Windows 7 automatically switching to basic (non-aero) theme. I need a way to disable that behaviour.

Anonymous
2009-11-15T23:07:02+00:00

This is very similar to what is described here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/939423

As well as here: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistaperformance/thread/c7b869e1-5138-48a3-b09d-419f76e2f728

However, this is for Windows 7, not Vista.

Scenario:

On a 3 screen (1920x1080 each) setup ran on an ATI HD4890 (1gb RAM, running 2 screens) + HD 3450 (256mb RAM, running 1 screen), whenever anything graphic intensive is put onto the screen hosted by the HD3450, Windows will complain "The color scheme has been changed to Windows Basic - The current color scheme has exceeded its allowed memory so the color scheme has been automatically changed to improve performance. Click to see more information." and change my theme to Windows Basic.

However, it is to be noted that the 3450 is not being stressed at all (all the load is being put onto the 4890 according to GPU-Z).

It should not be a problem with system RAM (6gb, on Win7 x64) nor processing power (i7 920).

Is there a way to disable Windows automatically "improving performance" by switching my theme?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Music, photos, and video

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2011-02-14T09:27:12+00:00

Run menu > sysdm.cpl > Advanced Tab > performance > select adjust for best performance > make sure you do not allow Windows to choose for you because your computer does not know whats best --- Make sure Enable Aero Peek is checked

---- OR ---

Right click my computer > properties > Advanced System settings > performance > select adjust for best performance > make sure you do not allow Windows to choose for you because your computer does not know whats best --- Make sure Enable Aero Peek is checked

Was this answer helpful?

100+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2009-11-16T20:35:40+00:00

Hi whsper,

Welcome to Microsoft Answers Community Forums.

The aero theme is basically enabled depending on video card.

Windows Display Driver Modelis the graphic driver architecture for video card drivers running Microsoft Windows versions beginning with Windows Vista.

WDDM driver model version 1.0 is that it does not support multiple drivers in a multi-adapter, multi-monitor setup, the latest version is 2.0 is introduced.

Windows will disable the Desktop Window Manager (DWM) that controls the transparent glass effect or other effects of the Aero theme. The DWM manages the desktop and the primary display settings in Windows.

I would suggest you to check with your manufacturer for latest drivers to support your hardware configuration.

Hope this information helped you.

Regards

Yaaser - Microsoft Support Engineer                                          

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

Was this answer helpful?

50+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

138 additional answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2016-01-15T16:03:42+00:00

    I spent hours and nobody had the fix until I read one thing on a small website. 

    Go to your start menu

    type in services 

    click on services

    scroll down to themes

    right click and click stop

    then right click again and press start

    and bam it should be fixed

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2015-11-17T19:58:22+00:00

    i guess you just don't get it. its not microsofts duty to make sure hardware works with win 7, its the hardware manufacture duty to make sure their product works with win 7. thinking otherwise is just naivete

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2015-11-17T19:28:41+00:00

    Stop expecting Microsoft to fix the issues the video card manufactures are pretending isn't their fault. It's their debacle and their new cards are quietly applying the fix one by one as people are upgrading or replacing.

    This is, of course, utter ****. It was, is, and will always be incumbent upon the OS manufacturer to offer an option to disable the "idiot-proofing" settings of Windows, such as its penchant for arbitrarily disabling aero. Let the OS slow to a crawl with an "unsupported" setting. Power users won't care. The fact that Microsoft did not build the option to disable this behavior into Windows is just another reason why they're losing market share every year.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments