Help! Program Windows lose active status and games minimize

I use Microsoft Defender and my cable internet provider supplies F-Secure. Just did a full scan with Defender - showed no problems.
In fact - while I was typing this reply I lost active status and had to click on the window to resume typing.

Such as Alexa. Try this no-install scan.

http://www.ewido.net/en/onlinescan/

Bob

Thanks - I used Ewido and it did find some spyware, all cookie types. It didn't solve my problem though. Still have windows going inactive while I'm typing. Any other suggestions?

Martin

Although not ideal or foolproof if you open the Task Manager then start using something like Outlook Express, when OE loses focus, see if anything registers in the Task Manager.

Open the Task Manager by right clicking any empty part of the Taskbar and selecting Task Manager. Click the Processes tab. You will see a list of processes running in the background. Make sure you have a column called CPU and click it twice to display whatever is using the cpu always at the top. If you don't see a column for CPU, goto View > Select Columns and select CPU Usage.

Now, open Outlook Express and re-size both that window and the Task Manager side by side. When OE loses focus see if anything appears in the Task Manager list, or if it is already there, if it displays at the top of the cpu listing.

I hope that helps.

Mark

I am having the same exact problem and it is compeltely frustrating. I had formatted my hard drive and reinstalled XP and everything was going great. Then all of a sudden I got this window inactive problem.

The only thing on my machine that has changed as late is that I have updated adobe and also yahoo IM to the beta but when searching I found people with this problem back before the new yahoo came out. I dont know how it could be adobe but I am trying to think and that is the only thing that has changed.

It happens when I am using outlook, IM, ie or just about anything. If anyone has figured this out please let me know. Also maybe if others have it we could compare systems nail it down.

HELP!!!!

You noted IM. Why not toss out IM?

I was reading another site and they think they have attributed the problem to yahoo IM. Yahoo did admit it in there response but the people that were posting in this forum all agreed that when they exited yahoo IM the problems went away. Thanks for your help. I am going to try killing yahoo for a while.

I did as someone had suggested and opened task manager and and Outlook window side by side. I was losing my active window status because of my anti virus program doing real time scanning or something along those lines. If I am going to work on something for a while or run a game I now unload my anti virus program first (no internet use or email in this state). That has solved the problem for me. FWIW I use F-Secure anti virus.

Although it's unusual for an anti-virus to do this, and it's the first time I have heard of it happening so drastically.

You may want to open your F_Secure anti-virus program and search its Options for anything that might give a clue what it is doing. I don't know F-Secure so I can't give any pointers I'm afraid.

An AV should do 3 things.

1] Run an automatic scan at some scheduled date and time, set up by you.

2] Scan programs and applications, eg games, outlook express, word, etc, when they are first opened, for viruses. For email software it should scan each new email as it arrives.

3] Perform a manual scan as and when you wish.

But item 2 should be carried out in the background without your knowledge.

I wonder.... Do you run your email software continuously? And if so, do you receive a lot of emails? That might explain the continuous loss of focus.

Mark

I don't leave my email software running. I tried disabling some portions of F-Secure, the real time, browser control and system control scanning, but I still get the problem unless I entirely unload the F-Secure.

I check the windows task manager and found a programme BTTRAY.exe would load itself, it would take up 40% of the processor and cause my active screen to deactivate. Disabling the process resolved the problem.
It's strange becasue I have had this running for a long time and the problem does not alway occur...?
Hope this helps...