White selection outline keeps automatically appearing over UI elements despite not pressing tab

Question

Recently I've begun having the white selection outline appear in certain apps without any input from the keyboard, for example, any time I open task manager, or switch to the 'Processes' tab, the white selection box is visible around the CPU box, and when I open file explorer, the white box is around 'Quick Access', and in the calculator, it appears as well. I don't remember this happening before. I remember this only happening when pressing tab or arrow keys for keyboard selection, instead of always appearing no matter what, even with the keyboard unplugged.

Is this a new feature/bug? I've tried sfc /scannow as well as running DISM and both reported no corruptions found. I was also having an issue with my Settings app crashing when opening the Graphics options, but I was able to fix it using Get-AppxPackage *windows.immersivecontrolpanel* | Reset-AppxPackage in powershell running as admin. However, the behavior with the white selection boxes always appearing still occurs. The white selection box is visible immediately upon opening apps like task manager/calculator/file explorer, until I click in a blank area to make it disappear. But reopening the app, or switching tabs in task manager, it just reappears. All of this still happens with the keyboard unplugged.

If this is just how it is now, I guess I can get used to it, but if this isn't normal behavior I'd like to fix it. I only remember this happening before when pressing tab or arrow keys, instead of always being enabled and visible without any input from the keyboard, and I've seen a few posts from other people saying the same thing, but I was not able to find much recent info. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Hello, CalebMiller3

Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

Thank you very much for your feedback. I have carefully read the information and problem description you provided. You mentioned that a white border appears on the UI icons of some applications.

I understand the trouble caused by this problem. Yes, it is not normal to have such a situation. I tested this problem. When pressing the Tab key, such a white border will appear to show the currently selected content, but if it is always displayed, it is not normal.

I suggest you try the following methods to troubleshoot the error, which may help you.

Method 1. Please create a new local account and test whether the problem still exists.

Press Win + S to open the search bar.

Type cmd, then right-click "Command Prompt" and select "Run as Administrator".

Enter the following command in the command prompt and press Enter:

net user username password /add

For example, to create a local account named newuser with a password of password123, you can use the following command:

net user newuser password123 /add

Method 2. Perform an in-place upgrade

An in-place upgrade is a method of reinstalling Windows. The principle of an in-place upgrade is to overwrite only system files while retaining the original system and user data, thereby restoring the normal use of the system. The detailed steps are as follows.

Visit the official Microsoft website, Download Windows 11

Use the installation tool to create a USB installation disk or ISO file.

Insert the USB installation disk or mount the ISO file, and then run setup.exe.

Select the "Upgrade this PC" option and click "Next".

Make sure to select the "Keep personal files and apps" option and click "Install".

The process may take some time, please be patient.

Disclaimer: Let's try to perform an in-place upgrade, which will refresh your Windows files and operating system without deleting files or applications. But if there is important data on the computer, we still recommend backing it up in advance.

Best regards

Brian - Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 2

I performed an in-place upgrade using the iso file, as well as updated my BIOS, which seems like it fully fixed the issue of my settings app crashing, but the issue with the white selection box still occurs in the exact same way as described in the original post. I still have yet to test if it still occurs on a new local account, will report back the results as soon as I've tested the local account method

Answer 3

Making a new local account doesn't solve the issue either. I'm stumped at this point. The only other thing I could think of is possibly my keyboard drivers acting wonky, I'm using an Onn brand knockoff gaming keyboard from walmart and the drivers for Onn stuff has always been pretty sketchy.

Any more advice would really be appreciated. Not sure what to do here. Maybe reinstall keyboard drivers? I had really hoped there'd be a way to fix this without requiring a full wipe of the drive or fresh reinstall of Windows.

Answer 4

I know it's a minor issue but it does get distracting, every single time i minimize/maximize something like task manager or file explorer the tab selection box just pops back up. I've checked to make sure there's no keys stuck on my keyboard or any other peripherals plugged in that could be causing it, like a game controller.

Answer 5

Thanks for your reply.

I tried to reproduce your problem on my computer but failed. Later, I reproduced the problem on other people's computers with the help of my colleagues. It seems that this problem may exist on some versions of Windows. This may not be related to the keyboard hardware or drivers.

If this problem occurs after a recent system update, I suggest you try to uninstall the latest update or restore it using a restore point. This can help you restore your computer to its previous state. The detailed steps are as follows.

After three consecutive forced restarts (holding down the power button during Windows startup until the computer shuts down), the system will automatically enter WinRE.

After entering WinRE, you will see a selection screen.

Select the Troubleshoot option.

In the Troubleshoot screen, select Advanced options.

In Advanced options, select System Restore. This will start the System Restore feature.

The System Restore tool will display the available restore points. Select a restore point with a date before the problem occurred.

Click Next and follow the prompts to complete the restoration process.

In the meantime, you can also try to uninstall the update.

In Advanced options, select Uninstall updates.

You will see two options: Uninstall the latest quality update and Uninstall the latest feature update.

If you choose Uninstall the latest quality update, the system will roll back to the state before the last quality update was installed.

If you choose Uninstall the latest feature update, the system will roll back to the version before the feature update.

If the problem persists after uninstalling the update or restoring the computer, as I mentioned earlier, this may be a problem on some versions of Windows. I don’t have any better suggestions for you at the moment, but you can still submit your problem through the Feedback Center (if it is convenient, please provide as much detail as possible, including pictures, videos, etc.), where the development team will see your problem directly and may respond to your suggestions. For detailed steps, please refer to the following link

Send feedback to Microsoft with the Feedback Hub app - Microsoft Support

Thank you for your understanding and support.

Best regards

Brian - Microsoft Community Support Specialist