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

Anonymous

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?

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Anonymous

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

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Anonymous

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

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138 additional answers

Anonymous

2012-01-26T17:20:25+00:00

Thank you very much. That fix worked for me, and the problem was also blocking Roboform from filling in Excel passwords

What was causing the aero loss in my system was that I am running Eudora 7.1.0.9, and when I would scroll through some (not all) emails with embedded objects, it would cause the loss of the aero. The current Quicktime settings are a little different than you show, so here is my version of this fix:

In Windows 7 Open the Control Panel and click Quicktime. Click the Advanced Tab, and under video click the radio button for Safe Mode.
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Anonymous

2012-01-20T03:59:02+00:00

Still get it, running a Radeon HD 6950 on one monitor -- though I do run BOINC in the background.
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Anonymous

2012-01-19T21:34:52+00:00

Hi,

Same problem here.

I have a brand new system for work (IT Manager) which consists of a custom built :

i5-2500K

8GB Ram

2 x Radeon 6450 for multi-screen only, no gaming

Crucial SSD

Windows 7 x64 Pro

I only use extensively Firefox and some minor applications like evernote, Snagit and others. Everything else is ran via citrix on our server farm. I get this message EACH DAY and I only use 2 screen for the moment. I am planning to upgrade to 4 screen in the near future, that,s why I bought 2 GPUs.

I have the lastest drivers. This is incredibly annoying since I know I am not stressing the GPU's and the system at all.

Microsoft, we need support on this.
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