Weird bug (general window)

[spacef]

Hi guys,

I have a weird bug in windows and my search in Google did not get me anywhere . I am not even sure how to formulate this.

So, here I am writing a post, and suddenly, a window in the back is 'automatically select and as I don't notice it, I continue typing and nothing is typed (because the window I am typing in is de-selected).

It seems to happen only when chrome is open, but the bug is general, meaning that word, photoshop, any other app is "deselected" and what I do in it has no effect.

Just to write this post, I have to constantly check whether it is still typing, and I must correct missing letters, missing words , sentences etc.

It is pretty recent bug. I thought it was the mouse, bought a new one but it did not change anything.
I also de-installed various chrome extensions, but it did not change anything.
It is just as if someone or something selects/deselects windows and so it is not focussed anymore on the application I am using.

Only Scope is immune to this (as they are not regular application windows, i suppose).

Anyone had something like this ?

[valis]

Doesn't sound familiar, but a background process or tasktray app could easily do this. Especially if it spawns something very quickly that then disappears from view (or never presented an actual window for long enough for you to see, and yet still initiated API's that would hook to user inputs).

[spacef]

I see ! thanks, it helps
I am going to desinstall stuff one by one. hopefully i'll be able to find which one does that.

[valis]

Give Process Hacker from sysinternals a shot, don't install it as a task manager but rather let it run alongside. It can help drill into what's running, although on a modern machine there's so much more crap running that it isn't always as obvious as it was in the XP era.

[Berny Shoes]

Check ‘mouse focus’ setting. One setting allows the mouse location to be the current window focus. Just a thought

[nebelfuerst]

Did you use some "hotkey-apps", which might be triggered ?
At Win7 I used hijackthis to get an idea of started apps in background.
If you close crome, everthing is fine ?

[spacef]

thanks!
i used https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysint ... s-explorer there are a lot of stuff going on.

I think it is either the corsair keyboard app or the logitech g13 app. It seems to work better when they are off.


The process explorer showed corsair app in red, but also ms one note (?).
with the keyboard/gamepad software off, as well ms one note off, it seems ok, i can type this message without constant "defocussing".
I'll need to reboot to really know what is the problem (i am pretty sure it is the Corsair keyboard controller though...i will check the settings on the next occasion (now i am too happy to have a normal pc, i enjoy it a bit until tomorrow lol)...
got to deinstall this ms One Note thing too....

[valis]

One Note is there by default as it's assigned to a hotkey to 'take notes'. That was important on mobile, and everyone gave you the ability to sync mobile & desktop notes for a min (Google/Apple really, but MS wanted to play ball in the mobile sync space so badly too). Nothing lost removing it, but I don't think it's malicious enough to be the culprit.

Your keyboard software sounds possible, Logitech's drivers and software combo get no love from me but that has more to do with them making saving a hardware profile an arcanely complex process that we won't go into here. Ie, dpi settings that persist wherever the mouse is, and take over when you remove the resident app. I'll leave my personal diatribe about that out here, and only note I've seen plenty of diatribes about Corsair's software too. Since I haven't used that, I can't comment further on that front.

Still there's a case where either or both could be part of the problem without actually BEING the problem, and that's if you have some kind of USB disconnect issue afoot. I'm not 100% sure if that will even show up in Event Viewer as anything meaningful if there's no actual errors. A USB hub having not enough power to keep all devices awake all the time, a cable restricting bandwidth (between a hub and the computer, or an internal cable), etc. Maybe even power/sleep related functions. All might contribute because if a device is still technically working but in a degraded mode, and is 'lost' by it's host software, which happens to have the ability to hook into the OS and detect a currently running application and load customized settings for it...then decides that that device has NO capabilities like that at all, and then brings them back...

Well that kind of sounds like what you're experiencing, and disabling the resident software would certainly stop it's memory-snooping-and-switching-profiles-on-the-fly-per-application from misfiring when the USB host device has an issue....but it takes us back to my former diatribe which was 'how do i get this damn profile to get stored in hardware so I can disable this crappy auto-detecting software driver crap'. I have found at or near 100% cpu load, such software sucks balls and will cause the computer to get stuck in some kind of UI related loop rather than handling the device input properly and promptly, meaning trying to switch apps while a heavy 3D render is running (or ableton peaking multiple cores) is a very slow and tedious task. And a very responsive task once that crap isn't sitting between my mouse and each app I switch to...

[spacef]

>>>> Logitech's drivers and software combo get no love from me but that has more to do with them making saving a hardware profile an arcanely complex process that we won't go into here

it is a pain indeed. it generally works fine, but since recently, my default profile are available when they want, ie, not very often. It could be an update that is for win 10 and not win 7.... let's say that it has not been working great lately, and yesterday I Noticed that it was powered, but blank screen....

I still need testing. with both the logitech and the corsair disabled, all is fine.... the corsair app is also a crappy opne. it is great but Bad at the same time...a real gamer thing ... it works a bit like a win98 software! capriciously (if that's a word)...
and it's true that i do not use the RGB functions anymore , that allow to give a color to each key independantly... because the configuration is lost somwewhere, eventhough it is there.... retro-lights is enough for me. time to think about renewing my HID stuff.
also the super fast keys are too fast and sensitive and generate a lot of typing errors due to surrounding keys being touched.

I am a big fan of the G300s logitech mouse, because it is *not* wireless and is programmable, but since I got the new one, and software was updated, and it is even more confusing than before to upload your setup in the mouse rom....

[valis]

I am a big fan of the G300s logitech mouse, because it is *not* wireless and is programmable, but since I got the new one, and software was updated, and it is even more confusing than before to upload your setup in the mouse ram....

And here's where my experience mirrors yours. With their new software to control my G502 wireless & G502 wired (I have two, different machines) they have completely obfuscated simple mouse operation under the guise of gamer friendly macros and custom DPI settings per application (something mice have offered for years, but it was always optional). There IS the ability to 'lock' on a single software controlled profile, but it's evident that it STILL 'detects' what program you switch to even with that locked, as the 100% cpu load mouse input issues don't disappear when 1 software profile is locked, only when the profile is set to hardware only (this makes sense).

With the changes they made, now you have to make a custom profile in the 'software controlled mode', go into a secret options WITH the device selected (clicking the same options on the main screen takes you to a completely different options page only for the software) and set the device to use a hardware profile THEN load the profile that you can only make in software mode...

It used to be you toggled off the software detection and just set your DPI/accell there. That was it. And setting this meant when at 100% cpu load mouse clicks worked as expected when changing applications, as it doesn't need to spend CPU cycles 'detecting' an application before allowing the mouse's input to function properly.

[spacef]

Ok so, without doubt, it is the Corsair app that is causing the bug.
The Logitech update is ok but the G13 game pad does not work anymore when the app is off, eventhough the onboard profiles seem well configured. bummer, the G13 has been used a lot for Studio One shortcuts and macros... now it would work only with the logitech app turned on. I need to find that Razer Nostromo game pad I had and which was very fine and must be in a box somewhere (but has fewer keys less than the g13).... sigh

[valis]

I'm finally rotating computers and devices in here myself. There's such a gap between 10+ year old hardware & software and where Win10 & Mac OS (on M1 onward) are at it's time. Scope is soon going into a win7 box where hopefully it'll last at least another decade, or until I can afford an Xite.

[st1]

Well, FWiW, I have the same irritating experience, but with Microsoft Outlook on my work PC.
I clikc <reply> to an email, the reply-mail comes up, and I start hammering away at the keyboard.
Only after a few secons I realise that the "reply-mail" window is no longer in focus, but either the main outlook window, or the mail I'm replying to.

Yes, it's just a few misplaced keystrokes, and some weird windows popping in and out, but I'm just amazed that a UI-system such as the Windows GUI environment, such fundamental user-annoying is possible, even with Microsoft's own products.

25 years ago, Microsoft had a while UI department, with user testing of new interaction schemes etc.
There was serious research coming out of them, like their products or not.
Now...

(Not to mention the "force-updates" of features by my IT department - the deployment tools are often based on command-line scripts, meaning that my Windows task bar keeps "pumping" in and out with a CMD prompt when they deploy new updates.
I can't work while that is happening.
I go for a walk, or find someone to harass on the phone for an hour or so!)

Other than that, today's UIs are a real improvement on 25 year's ago.
No wait - there's some major leap in productivity I need to nail down here somewhere...