Windows 10 minimizing any games automatically at random times

Anonymous
2015-08-11T12:39:29+00:00

Hi,

Since I installed Windows 10, all my games minimize at random times, I don't have anything else open. It happens with Steam games, as well as games not in steam, like Guild Wars 2 for example. It is so annoying, sometimes I am playing PvP tournament and the game minimize :(

This is happening in all games that I have installed right now:

-Terraria (steam)

-MKX (steam)

-Guild Wars 2

Also I found out that is not happening just in games, sometimes while I am browsing the internet too. I use Chrome to browse.

Did some research on the internet and I found some solutions, but none did work for me. What I did so far and didn't work:

-Disabled Internet Explorer 11 (Edge?).

-Set my Nvidia GPU to  single display performance. 

-Deactivated Windows Defender.

-Deactivated OneDrive.

My previous version of windows was 8.1, and I never had this issue before. It is only happening since I upgraded to windows 10. Also, to make it clear, the installation was clean, only files/documents were saved from 8.1. to 10. The rest I installed my self, like steam, the games I mentioned above and my GPU drivers.

Please help.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Gaming

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-06-17T03:10:44+00:00

    This is absolutely ridiculous. After the last update - Windows is minimzing everything randomly. Why should I have to set priority to high (which isn't fixing the problem anyway). This is crazy to me. Thousands of people and all you can come up with is a cmd line scan which by the way I did and it found some corrupt files and fixed them but not my minimizing problem.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-03-28T14:13:02+00:00

    this worked for me! awesome! finally :)

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-03-02T11:03:28+00:00

    I just tried this fix, there were some corrupted files found.

    Hopefully, this fixes the problem

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-11-01T01:42:55+00:00

    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.

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  5. Anonymous
    2018-10-18T12:19:02+00:00

    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.

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