Can you try it? Or any Microsoft pro? Startup a Live video - when you minimize the app, or put a full screen app over it, it stops playing video and screws up the buffering. You can see this when you bring it back to the foreground, it has lag getting back to a live view. You could also use any of many screen recording tools, and record it. Watch the recorded video - it will just be blank or frozen for the period of time you had it minimized or behind some other maximized window.

Hi Bill Noyb,

Welcome to Microsoft Community. I'm Mosken, let me help you.

According to your description, I knew that the stream media were stopped when you enlarged windows in Windows 11, but non-maximized windows will not be affected, even if you've tried modifying the power plan. Is that right?

First, did this phenomenon occur recently? Did you have any special operations before this exception occurs*? Such as* installing Windows updates*,* hardware changes*, or the computer being* physically bumped*, etc. If there is, please describe it in detail, or take a screenshot, and only send the relevant information to me in the next reply.*

The system version I am currently using is the same as yours, and it works fine when play steam media without being affected by other windows.

So try the fix steps below.

1. Restart Windows Explorer

Please save your work and opened apps, then run Command Prompt as an administrator ("Win" logo key + "Q", enter "cmd", select "Run as administrator"), and enter the following commands one by one.

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe

explorer.exe

2. Update all computer hardware drivers

You may try to reinstall all drivers, especially the graphics card driver. You can go to the official website of your device manufacturer to download the corresponding model driver, and then install it manually. After the driver installation is complete, it is recommended that you check if the device works properly, and then restart to check again.

3. Tracking protection

Enter "edge://settings/privacy" in the Edge browser address bar, then turn on "Tracking prevention", and then set the content filtering level according to your needs. The default option is "Balanced".

4. Default Power Plan

You may try creating a new power plan, then resetting it to the default options, apply it, and restarting the system.

5. Clean Boot

Then you may try to perform a clean boot, because this mode disables third-party services, which could help rule out the interference of third-party software. You can visit **** How to perform a clean boot in Windows (microsoft.com) for specific steps.

The above steps are provided based on the information I have learned so far, and hope that could help you a little. If the problem still exists, please provide us a full PSR from the beginning, through the whole process, and until the error message is displayed, so we can further investigate.

Best Regards,

Mosken-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist