@vaz kor.5479 said:
ty, doesn't fix problem but helps some:)
No worries glad it helped. Yeah it still does it but it's way quicker now, Before it would go to desktop for at least 10 seconds now it's a split second. W10 is just getting worse, I have been an insider since the start and every release it just worse, I'm doing an image now and going back to w7 and might stick to GW2 on linux.
I'm having the same issue since the April update to windows (yesterday). Flashing when I click login for guild wars. Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6gb here. Also when I Alt + TAB to get over to Dulfy or anything else it has a terrible stutter/lag with the flashing.
@slayerking.3581 said:
Found the problem, It's the new focus assist kitten they have put into the new winblows update. If you go to settings>system>focus assist and turn it all off, it does it much quicker now instead of sitting there for 10 seconds or so on the desktop.
@slayerking.3581 said:
Found the problem, It's the new focus assist kitten they have put into the new winblows update. If you go to settings>system>focus assist and turn it all off, it does it much quicker now instead of sitting there for 10 seconds or so on the desktop.
Disabling the focus assistant didn't do a thing for me. Still flashes to the desktop on loading screens
@slayerking.3581 said:
Found the problem, It's the new focus assist kitten they have put into the new winblows update. If you go to settings>system>focus assist and turn it all off, it does it much quicker now instead of sitting there for 10 seconds or so on the desktop.
Disabling the focus assistant didn't do a thing for me. Still flashes to the desktop on loading screens
Yeah it does but nowhere near as long as it was before.
@slayerking.3581 said:
Found the problem, It's the new focus assist kitten they have put into the new winblows update. If you go to settings>system>focus assist and turn it all off, it does it much quicker now instead of sitting there for 10 seconds or so on the desktop.
Disabling the focus assistant didn't do a thing for me. Still flashes to the desktop on loading screens
Yeah it does but nowhere near as long as it was before.
I had already disabled it before making this thread lol.
I suppose there's nothing but to deal with it. It's not a huge issue, only happens here and there and it's during loading screens. It won't affect your performance or anything like that. I have the same issue.
Hopefully Anet will add a fix for this as its only GW affected and obviously a few of us are affected and the Win 10 April update has not even been rolled out to all yet so more will be affected
@slayerking.3581 said:
Found the problem, It's the new focus assist kitten they have put into the new winblows update. If you go to settings>system>focus assist and turn it all off, it does it much quicker now instead of sitting there for 10 seconds or so on the desktop.
Did not fix the problem but certainly helped a lot , thanks Slayer!
I am having the exact same issue since the latest windows update. I also have an Nvidia card but even putting the latest Nvidia driver in has not changed this. Bloody windows issue as usual. Like GW2 they need to leave it alone if it aint broke (Kid has the same issue on his rig as well)
Similar issue on an i5 with an Nvidia GTX 970. The loading screen shows while loading, then it flicks to desktop, before briefly showing the loading screen again and finally showing my character and the zone instance. If I move to a different zone, it does the same thing, except it also shows a small, title-bar only window in the top-left corner of the desktop. It has a small Guild Wars 2 icon, "Guild Wars 2" as the title, and a close-button.
It has happened to me too, twice last night. I thought maybe my "windows" key was sticky or sticking or something (NOT REMOTELY WHAT I MEANT!) but it's not.
I may not be what you want, baby, but I am most certainly what you need.
Its a "Feature" that came with the big april-update for Windows 10 (not sure about the other versions)... very annoying and it has been discussed here https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/38377/game-flashing-desktop-on-loading-screens#latest as well. There is a way to shorten the time you see the desktop (it is mentioned in the thread) but afaik no way to remove it completely yet.
@circuitnerd.5863 said:
Within just the past several days my game has randomly been alt-tabbing to the desktop once in a while. Typically it only happens once per login. Has anyone else been experiencing this lately as well? I've completely formatted my computer and everything but no change. It's kind of annoying but luckily it doesn't happen much.
Been happening to me too, maybe for about a month or so, but only usually once per login as you mentioned. I don't normally have any other major software open or running in the background either (like steam, browser pages, etc). The thing I have running (aside from Windows 10 processes), is F.lux (a screen filter thing, but it pauses when a game/full screen thing is running), and I've been using the same version of that long before this started happening. My Nvidia drivers are up to date, and I've tried a couple of roll backs incase it was those, but didn't seem to effect anything.
As stated above Steam's a good example but if an app is set to notify it might alt-tab you out. Have you checked the apps that are set to notify in Windows since these could in some cases also trigger the alt-tab. Have had friends run into this before and one was Steam, another was anti-malware software scans running in the background and one had a schedule tasks that was kicking off software updates to some installed apps. If no new apps added would check notifications to make sure one that may have been previously off weren't turned on after an update.
Envy the Madman his musing when Death comes to make fools of us all.
De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum.
TheGrimm PoTBS/GW1/WAR/Rift/GW2/MWO/ESO/WoT/WoW/D2/HoTS/Civ6/CU/AoC
Add me to the list...just started happening with the Win 10 April update. Nvidia GTX 970FTW card. Clearly it has something to do w/ focus assist stuff in W10. I went ahead and put in a support ticket on it.
@Jam.3258 said:
Similar issue on an i5 with an Nvidia GTX 970. The loading screen shows while loading, then it flicks to desktop, before briefly showing the loading screen again and finally showing my character and the zone instance. If I move to a different zone, it does the same thing, except it also shows a small, title-bar only window in the top-left corner of the desktop. It has a small Guild Wars 2 icon, "Guild Wars 2" as the title, and a close-button.
I see that same thing too. Also when alt tabbing you no longer see a preview of the gw2 showing.
Some of it could be caused by the windows April update, the focused setting in system seems to bug it alot... turning it can help some... until windows fixes it.
It happens to me all the time. Though I played yesterday and specifically opened it as administrator and I don't recall it doing it even once. I believe it has something to do with Windows update or some obscure setting for windows and that may be why running it as administrator prevented the issue. Will test it again here in a bit and hope it continues to work.
It always happens at the most in-opportune time too, like in the middle of a fight with someone and due to running gw2 hook for more graphics customizations each time I alt tab back it has to spend a good 30 seconds or so loading all of the presets and filters. Gets really frustrating!
It would be nice for Anet to fix fullscreen somewhen. I've never seen another current or non current game spazzing around with mode switching that much that you'd have to put an epilepsy warning onto the loading screen.
Again as said, it does not happen in windowed modes, but that will only work for you if you do not lose FPS from that. (In fact windowed mode had another issue in the last W10 build randomly halving your FPS for brief moments).
This used to happen to me alot a while back, like op says about once every session. The only other programs I had running was discord and chrome, but since it always went to desktop I figured it a windows issue. So I right clicked gw2.exe, selected properties, checked the box to always start as an administrator (didn't change the win version, still win10) and ever since I haven't been booted out of the game. My guess is some unintentional process of windows after being idle (like removing of language-packs) start and unintentionally put the desktop in focus, because it seemed to happen relatively early on in the gaming sessions.
@Ardenwolfe.8590 said:
Update: So far, after using the suggestion in the link above, I haven't automatically alt-tabbed from any more games.
Had a look at that link and it doesn't work for me since I don't have the folder in the task scheduler where it was suggested to make the change. I also looked at the history of the task scheduler and it hasn't performed any task/action for the last 30 days.
Different windows version. different AV, different vid cards and drivers etc. The only common thing is the game itself (and it only happens with GW2 for me), so I am starting a believe it is a game issue.
@Blude.6812 Sorry, this fix worked before the recent, April update. As I said later, the problem returned and appears to have no notable fix at this time.
Its possible though that this is still the cause, even with 1 monitor. With 2 monitors a person has GW2 minimize and their cursor over on the second screen, whereas someone with one monitor would only see GW2 being minimized - like an ALT-TAB..
I get this, although i call it 'clicking out' although I don't - my mouse can be directly in the center of the screen and GW 2 suddenly isn't my main focus which is annoying in fights.
I got this on my Dell Precision M4800 Windows 7 notebook PC, and never found out where it came from. It only occurs there and not on my main PC, so it must be something outside of the game. Probably some background program stealing focus. I do not see any other windows popup tho.
I had this problem as well, check for Akami Netsession in your program listing. Some games use it and it runs all the time even when the game isn't in use (DDO for example). I was being forced alt-tabbed out of GW2 everyday do to this issue and I closed Akami and it stopped for me.
A couple questions. Do you use full windowed mode? Do you have multiple monitors? Do you control and turn your character using right click?
It turns out that when you hold right click to turn your camera, the pointer is only invisible and not gone. When you release the mouse button the pointer just returns to the original spot. Its possible that if you turn enough the invisible pointer can click on UI elements and the border of your window. If you click or mouse wheel at the right time it can interact and even click you to a different window or to the desktop.
I run windows 10 and haven't had that. It might also be how you're running the game. I run windowed because for me it's easier to back and forth to my web browser/discord/team speak. Does it do it to you in full screen? Another thought could you possibly be hitting alt+tab? Also when did you update Windows(patch Tuesday is tomorrow), hopefully you haven't been having to put up with it for a month? It could possibly be a video card driver crashing, I know that can cause similar issues.
I've experienced this too, I heard it's to do with the new "do not disturb while gaming" feature. I'm sure that some windows update will fix it at some point.
yeah after the 'April Feature Update' version 1803 on my windows 10, have had the same issue. For me it only happens when i load into maps, whether from log in or switching maps. haven't had it while running around in any maps in pve or spvp. (haven't played in wvw since this update)
I do play in full screen mode myself. My drivers are all up to date. Nothing saying isn't working or has crashed that I'm seeing while running gw2 / my computer in general.
"Freedom is something that you need to actively acquire. It's not something that's given with no strings attached. To be free means to take responsibility, and to prepare yourself for what's to come." ~Charles Beams~
@Gaile Gray.6029 said:
Is anyone else experiencing this issue? I've not heard of it at all, nor are we seeing it on social media.
the win 10 update is still rolling out so I imagine you will hear more in the coming weeks. seems(for me) to only happen when logging in or switching maps/areas. basically just makes the process even longer.
I've had it forever in wvw especially in big fights it'll like minimize the client and then right click onto the desktop. In the past I've tried different methods of locking out the alt tabbing with this and other programs that may be running but nothing ever stops it.
Comments
No worries glad it helped. Yeah it still does it but it's way quicker now, Before it would go to desktop for at least 10 seconds now it's a split second. W10 is just getting worse, I have been an insider since the start and every release it just worse, I'm doing an image now and going back to w7 and might stick to GW2 on linux.
I'm having the same issue since the April update to windows (yesterday). Flashing when I click login for guild wars. Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6gb here. Also when I Alt + TAB to get over to Dulfy or anything else it has a terrible stutter/lag with the flashing.
New mount skins?! Anet take my money!
Great workaround. Helps alot! You rock~!
New mount skins?! Anet take my money!
Disabling the focus assistant didn't do a thing for me. Still flashes to the desktop on loading screens
Yeah it does but nowhere near as long as it was before.
I had already disabled it before making this thread lol.
I suppose there's nothing but to deal with it. It's not a huge issue, only happens here and there and it's during loading screens. It won't affect your performance or anything like that. I have the same issue.
Hopefully Anet will add a fix for this as its only GW affected and obviously a few of us are affected and the Win 10 April update has not even been rolled out to all yet so more will be affected
Did not fix the problem but certainly helped a lot , thanks Slayer!
Got the same issue too , it worked flawless before the windows upgrade but now is flashing on loadinG screen
Nvidia GTX1060 here
Same issue here too after i got the update yesterday. Its just annoying
- is it only Nvidia btw ? (GTX 1060 here)
No someone above mentioned they had an AMD card. +1 here as well on this. Only been happening since the Win10 April update for me.
I am having the exact same issue since the latest windows update. I also have an Nvidia card but even putting the latest Nvidia driver in has not changed this. Bloody windows issue as usual. Like GW2 they need to leave it alone if it aint broke (Kid has the same issue on his rig as well)
i beeen having the same issue since the last windows updae
Similar issue on an i5 with an Nvidia GTX 970. The loading screen shows while loading, then it flicks to desktop, before briefly showing the loading screen again and finally showing my character and the zone instance. If I move to a different zone, it does the same thing, except it also shows a small, title-bar only window in the top-left corner of the desktop. It has a small Guild Wars 2 icon, "Guild Wars 2" as the title, and a close-button.
It has happened to me too, twice last night. I thought maybe my "windows" key was sticky or sticking or something (NOT REMOTELY WHAT I MEANT!) but it's not.
I may not be what you want, baby, but I am most certainly what you need.
It's started happening to me since the Windows 10 update the other day. I think that has something to do with it.
The Charr shall rule!
Sadly, after the latest Windows update, this started happening to me too . . . again. Even with nothing else running, it'll alt-tab to the desktop.
And, of course, it happens at the worst possible times. 😠
No longer posting or playing.
Its a "Feature" that came with the big april-update for Windows 10 (not sure about the other versions)... very annoying
and it has been discussed here https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/38377/game-flashing-desktop-on-loading-screens#latest as well. There is a way to shorten the time you see the desktop (it is mentioned in the thread) but afaik no way to remove it completely yet.
Been happening to me too, maybe for about a month or so, but only usually once per login as you mentioned. I don't normally have any other major software open or running in the background either (like steam, browser pages, etc). The thing I have running (aside from Windows 10 processes), is F.lux (a screen filter thing, but it pauses when a game/full screen thing is running), and I've been using the same version of that long before this started happening. My Nvidia drivers are up to date, and I've tried a couple of roll backs incase it was those, but didn't seem to effect anything.
As stated above Steam's a good example but if an app is set to notify it might alt-tab you out. Have you checked the apps that are set to notify in Windows since these could in some cases also trigger the alt-tab. Have had friends run into this before and one was Steam, another was anti-malware software scans running in the background and one had a schedule tasks that was kicking off software updates to some installed apps. If no new apps added would check notifications to make sure one that may have been previously off weren't turned on after an update.
Envy the Madman his musing when Death comes to make fools of us all.
De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum.
TheGrimm PoTBS/GW1/WAR/Rift/GW2/MWO/ESO/WoT/WoW/D2/HoTS/Civ6/CU/AoC
Add me to the list...just started happening with the Win 10 April update. Nvidia GTX 970FTW card. Clearly it has something to do w/ focus assist stuff in W10. I went ahead and put in a support ticket on it.
I see that same thing too. Also when alt tabbing you no longer see a preview of the gw2 showing.
New mount skins?! Anet take my money!
Some of it could be caused by the windows April update, the focused setting in system seems to bug it alot... turning it can help some... until windows fixes it.
New mount skins?! Anet take my money!
It happens to me all the time. Though I played yesterday and specifically opened it as administrator and I don't recall it doing it even once. I believe it has something to do with Windows update or some obscure setting for windows and that may be why running it as administrator prevented the issue. Will test it again here in a bit and hope it continues to work.
It always happens at the most in-opportune time too, like in the middle of a fight with someone and due to running gw2 hook for more graphics customizations each time I alt tab back it has to spend a good 30 seconds or so loading all of the presets and filters. Gets really frustrating!
It would be nice for Anet to fix fullscreen somewhen. I've never seen another current or non current game spazzing around with mode switching that much that you'd have to put an epilepsy warning onto the loading screen.
Again as said, it does not happen in windowed modes, but that will only work for you if you do not lose FPS from that. (In fact windowed mode had another issue in the last W10 build randomly halving your FPS for brief moments).
Turned off new focus feature and office thing from task scheduler as linked above in january, game still alt tabbing every few minutes
This used to happen to me alot a while back, like op says about once every session. The only other programs I had running was discord and chrome, but since it always went to desktop I figured it a windows issue. So I right clicked gw2.exe, selected properties, checked the box to always start as an administrator (didn't change the win version, still win10) and ever since I haven't been booted out of the game. My guess is some unintentional process of windows after being idle (like removing of language-packs) start and unintentionally put the desktop in focus, because it seemed to happen relatively early on in the gaming sessions.
See this thread for the cause of this issue:
https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/38294/right-click-cause-leaving-fullscreen
Not using 2 monitors.
Many experiencing the problem aren't running WIndows 10. (like myself)
After the last -WINDOWS UPDATE- GW2 now goes to Windows 10 and then back to the game.
It's not only annoying, it's a guaranteed way to die in some cases, especially in WvW.
Three people I know are getting the same error.
This one may not be on GW2, but the issue is real and it is harmful to the game.
Had a look at that link and it doesn't work for me since I don't have the folder in the task scheduler where it was suggested to make the change. I also looked at the history of the task scheduler and it hasn't performed any task/action for the last 30 days.
Different windows version. different AV, different vid cards and drivers etc. The only common thing is the game itself (and it only happens with GW2 for me), so I am starting a believe it is a game issue.
@Blude.6812 Sorry, this fix worked before the recent, April update. As I said later, the problem returned and appears to have no notable fix at this time.
Edit: I'll try RNG's suggestion later.
No longer posting or playing.
Its possible though that this is still the cause, even with 1 monitor. With 2 monitors a person has GW2 minimize and their cursor over on the second screen, whereas someone with one monitor would only see GW2 being minimized - like an ALT-TAB..
I get this, although i call it 'clicking out' although I don't - my mouse can be directly in the center of the screen and GW 2 suddenly isn't my main focus which is annoying in fights.
I got this on my Dell Precision M4800 Windows 7 notebook PC, and never found out where it came from. It only occurs there and not on my main PC, so it must be something outside of the game. Probably some background program stealing focus. I do not see any other windows popup tho.
Ascalon Will Prevail!
GW Wiki user page | GW2 Wiki user page
After using RNG's suggestion, I didn't alt-tabbed out of the game. But, to be fair, I only played for an hour or so. Dailies and flax farming.
No longer posting or playing.
I had this problem as well, check for Akami Netsession in your program listing. Some games use it and it runs all the time even when the game isn't in use (DDO for example). I was being forced alt-tabbed out of GW2 everyday do to this issue and I closed Akami and it stopped for me.
Could be anything though
A couple questions. Do you use full windowed mode? Do you have multiple monitors? Do you control and turn your character using right click?
It turns out that when you hold right click to turn your camera, the pointer is only invisible and not gone. When you release the mouse button the pointer just returns to the original spot. Its possible that if you turn enough the invisible pointer can click on UI elements and the border of your window. If you click or mouse wheel at the right time it can interact and even click you to a different window or to the desktop.
Strangely . . . I was alt-tabbed out of another game, but so far not Guild Wars 2. I get the feeling this happens on some kind of timer.
No longer posting or playing.
Have this too since a month, usually kicks in 1-2 minutes after logging in, after that it does not anymore.
Don't argue with idiots, they drag you down to their level and own you with experience.
Big Babou, Ranger for life.
Is anyone else experiencing this issue? I've not heard of it at all, nor are we seeing it on social media.
Gaile Gray
Communications Manager: ArenaNet
Fansite & Guild Relations; In-Game Events; Community Showcase Live
I run windows 10 and haven't had that. It might also be how you're running the game. I run windowed because for me it's easier to back and forth to my web browser/discord/team speak. Does it do it to you in full screen? Another thought could you possibly be hitting alt+tab? Also when did you update Windows(patch Tuesday is tomorrow), hopefully you haven't been having to put up with it for a month? It could possibly be a video card driver crashing, I know that can cause similar issues.
#nornmodeisbestmode
I've experienced this too, I heard it's to do with the new "do not disturb while gaming" feature. I'm sure that some windows update will fix it at some point.
yeah after the 'April Feature Update' version 1803 on my windows 10, have had the same issue. For me it only happens when i load into maps, whether from log in or switching maps. haven't had it while running around in any maps in pve or spvp. (haven't played in wvw since this update)
I do play in full screen mode myself. My drivers are all up to date. Nothing saying isn't working or has crashed that I'm seeing while running gw2 / my computer in general.
"Freedom is something that you need to actively acquire. It's not something that's given with no strings attached. To be free means to take responsibility, and to prepare yourself for what's to come." ~Charles Beams~
There's a few threads about it in 'Support', and even one in General Discussion, I believe.
I'll go and find and round up all the threads and leave them here in Account and Technical Support.
Gaile Gray
Communications Manager: ArenaNet
Fansite & Guild Relations; In-Game Events; Community Showcase Live
the win 10 update is still rolling out so I imagine you will hear more in the coming weeks. seems(for me) to only happen when logging in or switching maps/areas. basically just makes the process even longer.
I've had it forever in wvw especially in big fights it'll like minimize the client and then right click onto the desktop. In the past I've tried different methods of locking out the alt tabbing with this and other programs that may be running but nothing ever stops it.