Windows 11--most recently opened Explorer window keeps popping up into the foreground

Like "GiNGL3like a sir" replied on January 11, 2023:

"Thought it might have been worth mentioning, I had this issue and noticed it could have been my external hard drive intermittently disconnecting and connecting. Through Control Panel > Autoplay > Untick "Use Autoplay for all media and devices" and see if that helps."

I was suspecting this, and pulled out my USB-connected external drive. Then plugged it in again, and Explorer popped to the front.

So an external drive disconnecting/reconnecting randomly combined with the setting "Use AutoPlay for all media and devices" active is definitaly the culprit here.

For "Removeable drive" I had the setting set to "Open folder to view files (File Explorer)".

Turned off "Use AutoPlay for all media and devices" and it solved the problem. Why would you ever want the OS do something automatically when plugging in an external storage device, security-wise it is really stupid.

Remove AUTOPLAY!

/rob

Microsoft has not acknowledge the issue, please vote in Feedback Hub, my Tweet or any other media to reach Microsoft: https://twitter.com/FedeStories/status/1701603040065986714

Thanks for the suggestion and for your effort. I don't have a Twitter, aka X, account, but I have posted about this to Reddit and Mastodon. I've also repeatedly posted this to Microsoft's feedback hub. Meanwhile, all I've heard back from Microsoft is nothing, which I take that Microsoft doesn't give a--care.

Note that the helpers on this forum have long since given up; maybe Microsoft has too.

R.I.P. Microsoft.

Well said.

Microsoft has not acknowledge the issue, please vote in Feedback Hub, my Tweet or any other media to reach Microsoft: https://twitter.com/FedeStories/status/1701603040065986714

Thanks for the suggestion and for your effort. I don't have a Twitter, aka X, account, but I have posted about this to Reddit and Mastodon. I've also repeatedly posted this to Microsoft's feedback hub. Meanwhile, all I've heard back from Microsoft is nothing, which I take that Microsoft doesn't give a--care.

Note that the helpers on this forum have long since given up; maybe Microsoft has too.

R.I.P. Microsoft.

When are these сodemonkeys going to fix this?

...it really makes you wonder if this issue can only be fixed by removing some kind of windows feature that when disabled will trigger some sort of security vulnerability and Microsoft hasn't been forthright with us because they can't seem to find a way to fix it without causing a potentially high security risk within their infrastructure.

its pure speculation, but its the only reasonable explanation I can come up with as to why they went completely silent on this

Azure Flair, thank you for the thoughtful response. If this is indeed a side-effect of a security solution (that Microsoft won't own up to), then that brings to mind the old metaphor, "Killing the dog to get rid of its fleas."

Would I recommend Windows 11? No, I would not recommend Windows 11 nor any other Microsoft product given this and other ongoing issues; 2023 may be the year users ask, What the heck happened to Microsoft?