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The case:
My wife and I share the same home PC for work, that we use independently throughout the day. We would like to be able to switch between our users without having to log out and close/reopen our respective documents and apps. Kinda like how it works on a Mac when you switch between multiple active user login sessions.
The Problem:
Whenever we try to use the "Switch User" functionality, the taskbar freezes (doesn't load) on whichever user you switch to. The only way to unfreeze the taskbar is to log out completely on one user (and subsequently close all apps/documents), and then login to the other user afterwards.
What I have tried:
Extra info:
Both users have Admin account type and our Windows 10 is updated to the latest version.
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.
It is very discomforting to see that relatively simple and ubiquitous peripherals like mice and keyboards can interfere with the OS so badly. Disabling HID devices is a poor workaround for something that MS should fix in the OS or the OEM manufacturers like RAZER should comply with MS specs. But then you have a MS intellimouse freezing the taskbar on an MS OS, it seems that MS itself has an internal interoperability problem.
yes!
I confirm that the Razer Deathadder V2 mouse is my root cause! Confirmed on sn intel desktop, an Asus Vivobook (laptop) and an AMD desktop. I have lstest software snd firmware installed.
I have raised a support ticket on this to Razer today. The mouse bungee (Razer Chroma V3) causes no problem by the way.
Using a different mouse (an old HP USB) presented no problem by comparison.
I also have this issue.
It only started when I got the Razer Ornata V2 keyboard, so I thought it was to do with the software associated with that. I uninstalled all the Razer software yet it was still happening. Just now I switched users and got the usual freezing, but I unplugged the keyboard and it immediately fixed the issue. That doesn't really help since I want to keep using this keyboard.
Has anyone else got similar results?
BINGO!
Your issue clued me in to try and... It was my Razer Deathadder wired mouse. I use it sporadically, only for gaming, which would explain the intermittence of my problem. My Cynosa Chrome keyboard (also wired and also used only sporadically for gaming) instead seems not to have any effect on fast user switching. I ran all possible scenarios/iterations, Razer mouse is the offender in my case. This, however, does not necessarily mean its interaction (or the Razer Synapse and drivers) with Windows 10 is the problem: it still could be the interaction with some other hardware or drivers.
Same problem and same Band-aid solutions here. Have not found a permanent fix. I think the issue started in October 2020 or thereabout. Note: the taskbar, in my case, eventually loads, but it takes about half an hour.
I have the same issue as described in this thread. Thanks for well documenting it.
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- Once you are on user #1, sign in to user #2, then immediately switch back to user #1; no need to wait. Come back to user #2 a bit later and you should find that it unfroze on its own in the background.
- Hibernate your PC instead of shutting it down and both accounts can switch back and forth without issues until the next shutdown or reboot.
@Prootproo #2 I have to try this. I'm not sure if my hardware supports hibernate though... But this is good advice. With #1, hit an miss. It takes a while to switch.
**
Another good tip I saw before was to press Ctrl + Shift + Esc (to launch Task Manager) when you are stuck with no taskbar. You can go into the 'Users' tab, and sign out the other user. This is a workaround, not a solution, as you are ending all of the other user's processes.
For me, not only is my taskbar stuck, but it seems my networking is halted too. My browser wont load webpages while the taskbar is stuck. Being unable to flip between users (with ease) really detracts from my user experience.
