19 replies to this topic

[Enigma83]

I'm having an issue as of recently, which I reported in the chatbox not too long ago, and was advised to start a topic. I didnt do so sooner because I've been using Fedora Linux full-time for the past few weeks. But then I got tired of not being able to play any decent games and installed a clean copy of Windows 7 alongside Fedora. The issue is that the BlackboxBar plugin (taskbar) is oftentimes not clickable after logging in (either left or right clicking does nothing). I've waited as long as 5 mins but cant interact with it. This doesn't always happen though, at other times I can log in and everything is perfectly normal. It seems to be a completely random occurence. Since this Windows install is relatively clean then I seriously doubt my installed softwares are at fault. But it entirely possible that there is a conflict. It could also be an issue with Mojmir's BB build. Or maybe bbLeanSkin is the problem. I'm just not sure. 

 

It has only been installed for less than 12 hours. So far I've only installed Windows Updates, Fallout 4, and a very small handful of other crucial softwares that I use often. I have no corrupt system files (scanned in a CMD prompt with 'sfc /scannow' to be sure). I also defragged for several hours with a portable defragger. I have multiple partitions that Windows uses, with different purposes for each. 7 and Blackbox are installed on my Samsung 850 EVO 1TB SSD, another large 1TB partition is present (on another physical drive) for games, softwares, etc. And so on and so forth.

 

The following is a complete list of softwares I've installed so far:

 

http://imgur.com/a/6ME09

 

AccelerometerP11: A HDD free fall sensor driver, necessary

 

Alienware Command Center: Is mostly useful for letting me control my laptop's lighting, I'm not aware of anything else that can control these

 

Alienware On-Screen Display: I'm not sure what this mysterious driver is for, but Device Management says it is connected to my "COMPAL Embedded System Control" driver, seems important

 

Deluge: A BitTorrent client

 

Fraps: For filming gameplay videos, measuring FPS, etc.

 

Intel Extreme Tuning Utility: Useful for messing around with mild CPU overclocking/tweaking

 

Logitech SetPoint: For use with my wireless trackball, earlier versions of this software caused a Unicode crash while SetPoint was running in BlackBox, but this seems to be fixed in the latest version

 

Samsung Magician: For use with my SSD, must-have

 

VeraCrypt: A TrueCrypt-like program for accessing my encrypted external drives

 

Most of the items listed are drivers or needed redistributables. I installed Opera browser after creating the screenshots, but nothing else. I will refrain from installing more softwares (except games) until I can get a response, to avoid further complicating things.

 

Furthermore, most of the items list don't run on boot/at login, so I think they can be safely ruled out. Any items I didn't mention above should be self-explanatory, or common enough that most people will know what the item is. I also ran a full scan with Windows Defender, to rule out malware. No other AV/security products are present.

 

Please help me isolate this issue. Everything I've installed is needed, so if it comes down to ditching BB or my program, then BB will have to go. I've used BB for awhile but have had various issues with it on different PCs/versions of Windows, so I don't want to let it go easily.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Edit: I'm also attaching an exported list of *whatever* that I got from Autoruns "Everything" tab. This will give a much better idea of what is loaded on my PC. To open the file, just open Autoruns first, then Open the attached*.arn file.

Attached Files

•  Autoruns_Export.zip   208.65KB   1 downloads

[pitkon]

First time I hear of such an issue. Have you installed Blackbox as shell?

[Enigma83]

Yes, BB is installed as the shell.

[pitkon]

Have you disabled Aero/Metro?

[Enigma83]

The Metro feature is only present in 8/8.1/10, Windows 7 doesnt have it. I dont know how to disable Aero, but I dont think it can be completely 100% disabled. Is Aero known to cause issues with BlackBox?

[eclectic-tech]

Link explaining how to disable Aero: http://www.howtogeek...-windows-vista/

[Enigma83]

I just disabled Aero. I'll give it a day or 2 and see if the issue comes back, if it does i'll report it.

[Enigma83]

The issue returned again this morning after I powered on my laptop and logged in. As soon as I reached the desktop, I couldn't interact with the Taskbar/BlackboxBar. Something deeper must be causing this. I'm sure I disabled Aero correctly yesterday.

[Enigma83]

I have a new theory, which is that the Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor desktop gadget is causing me to not be able to click the taskbar, since it is always in focus (on the Taskbar) right after I log in. I'm setting its' associated Service to Automatic status while disabling its' desktop gadget. Aero will also remain off. I'll see if this makes any difference. Nothing new has been installed except games, some Visual C redistributables that those games need, one Windows Security update, and that's pretty much it.

[Enigma83]

Can someone here with an Intel CPU (must be higher than an i3 or it wont install) please install the Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor, then do lots of reboots to see if my issue happens to you? Make sure the desktop gadget is enabled and set to start on boot. It would really help alot if I could prove that it is the cause of the problem, and if someone else has my issue with ITBTM installed, then that's proof enough.

 

I've been repeatedly rebooting for the past half hour, logging in then rebooting, rinse and repeat, and the issue hasnt recurred yet. Next I'll see if it happens on a cold boot, after my laptop has been powered off for at least an hour or more (have somewhere I need to be in a bit anyways).

[Ynthno]

Before assuming that it is that particular gadget I have to ask, is that the only one enabled? Because its entirely possible it would happen with any gadget enabled simply due to the fact that default windows features seem to not like working along side bb.

 

Id wager a guess that the gadgets platform is stealing focus, wouldn't be the first time one of windows default features stole focus for no apparent reason.

 

From Windows 7 on this became an issue again as according to their words it would be illegal to prevent focus stealing so they stopped trying.

 

A good way to test this would be to enable the sticky notes gadget and see if you can type into it as soon as you login. (without clicking it)

[Enigma83]

Maybe I shouldn't have called the Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor a gadget, since it's not officially a Windows Gadget, it's just something that runs as a small program on the desktop, which makes it look like a gadget. It's actually a standalone program. It gives a graphical/visual representation of how much the CPU is boosted when Turbo Boost is enabled (whether in the BIOS or elsewhere). I don't have any other Windows Gadgets or anything else that displays stuff on the desktop (RainMeter, etc.)

 

But it would still be nice if someone could test this program on their PC, to see if the issue can be replicated. It's by Intel, so no danger of malware. When finished you can simply uninstall it, no harm done or junk left behind.

 

So far the issue hasn't recurred with the gadget disabled.

[FatHead]

I had the same exact problem except it wasn't random for me, it was every time I logged in.Strangely enough it stopped when I was attempting to enable bbLeanSkin on Windows 10. It seems to have nothing to do with aero as im running the default settings.

 

It was a major frustration as every time I logged in I would have to restart Blackbox again after all my programs had started so I assumed it had a conflict one of the programs that opened on start up.

 

I do not have the gadget installed, or any desktop gadgets.

[pitkon]

Try to use systembarex and see if you have the same issues.

[FatHead]

Reverting to a backup copy of my old bbzero settings still seems to result in being unable to interact with BlackboxBar, even if I disable my startup programs. It's more likely that for me its a problem within my bbzero settings somewhere.

[Enigma83]

My issue isn't returning, and reenabling the Intel gadget causes me to not be able to interact with BlackboxBar on many boots/logins, as expected. With it disabled, no issues. I am, however, concerned that a similar problem may return in the future, since I do plan to use Windows Gadgets and Rainmeter, so I'll have to keep an eye on things.

 

@ FatHead: Reset Windows Explorer as shell, log out/in again, delete BB's folder entirely and reinstall it. If your problem still comes up, then I would say it is almost certainly something you have installed.

 

I tried systembarex before but the icons were way to small.

[pitkon]

Most of Windows gadgets and certainly Rainmeter work very well with Blackbox. The Intel gadget must be the culprit here, so perhaps you can learn to live without it?

[Enigma83]

I just checked, it looks like the Intel gadget isnt even necessary for Turbo Boost to work, it happens in the background regardless as long as TB is enabled in the BIOS. It would only need to be disabled if I ever wanted to experiment with CPU overclocking. So yeah, I can live without the gadget.

[FatHead]

It seems the problem has resurfaced once again. I am running two instances of Blackboxbar so I can have windows on each screen appear on the bar for the corresponding screen. Strangely enough, only one of the instances has the problem, the other is fine.  

The only difference between the bars was that the bar with the problem was inside a slit.

 

 

Removing the bar from the slit has fixed it.

[pitkon]

It seems the problem has resurfaced once again. I am running two instances of Blackboxbar so I can have windows on each screen appear on the bar for the corresponding screen. Strangely enough, only one of the instances has the problem, the other is fine.  

The only difference between the bars was that the bar with the problem was inside a slit.

 

 

Removing the bar from the slit has fixed it.

You can also try systembarex within the slit.