Apps not showing on desktop

Great to hear that worked!

To permanently disable the fake screen so it does not return, follow these two steps:

1 = Disconnect the display in settings: To tell Windows to stop sending any signals to that imaginary screen.

1. Right-click an empty space on the desktop and select "Display settings".
2. Click on the box representing monitor 2 (the fake one) at the top of the window.
3. Look directly below the monitor boxes and find the drop-down menu next to the "Identify" button (this menu controls how multiple displays are projected).
4. Click that drop-down and change it to "Disconnect this display" or "Show only on 1".
5. Click the "Apply" button that appears.

2 = Remove the ghost monitor driver: To prevent Windows from randomly re-enabling that second screen in the future, the inactive driver needs to be uninstalled.

1. Right-click the Start menu button and select "Device Manager".
2. Click on the "View" menu at the top of the window and select "Show hidden devices".
3. Expand the "Monitors" category by clicking the arrow next to it.
4. Identify any monitor listed with a faded or transparent icon. These are inactive ghost monitors.
5. Right-click that faded monitor and select "Uninstall device".
6. Restart (not shutdown) the computer.

After the restart, Windows will only recognize the single physical monitor, keeping all apps on the correct screen.

Please let me know how it goes.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Hi. I'm David, and I'm happy to help you.

Since the window previews appear when you hover over the taskbar, the apps are running fine in the background. Since updating drivers didn't help, it is highly likely that Windows is treating another display as active and launching Chrome and Discord on a "ghost" screen off-space.

Try this quick shortcut to test this:

1. Press the "Windows Key + P" on the keyboard;
2. A menu will slide out on the right side of the screen. Select "PC screen only".

Let me know if this instantly brings the apps back to the main screen. If it does, the next step is checking the display settings to permanently disable that phantom monitor so this does not happen again.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have.