Windows 10 minimizing any games automatically at random times

hello all,

yes, he may have solved his problem with his computer. not all issues are the same. in this situation I faced a lot of potential problems with no apparent solution in sight. turns out I needed to return to my roots as they say. when trouble shooting a computer problem its best to approach it systematically and step by step as it were. 

first, run event viewer in the background to ascertain the true nature of the game in question minimizing. I would suspect that you are suffering from the same affliction I did, software incompatibility. an error in the event log can point you in the right direction. in my case, RGB infusion app to control my LED's and Aorus app that I used to control my GPU fans. removing both of those apps cured my issue. this is by no means a cure for everyone. what i'm suggesting is that you use the computer in a more diagnostic fashion to cure your own ills. I am not religious but this saying holds true in this situation. "give a man a fish, feed him for a day" " teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime" If I can teach a way to solve the issue your self then you become better. :-)

Alright, I have fixed the problem with my computer, so I'll share my information on how I solved my problem. Quick and simple.

So in addition to Windows Powershell minimizing full screen games and the like, there's something else that I don't blame Microsoft for not realizing towards our complaints. If you have ever downloaded something from Adobe, you may have this application called **Akamai Netsession,**and it helps to download certain things like applications, data and media for Adobe applications. This isn't a virus by any means.

Normally this updates every few hours with no problems, no minimizations. However if there is an error labeled like this: Product: Akamai NetSession Interface -- Error 1310. Error writing to file: C:\Users(Username)\AppData\Local\Akamai\admintool.exe.  System error 0.  [Verify that you have access to that directory.] <-- Verify may or may not be included.

This will cause your game, or whatever it may be, minimize from full screen.

There are two ways to check for this error.

1. Sign One: When checking when the minimization happens, check Task Manager to see if the windows installer is running. I recommend keeping this open until it happens so you can easily spot it. If you do find the installer for a small moment, that's sign one that this problem is happening to you.
2. Sign Two: Go to the specified folder: C:\Users(Username)\AppData\Local\Temp

Then filter by date changed (just click on that tab until you see the current date at the top) and a text document should be at the top and specify the time it happened: The time your game minimized. Strange right? Open it. For me, it was labeled MSI387b1. (Yours should read something similar.) If this was your problem, it should read the error above.

The easiest way to solve this? Just uninstall the darn thing.

• Go into Users(Username)\AppData\Local\Akamai
• Look for the uninstall file and double click. It will ask if you want to uninstall Akamai, and the possible issues if you really want to uninstall it. Go ahead and uninstall, undeterred, let the computer do it's thing, and the Akamai folder should be removed from your computer.
• An alternate way is to go into your Control Panel - Programs - Programs and Features, and search for Akamai that way as well. This way of uninstalling works just as effectively as the above solution.

After this, I left my computer on for a whole day on full screen, and it never happened again after uninstalling Akamai Netsession.

Hope this helps everyone who can't figure out their problem!

ONLY DO THIS PART HERE IF THE ABOVE TACTIC DOESN'T WORK.

Now, keep in mind if you do see the installer pop up, it could mean you have an undetected virus. To check this, head to: https://malwaretips.com/threads/how-to-remove-msiexec-exe-trojan-horse-virus-removal-guide.2599/ and this guide will help you find where this virus might be if it exists. Don't install any of the antivirus systems they sa****y UNLESS: You are 100% confident that your antivirus can't find and remove this virus, AND you are 100% positive you have this virus to begin with.

If the problem persists even after checking these things, then I'm sorry to say its out of my power to help you, and may fortune favor you in the future.

For those of you who are seeing a small icon appear, it's probably Windows Powershell that is appearing and minimizing the game you are playing. It happens to me twice in a short duration every few hours.

I found that deactivating this helped with my problem by doing -> Control Panel -> Programs -> Programs and Features -> Turn windows programs on and off -> Scroll to Windows Powershell and uncheck it. -> Press OK.

This still causes my games to minimize, but caused it to only happen once instead of twice in a row. I underlined both that appear for a brief second and found it could also be the Command Processer as well. (A.K.A. Command Prompt) I would also check your own task manager to see if anything pops up from time to time for a brief duration, because this is what helped me spot this problem in the first place. It may take a while, but your problem may show itself this way.

Glad to know that I'm not the only one experiencing this. I hope this helps as many people as possible find the problem, as this isn't acceptable to let it go unanswered beyond any means.

Because it's so inconsistent, I'm going to try to keep an eye on it and reply back if uninstalling either of these needless programs solves the problem.

Ive had the very same problem, contacted many IT people, even Microsoft themseleves and nobody could figure it out. What I did that solved all my issues was to partition my SDD (given you have enough storage space!) And dual boot with Windows 7 or Linux. Boot in 7 or linux when I want to game without issues and boot in 10 for other stuff. Windows 10 seem to be getting more and more buggy with every update. Im over it. Hope this helps.

I'm having the same problem, keeps minimizing my games back to desktop.

It all started around the same time as the last Microsoft update, so no surprises there.  Just another MS fluff up.

Every update they add more junk-ware to the install, like skype for business.  I found this rubbish was starting up with windows by default.  I don't use crappy skype, I hate the thing yet they sneak stuff onto your system without your knowledge or permission.

It's enough to make you revert back to win 8 or 7.