Windowed Applications cycle in and out of focus when Clicking

Question

My laptop: WIN11 Home, NVIDIA 4080, INTEL 13th gen I9 13900HX, 32 GB RAM, and 2560x1600 240 Hz laptop monitor.

When using applications or Games on my laptop the window the game is in regardless of if it is Borderless window, full screen, or windowed will flicker in and out before eventually minimizing itself permanently or crashing altogether. No error messages or dialogue boxes during this process. Having searched for solutions I have performed the following to no avail: FSC ScanNow (No integrity issues detected), Windows file repair (no file issues detected), Verified HungAppTimeout does not exist in registry, updated and reinstalled graphics drivers, restarted my computer several times, uninstalled and reinstalled the App several times, verified windows has no pending updates, verified game maximum FPS matches my refresh rate, put application full screen->window->fullscreen, reset windows settings to default, turning off any "In game overlay" settings in external applications, and lastly disabling Integrated graphics.

Answer 1

Hi Cole Heiney,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Based on what you described and similar reports from systems with comparable hardware and Windows 11 builds, this behavior is most often linked to how Windows manages fullscreen and borderless window rendering with certain graphics configurations.

Here are some troubleshooting steps that you can consider:

1, Remove a recent Windows update that affects graphics handling.

• Settings > Windows Update > Update history
• Select Uninstall updates
• Uninstall KB5074109
• Restart the PC

2, Turn off “Optimizations for windowed games”

• Settings > System > Display > Graphics
• Under Default settings, turn Optimizations for windowed games Off
• Restart the game

3, Disable Fullscreen Optimizations for the game

• Right‑click the game’s .exe > Properties
• Compatibility tab
• Check Disable fullscreen optimizations
• Apply and relaunch the game

Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

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Answer 2

It sounds like you're experiencing issues with windowed applications and games flickering and minimizing on your Windows 11 laptop. Given your extensive troubleshooting steps, here are some additional considerations based on best practices for window display modes and graphics technologies:

1. Display Mode: Ensure that your game or application is set to use a Full Screen Windowed/Borderless or Windowed/Non-Maximized mode rather than Full Screen Exclusive. This can help prevent issues with focus loss when interacting with the application.
2. Graphics Technology: If the application uses OpenGL or Vulkan, it is recommended to run in a windowed mode that displays a desktop-owned window border. This allows title-callable UI (TCUI) dialogs to render correctly over the game.
3. Native Resolution: Make sure the game is running at the native display resolution of your monitor. Some graphics technologies, such as DirectX 9, may not handle resolution changes gracefully, which could lead to the flickering and minimizing behavior you are experiencing.
4. Driver Issues: Although you've updated your graphics drivers, consider rolling back to a previous version if the issue started after an update. Sometimes, the latest drivers can introduce compatibility issues.
5. Background Applications: Check if there are any background applications or overlays (like Discord, GeForce Experience, etc.) that might be causing conflicts with the game. Disabling these temporarily can help identify if they are the source of the problem.
6. Windows Settings: Since you've reset Windows settings, ensure that any power-saving settings are disabled, as they can sometimes interfere with performance.

If these suggestions do not resolve the issue, you may want to reach out to the support team for the specific application or game for further assistance.

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References:

• Window display modes and title-callable UI dialogs
• DirectX Graphics Infrastructure (DXGI): Best Practices
• Resolved issues in Windows 11, version 24H2