WindowFX stops working and Windows Desktop Manager starts consuming CPU

Wierd behavior with WindowFX 6 on Windows 10

from Stardock Forums

Some background to my problem so bear with me as I feel it necessary to really explain my unique problem..... I've been on Windows 10 almost from the day it was released.  First thing I noticed was that WindowsFX 5, which I had installed on my Windows 7 install did not work and quickly found in the forum that it wasn't compatible.  So I un-installed WindowFX 5 and anxiously awaited WindowFX 6.  When it was released I installed it and things looked great.  But over the course of several days, I would notice that the effects were no longer working.  Double checked settings, etc.  Not really giving any thought to it, I went on my day to day stuff (family, work, etc).  Then I started realizing that my CPU fans were constantly running high, especially when the computer is idle.  Again, not really taking time to dive into it, I just continued on.  Then I started noticing weird things happening with File Explorer.  I usually don't leave a lot of windows open but I've doing a project lately that has me doing a lot of file renaming, moving to other drives within my network, etc..  Anyway, the strange thing about File Explorer was that if I deleted a file, the confirmation box would be behind all other windows.  Then File Explorer itself would stop responding... just give the green bar across the top but won't display drives or Quick Access shortcuts or anything until I killed explorer.exe process and started a new one or rebooted.  Not really thinking the File Explorer issue being related to the CPU fans constantly running --- and by the way when I looked at Task Manager, it would constantly show the CPU around 30% utilized though the computer was idle.  I know there are always processes running but when the computer just sits, it should be about 1% or less utilization.  Mine was running amok and it started to bother me.  I was ready to ditch Windows 10 and go back to my Windows 7, which I had made an image backup of prior to Windows 10.  The thought of having to do that just was sitting well with me.  I've installed Windows 10 on my other PC's and they were running great.  Finally, one day, I had an epiphany.... The Windows Desktop Manager was causing a lot of the extra load on the CPU, making the fans run high constantly and it occurred to me that WindowFX also uses the Desktop Manager.  On a whim, I disabled WindowFX and immediately my CPU utilization returned to normal and the fans started to slow.  Also, the File Explorer works perfectly now.  My conclusion is that there is a bug in WindowFX that I have really been able to duplicate anywhere else. 

 

My machine specs:

AMD FX8350 8-Core Processor

Gigabyte GA9990FXA-UD3 Motherboard

16GB RAM

Dual Saphire R7 250 Video Cards supporting 4 Monitors but not in Crossfire mode.  Each Monitor an independent display.

1TB WD Black HD

ASUS BluRay Drive

 

 

windowfx
23,342 views 7 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

I too have noticed this in both 6.0 and 6.01 on Windows 10 x64

 

Window animations - Window/Menu/movement - cease working (moving windows become invisible, Menu and Window animations disappear etc). 

Process Explorer shows explorer.exe memory use increases to ~500K (4 fold increase) and CPU usage increases to 30%-40%

Desktop Window Manager also 30%-40% CPU usage

(One physical core, usually Core 0, max usage 100% causing the major slow downs)

GPU usage spikes to ~60%-90%% usage and full 3D clock speeds on both of my cards in SLI configuration.

 

Ending the WindowFX process returns everything to normal immediately.  

 

I've found one sure fire way to trigger a WindowFX failure  is by switching screen project modes. (Primary/Secondary screens)

 

I have a triple screens configured in Surround and a fourth screen as a single display.  Switching "Main" screens from Surround to the Single screen, or from single to Surround guarantees WindowFX to stop working properly.  WindowFX works fine until switching screen projection mode again.

 

 

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

I haven't noticed the processor usage issues (I'll keep an eye out for those) but I too am having issues that smarteyeball1 described with the animations  If I turn off the windowsFX then turn it back on everything starts working again

WindowBlinds - Free yourself of the default settings, customize your desktop.
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting smarteyeball1, reply 1

Window animations - Window/Menu/movement - cease working (moving windows become invisible, Menu and Window animations disappear etc).
End of smarteyeball1's quote

This happens to me on occasion. Turning WinFX off, wait for screen to flash, turn it back on, and all is well......until next time.

 

Pain in the ass, but it IS a beta.

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top

Add me to the group that is also having issues. In my PC, the open and close animations stop working. Oddly, the minimize and restore animations still continue to work, as well as transparency for inactive windows. Dragging windows, however, turns them almost invisible, with only a very faint image to be seen. As the other people noted, turning WindowFX off and then back on solves it, but after a couple hours or so the same problems come back.

Moreover, when I shutdown or reboot the computer, the screen turns a light gray with the cursor visible, instead of the normal blueish "Shutting down" screen. Any messages that Windows 10 may show upon shutdown are not visible because of this.

 

 

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

Still no updates to this issue?  It has been going on for some time now.   I was given a .bat to uninstall and reinstall from support some time ago, december 2015 timeframe.  windows fx (currently running v6.01 beta) under windows 10 v1511.  Both v6 and v6.01 beta are having the issue.  Uninstalling and reinstalling makes no difference.  Issue is same as above.

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top

Same here on a super duper OC'd desktop with 980ti SC

 

Window FX slows down windows UI and causes DWM to crash when binging up some windows.

 

It also made Starcraft II to run VERY sluggish. As soon as I turned WindowFX off the performance went back up again.

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

If you have not contacted support at https://esupport.stardock.com/index.php?/default_import/Tickets/Submit please do so.  We can collect data and see what is in common.